Riassunto esame Marketing, prof. Brioschi, libro consigliato Marketing Communications: A European Perspectivel, De Pelsmacker

3) Branded identity. Each division or even product line has its own identity and style, and the various

product lines of the company do not seem to have anything to do with each other.

Obviously, the choice of a specific type of corporate identity will depend on the strategic priorities defined,

and will have a great impact on brand strategy and marketing and corporate communications.

Corporate communications have to be based on, and be consistent with, the important elements of the

corporate identity of the company.

Corporate symbolism or corporate design is an integral part of the corporate identity, or at least of the way

in which it is made visible.

The company name, logo and slogan are vital elements of the house style of a company and important

elements of corporate design. They are the visualization of the corporate identity. Lodos and slogans

should have a number of characteristics:

- A logo should be a long-term visualization of the company’s strategy. One logo and one slogan

should be used for the whole company. The slogan should be a perfect summary of the company’s

identity

- Logos and slogans have to be distinctive. They are tools of differentiation between the company

and its competitors

- Slogans should be relevant for the consumer

- The logo and the slogan should be timeless, but modifiable

- Slogans, but especially logos, should be usable in all circumstances and in all communications

instruments and tools.

Besides communications and corporate design, corporate behavior is also an important factor in making

the corporate identity visible.

Corporate image and corporate reputation

The corporate image is the stakeholder’s perception of the way an organization presents itself. The

corporate identity resides in the organization, but the corporate image resides in the heads of the

stakeholders. The corporate image is not always consistent with the desired corporate identity; in other

words, an image gap may exist.

Corporate reputation is the evaluation or esteem in which an organisation’s image is held. While corporate

image can be quite transient and short-term in nature, corporate reputation is more firmly embedded in

the mind of an individual.

Corporate identity or corporate culture and corporate strategy are important determining factors of the

corporate image, as well as marketing and external corporate communications. But the company’s

employees also play an important role. Their communications with external target groups and their

behavior in their contacts with these groups will to a large extent determine how the company is perceived.

Therefore, internal communications are very important to corporate identity-building and corporate

communications. Misfits between the perception of the employees and the desired corporate identity may

therefore lead to an undesirable image gap. Besides their own staff, other intermediate audiences, such as

the distribution cheannel or advertising agencies, may have an influence on the corporate image. Finally,

reality is an important factor: product experience is a powerful reinforce or punisher in the development of

a corporate image.

Image and attitude (that is almost the same thing) are composed of three dimensions:

1) Beliefs, the cognitive dimension of the attitude. People may hold certain beliefs about a company.

2) Emotional feelings, the affective component of the attitude. People may dislike a company for its

social and environmental policies.

3) Behavioural intentions. Target group members may be inclined to buy products of a company.

Corporate communications should focus on all three components of attitude formarion. 5

Images are not good or bad as such. The corporate image is not monolithic, but multidimensional. Image

attributes are not perceived as good or bad, but as better or worse than some benchmark.

What is the value of a positive corporate image?

 It gives the company authority and it is the basis for success and continuity

 Consumers buy products, often not just because of their intrinsic quality, but also because of the

reputation and the value they attach to the company marketing the products

 When there are limited information for buying decisions, the company’s value counts a lot

 It supports the company in attracting more easily the people that are crucial for its success.

FACTORS LEADING TO INTEGRATED MARKETING AND CORPORATE COMUNICATIONS

A numver of important changes and trends have created the need and urge to integrate marketing and

corporate communications and to facilitate them.

Non traditional fotms of marketing communications:

Branded content:

Consumers react increasingly cynically to traditional advertising, and pay less and less attention to it.

Therefore, advertisers try to “hide” commercial messages in media content, like films, shows but also

videogame.

Buzz marketing:

Word-of-mouth of other people. Recently more common people than celebrities. Es. In the blogs.

Stealth advertising:

It is a marketing activity in which the commercial content is hidden. For instance, people are paid to go to

trendy bars and to promote a new drink by offering it to other visitors, without saying that they work for

the company that launched it.

Audience and markets tend to become more and more fragmented, making mass media less effective and

increasing the need for more specialized and fragmented media.

One of the trends in marketing today is the increasing importance of building customer loyalty instead of

attracting and seducing new customers.

LEVELS OF INTEGRATION

Companies cannot be expected to integrate their communications efforts fully overnight. Several stages or

levels of integration can be distinguished: awareness, image integration, functional integration, co-

ordinated integration, consumer-based integration, stakeholder-based integration, relationship

management integration.

BARRIERS TO INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS

IMC are far from a reality in most companies. A number of strong barriers prevent IMC being implemented

quickly and efficiently: separation (the various instruments of the communications mix are managed by

separate individuals or departments), different organizational entities (the various instruments of the

marketing mix have traditionally been managed by different organizational entities as discrete activities –

structures may or may not be changed easily), turf battles and ego problems (the parochialism of managers

and their fear of budget cutbacks in their areas of control, and of reductions in authority and power, lead to

defending the status quo), lack of internal communication, perceived complexity of planning and co-

ordination, functional specialization of external communications agencies.

CLIENT-AGENCY RELATIONS IN IMC

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh. 6

THE INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

The differenti communications tools will be used in an IMC mix, according to a communications plan that

will have to be integrated into the strategic marketing plan. The essential steps of comm plan are:

- Situation analysis and marketing objectives: why?

- Target groups: who?

- Communications objectives: what?

- Tools, techniques, channels and media: how and where?

- Budgets: how much?

- Measurement of results: how effective?

See summary page 39.

CAP.2 – BRANDING

INTRODUCTION

The value of brands in modern marketing strategy, and the important role of marketing communications in

building and maintaining value, are recognized.

BRANDS

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as “a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a

combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers, and to

differentiate them from those of a competitor”. Defined like this, a brand is a set of verbal and/or visual

cues, and as such it is a part of a product’s tangible features. Brand name and brand mark.

However, Keller goes beyond the pure constituting brand elements and defines a brand ad a product that

adds either rational and tangible dimensions (related to product performance) or symbolic, emotional and

intangible dimensions (related to what the brand represents) that differentiate it from other products

designed to fulfil the same need.

Brand names should be memorable, meaningful, likable, adaptable, transferable and protectable.

Excellent examples are Dell, Bic and Nokia. To enhance brand recognition and avoid brand confusion, a

brand name should also be distinctive and be able to differentiate the product from the competition.

Besides being memorable, it is an advantage that brand elements are meaningful (es. Mr Clean). Brand

elements should also be tested on their visual and/or verbal likability or, in other words, on their aesthetic

appeal. Over time, brand elements may lose their appeal, calling for an update. As a consequence, the

often have to be adapted. Nike is an example of brand that updated his logo/character over time.

Preferably a brand is transferable both across product categories and geographic boundaries. The more

specific the brand name, the more difficult it may be to extend the brand to other product categories. To

build a successful global brand, the brand name should be easy to pronounce in different language. Global

brand name also have to be culture or language neutral in the sense that they do not evoke strange or

undesirable connotations in foreign languages. Finally, a brand should be available and easy to protect

through registration. Therefore, no generic words should be used.

Three categories of brands can be distinguished:

1. Manufacturer brands are developed by producers. They are supported by integrated marketing,

including pricing, distribution and communications. Ex BMW.

