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

Cap.1 – Integrated communication marketing and the instruments of the marketing mix

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create and exchange value, and satisfy individual and organizational objectives. The tools, the instruments of the marketing mix, the 4 Ps:

• The product tool consists of three layers. The core product is the unique benefit that is being marketed. In fact, it is the position, the unique place in the mind of the consumer that will be focused upon. The core product has to be translated into a tangible product. Product features: a certain level of quality, the available options, design, and packaging are important instruments by which a core benefit can be made tangible. Finally, the augmented product gives the tangible product more value and more customer appeal. The augmented product includes elements such as prompt delivery, installation service, after-sales service, and management of complaints.
• Price is the only marketing instrument that does not cost anything, but provides the resources to spend on production and marketing activities. The price instrument is an ambiguous tool. On the one hand, price cuts are an effective way to attract consumers. On the other, price cuts mean losing margin and profit. The regular use of the price instrument is incompatible with building a strong position and a strong brand on the basis of product characteristics or benefits. So, good marketing can be defined as avoiding the price tool as much as possible.
• By means of place or distribution, the company manages the process of bringing the product from the production to the customer. Distribution strategy also implies maintaining cooperation between the company and the distribution channel, and finding new ways to distribute products, such as e-commerce.
• Promotion or marketing communications (MC) are the most visible instruments of the marketing mix. They involve all instruments by which the company communicates with its target groups and stakeholders to promote its products or the company as a whole.

Good marketing is integrated marketing. Two principles are important when designing and implementing a marketing mix: consistency and synergy. All marketing instruments have to work in the same direction, and not conflict with each other. Esempio di Haagen-Dazs gelateria altolocata: prima p, prodotto fatto di ingredienti di alta qualità, seconda p, prezzi alti, terza p, distribuzione in negozi speciali o in freezer separate nei supermercati, quarta p, la comunicazione riflette la sofisticatezza e la specialità.

The second important principle is synergy. Marketing mix instruments have to be designed in such a way that the effects of the tool are mutually reinforcing. Es. a brand will become stronger if it is advertised and available in the appropriate distribution outlets.

The communications mix

The tools of the communications mix (into the fourth P – Promotion or marketing communication):

• Advertising is non-personal mass communication using mass media, the content of which is determined and paid for by a clearly identified sender (the company).
• Sales promotions are sales-stimulating campaigns, such as price cuts, coupons, loyalty programs, free samples, etc.
• Sponsorship implies that the sponsor provides funds, goods, services, and/or know-how. The sponsored organization will help the sponsor with communications objectives such as building brand awareness or reinforcing brand or corporate image. Events are often linked with sponsorship.
• Public relations consist of all the communications a company instigates with its audiences or stakeholders. Publicity is impersonal mass communication in mass media, but it is not paid for by a company and the content is written by journalists (which means that negative publicity is also possible).
• Point-of-purchase communications are communications at the point of purchase or point of sale (e.g., shop).
• Exhibitions and trade fairs are, particularly in B2B and industrial markets, of great importance for contacting prospects, users, and purchasers.
• Direct marketing communications are a personal and direct way to communicate with consumers and potential clients or prospects. Ex. personalized brochure.
• Personal selling is the oral presentation and/or demonstration of one or more salespersons.
• E-communications offer new ways to communicate interactively with different stakeholders.

Marketing communications try to influence or persuade the potential consumer by conveying a message. This message transfer may be directed to certain known and individually addressed persons, in which case it is called personal communications. On the contrary, we have mass communications. Personal communications are mainly direct and interactive marketing actions and personal selling.

Image or theme communications, the advertiser tries to tell the target group something about the brand or products and services offered. The goal of image communications could be to improve relations with target groups, increase customer satisfaction, or reinforce brand awareness and brand preference. This might eventually lead to a positive influence on the (buying) behavior of the target group.

Action communications seek to influence the buying behavior of the target groups and to persuade the consumer to purchase the product. The primary goal is to stimulate purchases. In practice, image and action campaigns are not always that easy to distinguish. Sometimes the primary goal of advertising is to sell. Visits from sales teams may also have the purpose of creating goodwill rather than selling.

Communication in a business-to-business context

B2B marketing can be defined as all activities that are related to marketing products to organizations in order for them to resell the products or to use them in the production of consumer or industrial products, or to facilitate the activities of the company. Although large parts of this book focus on B2C marketing communications, in fact, the majority of marketing activity takes place between companies.

The most important distinctive characteristics of business communications are the following: personal communications tools, and primarily the salesforce who call and/or visit customers and prospects, play a very important role in business marketing. Business communications are not only personal, they are to a large extent also personalized or individualized, es. direct mailing. Third, business communications are interactive. Furthermore, communications in a business environment are usually much more tailor-made (for specific needs) than in consumer markets. Finally, business products are often technically complex and lead to high involvement decision-making processes, the consequence of which is that marketing communications will be more rationale and more objective attribute-oriented. Brand images and emotions play a less important role in business communications.

Communications across cultures

Problems caused by different languages, legal systems, cultures… because the sender and the receiver may have a different background, different values, different norms, different expectations, a different view of the world, etc. it is difficult to send a message that the receiver interprets as it is intended by the sender. In order to accomplish this, a company needs to understand the elements of the foreign market environment and try to understand fully the local customers and business partners.