2. Own-label brands or private/store/dealer brands are developed and owned by wholesalers or

retailers. There is no link between the manufacturer and the brand. Retailers develop own-label

brands to gain more power. It enables them to enhance their store image, generate higher margins

and be more independent of the manufacturers of premium brands. Originally, they only competed

7

on the basis of a price benefit compared with manufacturer brands. Now, however, most European

retailers have adopted sub-branding strategies. In many product categories, own-label brands pose

a serious threat to well-established manufacturer brands. Some retailers are using their own-label

brands as the key element in their marketing strategy, and support their own brand with limited

number of well-established manufacturer brands to optimize their store image and consumer

traffic. Research indicates that a country’s private label share goes up during economic downturns

and shrinks when the economy is flourishing.

Brand manufacturer have to take the competition of private labels seriously. Six strategic options

can be chosen: (1) increase distance from private labels through innovation, (2) increase distance

from private labels by investing in brand equity (offer “more value for money” by stressing brand

image, changing packing etc.), (3) reduce the price gap, (4) introduce a value-flanker as a me-too

strategy, (5) wait and do nothing, (6) produce (premium) private labels. Producing private labels

may also be a viable option, especially in product categories with high private labels market chare

or many possibilities for technological differentiation. Producing private label for retailers has the

advantage that it strengthens the ties with the retailers. Furthermore, it can also be very profitable

for the company if it has excess capacity.

3. Generic brands indicate the product category. In fact, the concept is a contradiction in terms.

Generics are in fact brandless products. They are usually sold at the lowest price.

SUCCESSFUL BRANDS

Giving a product a brand name does not always guarantee success. Successful brands have to meet a

number of conditions:

 Successful brands are differentiated. Consumers clearly perceive them as having unique benefits

and being different from the competition

 Top brands are positioned on quality and added value. Superior product quality is a prerequisite for

successful branding

 Leading brands continually innovate to answer changing consumer tastes and to keep ahead of the

competition

 A leading position can only be sustained by having full support and complete commitment of both

management and employees. Remember that every brand contact matters: how a call to a

helpdesk is answered, what happens when advice is asked or when complaint is raised etc.

 Successful brands are not built overnight. Long-term communications, and more particularly

advertising support, is a key factor in the development of successful brands

BRAND STAREGIES

A brand strategy starts with the decision whether or not to put a brand name on a product. It can be

argued that, for some product categories, branding is not essential and may even be useless. This is

especially true for undifferentiated and homogeneous products. The case for industrial products such as

steel and raw materials.

If decided to put a name: first of all, a product can be given one brand name, or several (mostly two)brands

can be used to position it. In the case of one brand name, four different strategies can be followed. Sticking

the existing product categories and using the same brand name for all new product introductions in a

product category is called line extension. Ex Kellogg’s. line extension strategies have a number of obvious

advantages. The favourable image of the brand is carried over to the new products that are marketed with

the same brand name, and the past communications investments in the brand are more efficiently used to

market more products. However, a line extension also has a number of disadvantages, the most important

being that the original brand loses its meaning and clear positioning. 8

Brand extension, or brand stretching, occurs when an existing brand is used to market products in a

different product category. Ex. Hearly Davison footwear. The basic rationale behind brand extensions is the

same as the one behind line extensions, ex. Limiting the risk of failure of the new product introductions by

capitalizing upon the image and reputation of a successful existing brand, and at the same time trying to

save the huge advertising expenses of launching a totally new brand. However, the risks of brand

extensions are great. First of all, if the brand image does not fit the new product or the new market

segment well, the new introduction may not be successful. Also, there is the risk of brand dilution. This

occurs when the brand name is used for so many different product categories that the brand personality

becomes fuzzy and the brand’s value deteriorates.

A special case of extension strategies is corporate branding. In this case, the name of the company is used

for all the company’s products. This strategy is often used by service companies for which the reputation

and the endorsement of a reliable company is very important. Corporate branding is very similar to the

other extension strategies and therefore have the same advantages and disadvantages. One additional

disadvantage is that a corporate branding strategy is relatively inflexible.

A strategy in which different names are used for products of product ranges in the same product category

is called multi-branding. This strategy permits finer segmentation and positioning. The obvious

disadvantage of this strategy is that individual brands cannot benefit from the leveraging effect of existing

brands. Companies using the multi-branding strategy will also be inclined to use new brands when they

introduce a product in a new product category.

When a company introduces a product abroad, it can also choose between an extension or a “new brand”

strategy. If the existing brand has the required global characteristics, is already known in the new country,

or if the company is committed to building global brands, a global strategy will be used. Global brands can

range from being globally consistent to locally adapted. Gillette is consistent around the world because

men’s shaving needs are world-wide more or less the same. McDonald’s is locally adapted: it does use the

same logo and colours, but adapts its service and products to fit local needs. Local brands often have a long

tradition in specific countries and are often market leaders in their own country. Local brands benefit,

amongst other things, from (1) the deep-rooted and powerful bond that has been established with local

consumers (ex. Consumers often buy the brand their parents bought), (2) being perfectly adapted to

unique local tastes or needs, (3) local operational and logistical advantages and (4) strong community ties.

These local brands are very attractive for global companies, and more and more global companies extend

their brand portfolio with local brands.

Companies can also opt for dual branding strategies. Three categories of dual strategies can be

distinguished. In an endorsement strategy two brand names of the same company are used, one of them

serving as a quality label or endorsement. In fact, this strategy can be situated somewhere between an

extension and a multi-brand strategy, and combines the advantages of bothl although the disadvantages of

the two combined strategies should be taken in account.

With ingredient branding, a basic ingredient of the product is mentioned next to the actual product’s name.

ex. Tetrapak. The advantages are that both brands can benefit from the strategy effects of combining the

two strong brands. Furthermore, communications costs can be shared. A prerequisite for ingredient

branding is that the ingredient has to be essential, differentiating and of consistently high quality.

Finally, in co-branding, two or more brands are simultaneously presented. Co-branding can range from

advertising multiple brands in one ad (ex. Ferrari and Shell) to co-developing a product (ex. Braun and Oral

B with electric tooth-brush). Forming an alliance may be driven, for example, by the desire to leverage

positive brand equity of the partner brand, to share advertising or development costs or to gain access to

new markets or distribution channels. Obviously, the combination should result in a perfect perceptual fit,

from a product or image point of view. 9

BRAND PORTOFOLIO

A brand portfolio can be defined as the set of all brands and brand lines that a company possesses. The

rationale behind every brand portfolio should be threefold. First of all, a company should try to maximize

market coverage in a sense that different market segments can be serviced. Secondly, brand overlap has to

be minimized in such a way that brands are not competing among themselves. Thirdly, every brand in the

brand portfolio should have an added value for the company.

Brands in a portfolio usually serve different functions and can be classified ad bastions, flanker, fighter and

prestige brands. Bastions provide most profit for the company, often follow a premium price strategy, are

characterized by a high level of psycho-social meaning and are generally considered as high-performance

brands. In order to protect bastion brands, flanker, fighter or prestige brands can be introduced. A flanker

brand follows a similar price-profit ratio aa the bastion brand, is also characterized by a high psycho-social

meaning and perceived performance level, but usually appeals to a different, smaller market segment

(niche). Fighter brands are sold at a lower price, situated between the price of the bastion and discount

brands. Their quality perception is usually lower that that of the bastion and flanker brands. Prestige brands

are high-quality, luxurious brands targeted at a smaller segment, looking for status and high psycho-social

meaning. Volkswagen – Seat.

BRAND EQUITY

In the previous sections it has been argued that brands are valuable assets for marketing. Brand equity is a

concept that is used to indicate the value of a brand. It is the valued added to a product by virtue of its

brand name. in fact, a distinction should be made between consumer brand equity and financial brand

equity. The latter refers to the financial value of the brand for the company, the former to the underlying

customer – and marketing - related components of brand equity. In practice, the concept of brand equity is

used to describe both. Economically speaking, the value of a brand is the sum of discounted future income

streams attributable to the brand.

Financial brand equity

The financial value of the brand portfolio becomes of great importance. Some say that the brand portfolio

is the most valuable asset of a company. How can the financial brand value be calculated?

- A financial analysis to identify business earnings

- A market analysis to determine what proportion of those earnings are attributable to the brand

- A brand analysis, to find out how strong the brand is in the perception of consumers

- A legal analysis, to establish how well a brand is legally protected.

Another important aspect of the brand valuation system is the brand strength score. This is based on seven

criteria with different weights: leadership (25%), internationality (25%), stability (15%), market (10%), trend

(10%), support (10%) and protection (5%).

Consumer brand equity

For a marketer, consumer brand equity in more important than financial brand value. This type of brand

equity can be measured in different ways, all of them trying to capture the extent to which the brand gives

the product extra marketing strength. Each of the brand equity factors is determined and influenced by

marketing communications strategy, and leads to a number of benefits. A well known brand is more

valuable than an unknown brand. Consumers have more faith in a well-known brand.

Components of consumer brand equity: awareness (deep and board), performance/perceived quality

(attributes and benefits, price and style, quality and superiority), imagery/feelings (user image, isage

imagery, brand personality, brand feelings), brand loyalty (price premium, satisfaction/loyalty, market

share) and other assets (distribution, shelf space, patents and trademarks). 10

A distinction can be made between deep and board brand awareness. Deep brand awareness means that

the brand comes to mind easily. Board brand awareness refers to the fact that the brand comes to mind

often, in different usage situations. Deep and board awareness are necessary to penetrate the

consideration set of consumers. Brand awareness is more than just being aware of the fact that the brand

exists. It also includes knowing what the product stands for and its attributes and characteristics.

Performance refers to the extent to which the product meets the customer’s utilitarian, aesthetic and

economic needs and wants. The utilitarian needs are largely grasped by the attributes and benefits the

product provides. A nice style and design can be important to fulfil the consumer’s aesthetic needs. Price in

important because consumers may infer from the price whether the product is cheap or expensive, and

whether they can trust it or not. Perceived quality is the consumer’s subjective judgement about a

product’s overall quality, its excellence and superiority relative to alternatives.

Brand imagery is related to how well the brand fulfils consumers’ psychological and social needs. A first

intangible association that consumers can make with a brand is user image. For example, the stereotypical

user of Oil of Olay is seen ad “a pretty, down-to-earth, solid, female citizen. A second type of intangible

association pertains to usage imagery, that indicates which usage situations consumers associate with a

brand or product. Brand personality can be defined as the set of human personality traits that are both

applicable to and relevant for brands.

Finally, brand feelings or customers’ emotional responses to the brand are an important element of brand

equity. For example, warmth, fun, social approval and security are considered as important types of brand-

building feelings. These feelings may have become associated to the brand by means of its marketing

communications program or the experiences the consumer had with the brand. They may also stem from

the attributes of benefits consumers associate with the brand.

Other assets also determine brand equity, such as the number of the stores carrying the brand, the

percentage of people that have easy access to the brand, shelf space patents and trademarks, quality of

staff, labels, etc. The first four factors of brand equity do not imply any real behavior on the part of the

consumer. In fact, the real company asset is brand loyalty, not the brand itself. Evidently, a strong brand

implies that as many customers as possible are satisfied, committed buyers. Not only will committed buyers

repurchase the brand, they will also actively promote your brand to others and function as real

ambassadors. Also, marketers and consumers can jointly build brand communities where brand

experiences can be built and/or shared. A brand community is a “specialized, non-geographically bound

community, based on a structured set of social relationships among users of a brand”.

BENEFITS OF BRANDING

Strong brands have a number of benefits for the company, the retailer and the consumer. Strong brands

help the consumer to locate and identify products and evaluate their quality. Branding makes shopping

more efficient in that it reduces the amount of decision-making time required and the perceived risk of

purchase, as a result of the fact that a brand promises a constant level of quality. Furthermore, the

consumer derives a psychological reward, since some brands, like Rolex or Lexus, are regarded as status

symbols. Retailers also benefit from store brands because they improve the image of the store, and as a

result attract customers. Last but not least, manufacturers benefit greatly from high-quality brands. See

scheme on pace 71 or better if it is on slides.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS AND BRAND EQUITY

Marketing communications are the voice of a brand. In general, the role of marketing communications is to

inform, persuade and remind consumers of the brand essence, to engage consumers in a dialogue and to

build relationship, or even a brand community.

Taking a long-term perspective of brand management, managerial efforts can be classified in two types of

activities: brand-building and brand-harming activities. High advertising spending and investing in corporate

11

social responsibility initiatives are examples of brand-building activities. Frequent use of price promotions,

on the other hand, dilutes the brand in the long run and can therefore be classified as brand-harming

activity.

Marketing communications are crucial contributors to brand equity in several ways. A first brand in brand-

building is creating deep and broad brand awareness. Deep awareness means that the brand is strongly

linked with the product category and enjoys high top in mind awareness. Frequent advertising using

slogans, base-lines or jingles that make reference to the product category help to build top of mind

awareness. Broad awareness refers to the fact that consumers easily think of the brand in different

situations. Therefore, focusing on brand meaning or brand image comes in only after brand awareness has

been established. Also for building brand image, advertising is an excellent tool. Brand image

communications can focus on product performance or on imagery (who is the typical user, when and

where can the product be used etc.).

To form a rich network of associations around a brand, it is advisable to alternate performance and imagery

communications.

Also, when a brand has been on the market for a long time, investing in communications that strengthen

deep and board awareness, and that reinforce brand performance and imagery remains necessary.

Although advertising is the key tool of marketing communications when it comes to building and sustaining

strong brands, it is not the only tool that can or should be used. In the spirit of integrated marketing

communications, different communication tools should be mixed and matched to reach an optimal effect.

See summary page 75.

CAP.5 – OBJECTIVES

INTRODUCTION

Once the target group pf the marketing communications plan is well defined, it is crucial to the planning

process to set the main communications objectives. These goals will determine the choice of the right

communications and media mix and will consequently influence message and strategy development,

budgeting and effectiveness research issues. Formulating marketing communications objectives is also

important in judging the effectiveness of a campaign. If I don’t have goals, what do I judge? A second type

of communications objective is related to corporate communications that are primarily aimed at building

and maintaining goodwill for the company as a whole.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES

Marketing communications objectives can be broadly divided into three categories: reach goals, process

(elaborare, eseguire?) goals, effectiveness (efficacia) goals. The reach goal of communicating is to reach the

target groups in an effective and efficient way. For this purpose a good segmentation and audience

definition is needed. As well as insights into the media behavior of the desired segments. Process goals are

conditions which should be established before any communication can be effective. All communications

should capture the attention of the target group, then appeal or be appreciated and last but not least be

processed (and remembered). The third type of communications goals are the effectiveness goals. They

are, of course, the most important ones, since reach goals only assure sufficient exposure, and process

goals only ensure enough processing of the message to make effectiveness goals possible.

Since the DAGMAR (Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results) was published,

communications goals have emphasized the current stage of the buyer or potential buyer in the purchase

process rather than just immediate sales effects. This insight also helped marketers to use measurable

goals since communications effects on sales were all but impossible to isolate due to the interaction effects

with other marketing mix variables. The communications effects or goals that are distinguished in the 12

DAGMAR model are the following: category need, brand awareness, brand knowledge/comprehension,

brand attitude, brand-purchase intention, brand facilitation, purchase, satisfaction, brand loyalty. The

DOGMAR model is essentially a hierarchy-of-effects model.

When a marketer is defining his or her communications strategies he or she will have to select the most

appropriate communications effect or goals from the list above. Every promotional campaign should be

organized with one of these communications objectives in mind. The choice of the right goals depend on

the problems that have arisen in the preliminary situation analysis of the market, brand positions,

competition, opportunities and threats.

A good set of communications goals should have a number of characteristics. It should:

- Fit in with overall company and marketing goals

- Be relevant to the identified problems and specific to cope with threats or to build on opportunities

in the market

- Be targeted to different target audiences; this implies that different target groups could need

different communications objectives

- Be quantified in order to be measurable

- Be comprehensive and motivating to all involved persons but at the same time be realistic and

achievable

- Be timed to enable specific scheduling of the campaign

- Be translated into sub-goals when necessary.

The communications objectives are guidelines for everyone who is involved in campaign development and

realization. As communications objectives are also the criteria against which a campaign’s success (or

failure) is evaluated, it is important that they are well defined and quantified.

Developing category wants

The first basic condition to be fulfilled (soddisfatto) by a brand is that it should fit within category needs

and wants. Category want or needs can be defined as the existence of one or more buying motive and the

perception of the product category as a good means of meeting these motives. Of course, although

category need is always necessary before other brand-related objectives work, it is clear that in most cases

it can be considered as already present and thus can be ignored (ex. Food, detergents, insurances and cars).

However, in product categories that are infrequently purchased or infrequently used, such as pain killers,

communicating category needs to remind buyers of their present but forgotten need may be useful. Using

category need as a primary communications objective is a must for innovations. Consumers should first

understand which need is satisfied by an innovation and the difference between the “new category” and

known categories should be stressed.

Brand awareness: RECOGNITION AND RECALL

Brand awareness is the association of some physical characteristics such as a brand name, logo, package,

style etc. with a category need. There are two ways brand awareness can be defined. For example, if

people think of a soft drink, they may spontaneously think of either Coca-cola, Fanta and Lipton. This is

their top of mind brand awareness. In an unaided contest, people may recall several brands spontaneously.

This is brand recall or unaided spontaneously awareness. But it is also possible that people recognize a

brand by a package, colour, logo etc. This is brand recognition or aided awareness. Aided brand awareness

is of course less difficult to achieve. Less repetition and thus smaller investments are needed to establish it

than brand name recall.

The question of which awareness goal should be aspired to by a marketer depends on the situational

circumstances in which the product or brand is brought. If the purchase decision is made at another time

and location than the point of sales (at the office, at home), or when a buyer has to ask explicitly for a

certain product or service (drugstore or pharmacist) name recall is needed. This is also true when a 13

shopping list with preferred brand names for every category is made prior to going to a shop, or when

somebody is making purchases by phone. When the purchase decision is made in the store, and the buyer

can use visual cues such as package, displays, colours, and logos, brand recognition is more important than

brand recall.

In some cases a marketer should try to attain both brand recall and recognition. A consumer then recalls a

brand at home and will search for it at a supermarket or store. Sometimes this dual brand awareness

objective is required, since for many product categories consumers limit their search activity based on

loyalty to a limited set of brands. Every communications activity should take brand awareness into

account. If two brands are equally valued, the brand with the highest awareness will be purchased more

often.

Brand knowledge

Brand knowledge and comprehension mean that target consumers are aware of the most essential brand

characteristics, features and benefits. Essentially, consumers should be able to recall the brand’s

positioning. This knowledge may be based on very objective information, but also on brand image and

lifestyle positioning.

Brand attitude

If consumers are equally aware of a number of brands in a certain product category, they will base their

brand choice on an evaluation of the different brands. The result of this evaluation is called brand attitude.

Brand attitude is the perceived value of a brand to a consumer. Because a brand is stronger (and thus has

more loyal customers) when the differentiation with another brand is bigger, brand attitude is an important

communication objective. In marketing practive there’s no such thing as a permanently very favorable

brands attitude because attitudes are liable tho changes ad a consequence of dynamic markets and

competition power.

Purchase intention

The intention of the buyer to purchase the brand or the product or take other buying-related actions (going

to the store, asking for more information) can also be enhanced (aumentata). For low involvement buying

situations purchase intention should not be stressed in communications. In high involvement situations,

advertising and sales promotion can stimulate the consumer.

Purchase facilitation

Purchase facilitation is all about assuring buyers that there are no barriers hindering product or brand

purchase. These barriers could be other elements of the marketing mix, such as a price, product and place

(distribution). Sometimes availability or price is a problem preventing consumers from buying a product.

Communications in this case should minimize the perceived problems. For example, if a certain brand is not

widely available in all stores, a list of approved dealers might help the consumers.

Satisfaction

When a consumer buys a product or service, he or she has certain expectations about the purchase. When

the product or service lives up to the required and desired benefits or surpasses the expectations, the

consumer will be satisfied and thus inclined to choose the same brand whenever he or she buys the

product again. We must also remember that clients are advocates of the brand and products they buy

(word-of-mouth communications).

Moreover, it is important to reassure consumers about their choice. Cognitive dissonance, ex the fact that –

due to a choice situation – buyers start to have doubts about that choice, should be avoided to enhance

brand loyalty.

Brand loyalty

Brand loyalty is defined as the mental commitment or relation between a consumer and a brand, but there

are different types of brand loyalty. Repeat purchase is not the same as brand loyalty. The former is often

14

the result of habit or routine buying rather than of brand preference of brand loyalty. There is not

commitment, it is just routine.

Brand loyalty is not a characteristic of a brand but of a product category. Brands with a higher market share

in that category have a higher “loyalty” because of their higher penetration rate and not necessarily

because the emotional bond with the customer is better.

Of course, not all communications objectives should be present in a promotional plan or campaign. A

marketer should choose which of the above goals is most appropriate in the market and communications

situation.

The DAGMAR model has the merit that, instead of sales goals which are hard to correlate with

communications expenditures, other quantifiable measures for effectiveness, such as awareness and image

ratings, are introduced. These other measures are assumed to be intermediate effects, and thus indicator

for future sales.

STAGES IN THE PRODUCT LIFE-CYCLE AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES

One of the more important factors in choosing objectives is the phase of the life-cycle of a brand or product

Introduction

A company that is marketing a completely new product will have to develop the market. Consumers will

have to learn what the new product is about: which needs will be fulfilled by the product and what

differences are compared to the products the consumers were used to before the innovation or launch of

the new product or brand. The major communications objectives in this market situation will be creating

category need (explaining which needs are better fulfilled with the innovation), brand awareness and brand

knowledge.

More introductions are new brand launches rather than real product innovations. Evidently, in this case it is

not necessary to communicate the central functional product features as consumers are aware of them

from their experience with other brands. Goals are to create brand awareness and support psycho-social

brand image connotations. This is done by associating a brand with a certain projected lifestyle.

A study of what kinds of communications stimulate sales of new products came up with four factors. It

should be clearly communicated that it is a new product and is thus different from other products. This

difference should be specially linked to the category such as the refreshing soft drink or the strongest mint.

Third, differences in characteristics are not enough, they should be translated into real benefits for the

consumer and communicated in that way. The last important factor is the support given to that beneficial

point of difference. Typical endorsements are demonstrations, scientific evidence, celebrity endorsement,

testimonials of experts or “normal” users.

Growth

Communications strategies in this stage of the product life-cycle will be aimed at defending the brand’s

position against possible competitive attacks. Marketers will have to create brand preference by

emphasizing the right product features and benefits to differentiate the brand from competitors and

position it as unique.

Maturity

A brand in the mature stage of its life-cycle has to cope with strong competition on the market that is

scarcely growing. Communications strategies will focus on increasing the brand loyalty of consumers. There

are six possible communications objectives in this particular product life-cycle stage:

- High spontaneous brand awareness, top-of-mind awareness

- Claim a clear and unique brand benefit, a characteristic on which the brand is better than

competing brands

- If there are none or only small product differences, stressing a lower price might be a good strategy

- Get the attention by offering small product innovations 15

- Reinforce the psycho-social meaning for product categories such as cigarettes beer and coffee

- Communications strategies could also be more defensive in this stage of the product life cycle.

Current customers should be reassured of their choice and their positive experience and

satisfaction of the brand

Decline

When manufacturers are confronted with declining products or brands and decide to milk or harvest the

brand, they will probably turn to sales promotions such as prizes and lotteries. If they decide to renew the

life of the declining product or brand (and believe in life-cycle stretching), they can use the following

strategies:

 Communicate an important product adaptation or change

 Draw attention to new applications or moments to use (ex. Beer for cooking)

 Increase the frequency of use

 Attract new target groups (ex. Bacardi for teenagers)

CONSUMER CHOICE SITUATIONS AND MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES

The effectiveness of communications goals may be determined not only by the product or brand life-cycle,

but also by the consumer choice situation. Six important variables affecting the consumer choice situation.

(1) this is determined by the choice process a consumer follows. This situational characteristic is, for

instance, different for high versus low involvement products. (2) consumer characteristics are, for instance,

experiences, knowledge and socio-economic characteristics. (3) consumer-product relationship have to do

with involvement form low to extremely high, and routine purchases versus intensively considered

purchase. (4) the speed, frequency and modalities of choice, form often and superficial to once in a while

and attractive, are elements of the choice process. (5) characteristics of the outlet or point of purchase

(shop) are important, as well as advice involved with purchase: is there any kind of personal advice (ex.

From salespersons) involved with the purchase process. (6) finally, product characteristics, such ad articles

bought daily, known brands or speciality goods, can have an impact. Based on these six groups pf variables,

a number of frequently occurring choice situations as well as their impact on the communications goal-

setting can be described.

 Standard mass products – are typically low involvement situations in which mass communications

focus on building brand awareness and brand knowledge. Generating trial and routine repeat

purchases is also important

 Standard services – ex. Restaurants. Building brand awareness and stimulating trial through price

cuts and other actions are often used

 Mail order products – the awareness of the company is important, but stimulating catalogue is the

first goal. Sales depend on the quality of the catalogue

 Impulse products – there are products that seduce buyers into an impulse purchase. Consumers

need not be convinced. After creating brand awareness, creating confrontations (incontri) is the

most essential communications tool

 Quality products – are bought for their quality, for aesthetic reasons and because they symbolize a

certain lifestyle. As customers are more involved with this kind of product, the marketer should

focus on creating and supporting brand awareness

 Quality services – many people buy a service after being advised by friends or relations. For

retention, after-sales communications, such ad direct marketing, are important

 International luxury products – initially, word-of-mouth communications are important, and

generating traffic in the special stores is crucial. Later, direct marketing becomes important 16

 Special niche products – special interest magazines and trade magazines offer an efficient way of

creating brand awareness. Direct, personal contact is also very important

 Showrooms products – building brand awareness and reputation is the first step; subsequently,

invitations to the showroom are made. The sales team will then have the major part in the

communications process, persuading visitors to buy the products

 Products with new techniques – introduce the new product lines and their propositions to interests

people and attract them to the retail outlets

 Investment products – like the house. Word-of-mouth communications and personal contacts and

selling are far more important than mass communications

 Unsought products – ex insurances. The first objective is to explain the use of the products, to

change the negative perceptions of consumers and to create confidence.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES

Like all other marketing plans, the corporate communications plan has to be embedded in a global industry

analysis on the basis of which strategic priorities such ad the positioning of the company have to be

defined. Depending on the strategic priorities and positioning, and the nature of the gap between identity

and image, different corporate communications messages can be developed. When the objective is to

improve internal corporate culture through internal communications, the focus will be on communicating

whatever important aspect of strategy that is not adequately assimilated by the staff. Campaigns to

develop a better awareness of the company’s name and identity will often be the first necessary step in the

development of a corporate image. Changes in the corporate structure or corporate strategy always call for

intensified corporate communications.

Fundamental changes in strategic direction that have an impact on the relationship between the audiences

and the company will have to be communicated, such as the decision to withdraw from a market, to focus

on core activities, to lay off personnel etc.

Last but not least, corporate communications messages can be aimed at laying the groundwork for a long-

term, stable and favourable image by crating goodwill.

See summary…

CAP.6 – BUDGETS

INTRODUCTION

In this era of globalizing, scaling-up and increasing competition, company are continuously looking for new

ways to economize. Companies tend to save most in those expenses that may be influenced in the short

term. Hence, communications budgets are often first in line to be reviewed.

Deciding on the communications budget is not a one-off activity and certainly does not come at the end of

the marketing communications planning cycle. The financial resources of a company or brand influence the

communications programs, and plans should be continously assessed against financial feasibility at all

stages in the planning process.

There is no ideal formula for making the best budgeting decision. Deciding on the best budget requires

experience and judgment. Therefore, the budgeting process should be well considered and based on

concrete marketing and communications objectives defined in the communications plan. The second step is

to apply one of the budgeting methods discussed in the next section. The last step is to evaluate and

possibly revise the budget and objectives, and adapt them to specific circumstances.

HOW THE COMMUNICATIONS BUDGET AFFECTS SALES

To be able to assess (stimare, valutare) the size of the budget, it is important to understand how

communications efforts influence sales. Sales response model depict the relationship between these two

factors. There is the concave sales response model. In this model it is hypothesized that sales behave in a 17

microeconomic way, following the law of diminishing returns: the incremental value of added

communications expenditures decreases. An explanation for this reason is that, once every potential buyer

is reached with the communications mix, he or she either will or will not buy, and beyond that optimal

point prolonged communications will not change the non-buyers mind. This model suggests that smaller

budgets may be as effective as much bigger ones.

Another way to model sales responses to communications efforts is the S-shaped relation. This model

assumes that, initially, when the level of effort is low, there is no communications effect at all. Even if

communications effort is zero, there will be a certain level of sales, and a minimum investment is needed to

enjoy any results of the communications program and to increase sales. When that level is reached, sales

will start to increase with incremental communications expenditures. The higher the investments, the

greater the additional sales will be. At a point (A), increased investments start to lead to smaller changes in

sales. It is impossible, even with very high communications instruments, to exceed a certain saturation level

of sales. This is due to the market, and the cultural and competitive environment. Exorbitant

communications investments may even lead to negative effects, such as irritation and consumer resistance.

Estimating the relationship between the communications budget or effort and sales or market chare is not

easy. First of all, marketing communications are not the only marketing mix instrument influencing sales.

Prices, product line decisions and changes in the distribution strategy will also influence sales. Furthermore,

an effective marketing mix implies that synergy and interaction exist between the various marketing tools.

In a well-designed marketing plan each tool reinforces the other.

As a result of this interaction, it is very difficult to isolate the effect of the communications budget on

commercial results. Furthermore, sales response models do not take the effect of competitive actions and

environmental factors into account.

Finally, and at least as importantly, communications efforts may have both an immediate short-term and

long-term effect on sales and market share. Traditional theories consider communications as a long term.

This traditional view is challenged by John Philip Jones, who proposes a controversial theory in the short-

term effects of advertising, claiming that paradigms stating that sales are mainly influenced by accumulated

advertising campaigns of the past are mistaken. He tried to prove that immediate communications effects

on sale exists, deduced that promotions had short-term effects and advertising long-terms effects. Jones

introduced a new measurement tool called STAS (Short Term Advertising Strength). The baseline STAS for

brand X is the share of brand X in the budget of families who have not seen an ad for brand X in a seven-day

period before purchase. Jones then calculated the share of brand X in the budget of families who were

exposed to an ad at least once during the same period. This is called “stimulated STAS”. The difference

between baseline STAS and stimulated STAS is the “STAS differential”, expressing the immediate sales

generating effect of an ad campaign.

Jones also came to the rather surprising conclusion that the first exposure of an ad causes the largest part

of sales returns, and the additional exposures will only lead to small effects on sales. The sales response

curve would then be a concave digressive function. The most effective frequency of an ad campaign

according to Jones is one single exposure. Jones believes that long-term effects will only come about when

an ad campaign is also effective in the short term and does not believe in the sleeper effects of marketing

communications. This statement is radically opposed to the widespread belief that a higher ad frequency is

needed to gain any effect on sales. In reality, both short-term and long-term effects are important.

COMMUNICATIONS BUDGETING METHODS

The various communications budgeting methods are: marginal analysis, intertia, arbitrary allocation,

affordability, percentage of sales, competitive parity, objective and task. 18

Marginal analysis

The basic principle of marginal analysis is quite obvious: to invest resources as long as extra expenses are

compensated by higher extra returns. Profit is calculated as the difference between gross margin and

communications expenditures. This analysis has the advantage of estimating the effect of advertising on

profits, and derives a normative rule of optimal advertising efforts. However, the analysis remains largely

theoretical because of the problems involved in estimating the sales response relation.

Intertia

The inertia method is nothing more than keeping budgets constant year on year, while ignoring the market,

competitive actions or consumer opportunities. Needless to say, this is not a very strategic method.

Arbitrary allocation

Again, this is one of the most simple of all budgeting methods, but also one of the least appropriate.

Whatever the general manager or managing director decides will be implemented. This is a very subjective

way of deciding.

Affordability method

In this method “leftover” resources, after all input costs, are invested in communications. Marketing

communications are considered to be a pure cost rather than an investment and mostly not part of a

strategic plan, nor are any concrete communications goals defined.

Percentage of sales

In this technique, budgets are defined as a percentage of the projected sales of the next year. Although

they are commonly used and, like the affordability method, ensure that costs do not threaten profits, these

budgeting methods have some notable disadvantages. The percentage of sales method could lead to

overspending in markets in which these kinds of investments are nor needed and at the same time

communications budgets might be too small where they might have had a major impact. Decreasing

returns of sales will lead to smaller communications budgets, which will certainly not help to change the

negative sales evolution. Another common way of using the percentage of sales method is to take the sales

of the past year instead of projected sales, but that is even worse. This method uses past performance as a

ceteris paribus situation. A last variant of this method is to take a percentage of profits instead of sales. This

has the same disadvantages.

Competitive parity

Means that companies look at the amount of money competitors spend on communications and then copy

their budgets. The logic of this method lied in the fact that the collective behavior of a market will not skew

mush of the budget optimum. The advantage of method is that the market will not be destabilized by

overinvestments or extremely low promotions budgets. This method is often used in fast-moving consumer

goods where sales are believed to be highly influenced by advertising and communications spending.

Nevertheless, the theoretical basis of this method has some disadvantages. The underlying assumption is

again that promotional spending are the only variable that influences sales. Furthermore, a company

assumes that the competitor’s communications budget was set in an effective and efficient way. Lastly, this

method implies that resources, operational methods, opportunities and objectives of competitors used as a

benchmark are exactly the same as those of our company.

Some researchers have developed paradigms that are of practical use to marketers wanting to assess the

effects of their share of voice (SOV) on their share of market (SOM). Share of voice is calculated as the ratio

of own communications investments divided by communications investments of all market players. A study

on the impact of advertising of competitors with comparable products on market share, not taking the

advertising quality or any formal or content characteristic of advertising into account, came to the following

conclusions. Ad spendings will only influence market share (SOM) where there is a different advertising

intensity over a long period. Marginal budget changes do not affect SOM. It is important to note that 19

market leaders will have to track the expenditures of competitors and react to changes to prevent them

from gaining market share. Figure on page 199: the largest and the smallest player in the market are

located above the 45° line. This means that their SOV is smaller than their SOM.

The relation between SOV and SOM in different market situations was also studied by John Philip Jones.

Brands with higher SOM than SOV are called profit-ranking brands. Brands with the opposite relation are

investment brands. The percentage of profit-takers among brands with a small market share is low. The

higher the market share, the more profit-taking brands will appear. Some explanations can be offered to

explain this phenomenon. Small brands have to invest in communications to create brand awareness.

Larger and usually older brands are often being “harvested” (mietuti). Communications budgets are cut in

order to make the brand more profitable.

The relation between SOM and SOV provides an objective tool for companies to compare their

communications spend with the budgets of other players in the market. This allows marketers to make a

better analysis. The average SOV helps to estimate the maximum underinvestment big brands can afford

without losing too much of their market position.

Objective and task method

It differs from the other methods in that is starts from communications objectives and the resources that

are needed to reach these planned goals. All needed investments are then added and this will lead to the

overall communications budget. It requires more strategic planning and investment analysis and is

therefore clearly superior to all the other methods. Moreover, budgets can be evaluated each year, and this

feedback will lead to improved decision making and more efficient budgeting in the future. The difficulty in

this method lies in the estimation of the profit impacts of different communications actions and tattics. The

three most used budgeting methods in the US are: percentage of expected sales, affordability method and

arbitrary method.

FACTORS INFLUENCING BUDGETS

The market size (the smaller the targeted markets, the easier is to reach the targets in a cost-efficient way),

market potential, market chare objectives, contingencies, economies of scale, organizational

characteristics, planning gap, crisis situation, unexpected opportunities of threats, economic recession.

BUDGETING FOR NEW BRANDS OR PRODUCTS

Although budgeting for existing brands in established product categories is the most common task for

marketers, often they are confronted with the problem of budgeting for a brand or product launch. This is

even more difficult than the former. Historical data on the budget settings that have been successful are

not available and consequently easy-to-use schemes as discussed above are not appropriate for estimating

required budgets. The primary budgeting method for launching new brands or products should be the

objective-and-task method. But given the uncertainty and lack of historical data, this is not only a difficult

budgeting method but also one that is not risk free.

Peckham, a consultant, developed a rule of thumb for new fast moving consumer good brands. This rule

recommends setting the SOV of the brand to be launched at 1,5 times the desired SOM at the end of the

brand’s first two years.

In almost all markets, a brand’s competitive advantage is determined by the order of entry on a market.

Pioneer brands often enjoy market share leadership, the second brand gets the second largest market

share, ect. 20

CAP.7 – ADVERTISING

TYPES OF ADVERTISING

Advertising is one of the oldest, most visible and most important instruments of the marketing

communications mix.

Advertising can be defined as any paid, non-personal communication through various media by an

identified company, non-profit organization or individual. Advertising is a good marketing communications

tool to inform and persuade people, irrespective of whether a product, a service or an idea is promoted.

Different types of advertising can be distinguished on the basis of four criteria. (1) advertising can be

defined on the basis ot the sender of the message [manufacturer, collective (done by the government),

retailer, co-operative (+manufacturers or + retailers), idea (done by no-profit)]. (2) the intended receiver of

the advertising message can be either a private consumer or another company. (3) different type of

advertising can also be distinguished according to the type of message conveyed (informational,

transformational, institutional, selective vs generic, theme vs action). Finally, (4) on the basis of the

medium in which the ad is placed (audiovisual, print, point-of-purchase, direct).

CAMPAIGN DEVELOPMENT

Developing an advertising campaign, like any other communications plan, consists of a sequence of steps.



Marketing strategy (the target group (cap.4), the advertising objectives (cap.5), the message strategy)



creative strategy (going from “what to say” to “how to say it”) media strategy (which media, time

  

period, frequency) evaluation of alternatives implementation campaign evaluation (cap. 9).

MESSAGE STRATEGY

What are we going to say to the consumers? We have to convince them. In order to answer this question,

the advertiser has to know and understand the target group very well. The advertising can only be effective

if it benefit the consumer. Knowing the problems, preferences and aspirations of the target group may be

essential for deciding on the right message.

Furthermore, it is important not to confuse consumers. Therefore, most companies stick (si accaniscono) to

promoting one unique benefit of their brand, which can be functional or non-functional. A functional

benefit, also called unique selling proposition (USP), usually refers to functional superiority in the sense

that the brand offers the best quality, the best service, the lowest price, the most advanced technology (ex.

Masercard). A non-functional benefit usually reflects a unique psychological association to consumers and

is referred to as an emotional selling production (ESP) (ex. Porsche).

In order to know which USP or ESP to go for, the advertiser needs to have a clear consumer insight.

CREATIVE IDEA

Before an advertising agency can start thinking of a creative strategy, the advertiser must give them a

creative brief. The creative brief or the document that forms the starting point for advertising agency

should contain not only information on the target, ad objectives and message strategy, but also provide

sufficient information concerning the background of the company, the product, the market and the

competitors. The first step of the creative strategy is to develop a creative idea. A creative idea can be

defined as an original and imaginative thought designed to produce a goal-directed and problem-solving

advertisements and commercials.

CREATIVE APPEALS

In trying to generate the established advertising objectives, agencies or creatives can use a multitude of

appeals, formats and execution strategies to express or translate their creative idea. Broadly speaking, two

different types of creative appeal can be distinguished: rational appeals and emotional appeals. Emotional

appeals are advertisements whose main purpose is to elicit (far uscire) affective responses and to convey 21

an image. Rational appeals, on the other hand, contain features, practical details and verifiable, factually

relevant cues that can serve as evaluative criteria.

RATIONAL APPEALS

Rational ads may contain one or several information cues (segnali), the most widely used: talking head,

demonstration, problem solution, testimonial, slice of life, dramatization, comparative ads, etc.

Rational appeals are more effective than emotional appeals when a product is new to the market. Ads for

intangible products contain more information cues than for tangible products. Finally, the level of

information varies between different advertising media.

Talking head refers to an ad in which the characters tell a story in their own words: monologue, dialogue or

interview techniques could be used. In a demonstration consumers are shown how a product works. It is an

easy way to focus on attributes, benefits and product uses. A problem solution shows how a problem can

be solved or avoided. Problem solution is often combined with a fear appeal showing consumers what

happens if the brand is not used. A testimonial features ordinary people saying how good product is. It is

advisable to carefully pre-test testimonials on believability and the emotions they evoke because research

shows that testimonials often lead to irritation in consumers. Slice-of-live ads(slice=fetta) feature the

product being used in a real-life setting, which usually involves solving a problem. The effectiveness of this

type of ad is attributed to the fact that the product is shown in a real-life context the target group can

relate to. Although slice-of-life is used quite often, research shows that such ads are more likely to cause

irritation. A dramatization is rather similar to slice-of-life. Both first present a problem and afterwards the

solution, but a dramatization build suspense and leads consumers to a climax. Comparative advertising can

be used as a means to differentiate a brand from a competitor. People, specially in Europe may not like it.

Consumers seem to devote more attention to a comparative than a non comparative ad. However it should

be noted that consumers perceive comparative advertising as less credible. A recent study shows that

elaborate processing and credibility of comparative advertising may be different for man and woman. For

men, comparative advertising seems to increase brand evaluations and purchase intentions because it

increases their brand involvement and enhances processing. Foe women, on the other hand, comparative

advertising leads to heightened (innalza) persuasive intent perceptions and these perceptions decrease

brand evaluation and purchase intentions. Concerning product positioning, positive effects can be

observed. With new brand introductions, advertisers often stress the superiority of the new brand over a

more familiar competitor on a typical attribute. By doing so, two desirable goals seem to be reached: (1)

the new product is associated with the comparison brand and, as consequence, more easily included in the

consideration set of the target consumers and (2) the brand advertised is different from, and is more likely

to be preferred to, the comparison brand.

The attitude towards the brand usually is positively influenced by comparative ads, while the contrary holds

for the attitude towards the ad. The latter is perceived to be less personal, less friendly and amusing, less

honest and more aggressive. Although in the end the balance of advantages and disadvantages turns out

to be in favour of comparative advertising, one should also take into account the following threats. The use

of comparative advertising may lead to aggressive, competitive media wars when the comparison brand

feels attacked.

EMOTIONAL APPEALS

Emotional advertising refers to advertising that tries to evoke emotions in consumers rather than to make

consumers think. Emotional ads mainly consist of non-verbal elements such as images and emotional

stimuli. Emotional appeals do not necessarily evoke emotions in all people, although they are designed to

do so. 22

Humour

Humorous advertising can be defined as an appeal created with the intent to make people laugh,

irrespective (senza curarsi) of the fact that humour is successful or not. Different types of humour exist, for

example cognitive humour. In this case, there is an incongruity, an unexpected element as a result of which

the consumer has to follow different lines of reasoning to solve the incongruity. There are also sentimental

humour, sexual humour and satire. The effectiveness of humour also depends on the product type. The

prevailing opinion seems to be that humour is more appropriate for low than for high involvement

products and for transformational rather than for informational products. In general, humour seemd to be

more effective for existing and familiar brands than for new and unfamiliar brands. In other words, building

brand awareness using humour is more difficult, since the humour might gain too much attention, leading

to inferior brand attention. Finally, humour may have a detrimental (nocivo) effect when prior brand

evaluations are negative.

Eroticism

An ad can be classified as erotic if one or more of the following elements are present: partial or complete

nudity, physical contact between two adults, sexy or provocatively dressed person(s), provocative or

seductive facial expressions, and suggestive words or sexually laden music, etc. eroticism attracts attention.

Eroticism reduces brand and message recall. Another negative aspect is that eroticism has a negative

impact on the image of the advertiser. Functional products such as underwear, bath things, etc. and

romantic products are expected to benefit more from an erotic appeal than other product categories. More

effective among low involvement consumers. Women seem to respond favorably to erotic ads only when

there is a strong fit between the ad and the brand. Men, on the other hand, respond favourably to

eroticism irrespective of the level of fit.

Warmth (cordialità)

Earm appeals can be described as advertising that consists of elements evoking mild, positive feelings such

as love, friendship etc. Warmth leads to more positive affective responses, less negative feelings such as

irritation, a more positive attitude towards the ad and the brand. More responsive are female.

Fear

A fear (or threat-based) appeal refers the consumer to a certain type of risk (threat) he or she might be

exposed to and which he or she usually can reduce by buying (ex. An insurance) or not buying (ex. Non

drinking when driving) the product advertised. Typical risks: physical, social (the risk of being socially

ostracized), time (spend too much time on an activity that can be perdormed in less time), product

performance ( the risk that competitive brands do not perform adequately), financial ( loosing a lot of

money), opportunity loss. Are threat appeals effective? Most studied point in an affirmative direction.

Music

The major reason why advertisers make use of music is because they believe that music can gain attention

and facilitates message acceptance. Music induces more positive feelings. The effectiveness of music may

depend on the attention-gaining value referring to the arousal or activation potential of the music sound.

Fast, loud music, for example, can be expected to have a higher attention-gaining value. However, although

this type of music might initially attract attention to the ad, it also distracts the listeners which leads to an

impairment of cognitive processing and brand information recall. A second factos in the music/message

congruence, referring to the extent that the music and the ad copy convey the same message.

Incongruence may lead to distraction from, instead of attention to, the brand message. 23

ENDORSERS (chi appoggia, sottoscrittore)

Experts can be used to demonstrate the quality or high technology of a product. The effectiveness of this

type of ad is assumed to be based on the perceived credibility of the experts’ judgment. In contrast with

testimonials, expert endorsements do not seem to be perceived as irritating. Celebrities can also be used to

endorse a product. Their effectiveness is based on the “aspiration group” effect. The celebrity should be

credible in the sense that he or she has expertise and is trustworthy. The trustworthiness of an endorser is

defined ad the degree to which the endorser is perceived to be honest and believable. Besides credibility,

attractiveness may also be important. Finally, there should be an appropriate fit between the endorser’s

image, personality, lifestyle, etc. and the product advertised. In this respect, it should be added that the

behavior of the celebrity may turn against a brand he or she is associated with.

CAMPAIGN IMPLEMENTATION

After advertising agencies have come up with creative and executional ideas, the advertiser has to evaluate

the different alternatives on the basis of the creative brief. This means that the idea ultimately chosen need

to be suited to and appealing to the target group, be capable of reaching the advertising objectives, be a

kind of catalyst, making the brand’s position immediately clear in a simple, eye-catching manner. The idea

must also fit with the company’s and the brand’s long-term strategy and with previous campaigns. It has to

be adaptable to the different media to be used, and financially implementable within the give advertising

budget and within the given time limits.

ADVERTISING IN A B2B CONTEXT

Business ads tend to be more factual and rational, and tent to emphasise the company name rather than its

products, because customers are also buying reliability, after-sales service and technical support, in other

words, a relationship with a trustworthy partner. On the other hand, there are a number of reasons why

business advertising should not be so different from consumer advertising. After all, the human element is

present in both situations, and some of the functions of advertising are common to both markets. Ex. The

presence of emotions. What are the dimensions of an effective B2B ad? Research shows that a successful

business ad should score on four dimensions: characteristics of the ad, the reader’s feelings about his or

her relationship with the ad, the selling proposition and the company’s orientation or visibility. To score

positively on each of the dimensions, business ads should clearly use a rational approach.

ADVERTISING IN A CROSS-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

Some important components of culture: values and attitudes, language, gender roles, sense of humour,

religion. Each of these culture components may have an impact on how advertising messages are perceived

and should be framed to be correctly understood by consumers in different cultures.

Verbal language

Subtle differences or different pronunciations may convey totally different meanings. Furthermore,

translation of words may lead to more space requirements which can alter the overall layout of the ad.

Also, the meaning of words may alter as a result of translation. Also non verbal language is important, it

includes timing, special orientation, gestures, touch, colours and eye contact.

Timing

A time-is-money person may find and advertisement that appeals to “saving time” convincing, in contrast

to the opposite kind of person. Also, a distinction can be made between a time orientation towards the

past, present or future.

Space

Asian and arab people tend to stand very close to one another. Western and American people leave more

space and find it rather threatening when people stand close to them.

Colours

Colours have different meanings in different cultures. 24

Gestures

In different palce of the word they have different gestures for the same thing.

Eye contact

Looking someone straight in the eye is regarded positively by Europeans and Americans because it is

perceived as a sign of honesty. However, in Japan you show respect by lowering your eyes.

Values and attitudes

Are our guide in determining what is right and what is wrong, what is important and desirable, and how we

behave. Therefore, it is important to understand different cultural valued and beliefs. Empirical studies

show that consumers seem to respond more positively to culture-congruent appeals.

Religion

Religion influences what is allowed to be said or shown in a marketing message.

Sense of humour

Some countries make more use of humour than others.

Gender roles

Gender roled in advertising differ to a great extent from one country to another.

High and low context cultures

In low-context sultures a lot of emphasis is placed on words. One is as accurate, explicit and unambiguous

as possible so that the receiver can easily decode the message and understand what is meant. In high-

context cultures words are one part of the message, the other part is formed by body language and the

context.

Cultural dimensions

According to Hofstede, five cultural dimensions can be distinguished, which can explain the differences in

cultural components across countries. Individualism/collectivistic cultures, degree of power distance (in

high-power distance cultures a few people have all the power and make all the decisions),

masculine/feminine cultures, uncertainty avoidance (people feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and

ambiguity and have a need for structure and formal rules in their lives), long-term/short-term orientation.

Summary page 251.

CAP.8 – MEDIA PLANNING

media planning is receiving more and more attention. This is not surprising since the cost of buying

advertising time and space makes up 80-90% of the advertising budget.

THE MEDIA PLANNING PROCESS

A media plan can be defined as a document specifying which media and vehicles will be purchased when, at

what price and with what expected results. Creating a media plan is a process which consists of five

different steps. (1) the communications environment needs to be screened to formulate a media plan. First

of all, media planners should be acquainted with all regulations and legal aspects, as well as local habits.

Second, media planners should be able to judge the communications efforts of the competition. In this

respect the following elements are important: category spending, share of voice, media mix. (2) describe

the target audience: already said in chapter four, with the addiction of target media behavior, ex. Do they

watch tv?. (3) set de media objectives, (4) select the media mix, (5) buy media.

MEDIA OBJECTIVES

Are derived form the communications objectives, and ought to be concrete, measurable and realistic.

Media objectives are usually formulated in terms of the following characteristics: 25