Cultural differences are among the most important factors that impact international marketing communications. Often, marketers and marketing communications executives fall victim to the self-reference criterion (that refers to our unconscious tendency to refer everything to our own cultural values). Different countries also have different media preferences.

Standardisation or adaptation

A standardized campaign can be defined as a campaign that is run in different countries, using the same concept, setting, theme, appeal, and message, with the possible exception of translation. Standardization across the world induces economics of scales and might lead to huge savings in costs. Not only can the price of the communications program be reduced, but also the quality can be enhanced. Really good creative ideas are scarce.

Often the international marketer will have to adapt or localize his marketing mix to a different foreign environment. Different values might lead to different needs and different consumption behavior. Even in cases where consumers’ needs are homogeneous, this does not automatically mean that people want to satisfy these needs in a similar way.

Probably the best way to approach international markets is not to adhere to one of the extreme strategies of globalization or localization, but to opt for a “global commitment to a local vision”, or in other words to “think global, but act local”. If the brand positioning is a good one, it should be rolled out in most countries. Also, an excellent creative idea can work nearly everywhere. However, advertisers should always look at the creative idea through the eyes of locals. Even the best ideas might need some adaptation in execution to get in the mindset of local people or to respect their cultural values. Es. Unilever.

Some product categories seem to lend themselves better to a global approach than others. Some products can be sold to similar target groups across countries. Young people or people with a higher education, for example, are very similar, whether they are French, Italian, or American. The reason for this is that these groups, in general, are more open-minded, less culturally bound, more receptive to international media, make more use of international media, have more international contacts, and/or go abroad more often. This factor explains the success of MTV for example.

Products that can be sold on the basis of image appeal are also more suited for global communications. Luxury products are targeted at upper-class people who buy the product for the status it brings. Because only the status and no product information needs to be communicated, these appeals are easier to standardize. Although innovative high-tech products need an informational appeal, these products seem to be used everywhere in the same way, which can justify a global appeal. Products with a country-of-origin appeal can be more easily globalized. Es. Cibo italiano e cioccolato belga.

Integration of marketing communications

Integrated marketing communications is the integration of specialized communications functions that previously operated with varying degrees of autonomy. “A concept of marketing communication planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic role of a variety of communication disciplines and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communication impact.”

So, the communications instruments that traditionally have been used independently of each other are combined in such a way that a synergetic effect is reached, and the resulting communications effort becomes “seamless” or homogeneous.

Communications should become more effective and efficient as a result of the consistency and the synergetic effect between tools and messages. In other words, IMC has an added value when compared with traditional marketing communications.

The rationale behind this new way of looking at marketing communications is the consumer point of view. The consumer does not recognize the subtle differences between advertising, sponsorship, direct mailing, sales promotions, etc. To him, these are all very similar and indistinguishable ways a company employs to persuade the consumer to buy its products.

Integration occurs at the consumer or perceiver level. It is the task of the communication to facilitate this integration at the consumer level by presenting the messages in an integrated way.

Integrated marketing communications do not happen automatically. All the elements of the communications mix have to be carefully planned in such a way that they form a consistent and coherent integrated communications plan. Traditionally in some societies, the elements of the marketing mix are separated. So often IMC will imply a radical change in the structure of the organization, and that may be the most important reason why IMC has not been implemented in most companies.

Traditional communications strategies are based on mass media, delivering generalized transaction-oriented messages. Integrated communications are much more personalized, customer-oriented, relationship-based, and interactive. It is not only aimed at changing awareness and attitudes but also at directly influencing behavior. Integration is not synonymous with relationship marketing, satisfaction management, or interactive communications.

Integration of corporate communications

Corporate communications can be defined as the total integrated approach to the communications activity generated by all functional departments of a company, aimed at establishing and maintaining the link between strategic objectives, the corporate identity, and the corporate image in line.

Corporate communications have three main objectives:

• To define a corporate identity that is in line with corporate strategy
• To reduce the gap between the desired identity and the image of the company (corporate image) that exists with its target groups
• To organize and control the implementation of all the communications efforts of a company, in line with the two above-mentioned principles.

Corporate strategy, culture, personality, and identity

Corporate communications can be defined as the visualization of corporate identity. Corporate identity is derived from strategic priorities, corporate culture, corporate structure, and industry identity. Corporate culture can be defined as “the way we do things around here”. Corporate culture consists of a number of levels. The first level includes the physical aspects of the company, such as the atmosphere of the building and the way visitors are treated. The second level consists of the values held by the employees. The third level is achieved when everyone in the company develops a firm belief in the corporate culture characteristics and behaves accordingly without questioning them. This level is sometimes considered to be synonymous with corporate personality.

Corporate identity is also embedded in corporate strategy: long-term strategic objectives will determine and shape the desired corporate personality. Corporate identity is also influenced by industry identity and corporate structure. Industry identity involves underlying economic and technical characteristics of an industry, such as industry size, growth, competitiveness, and technology levels. Corporate structure consists of organizational structure and brand structure. Organizational structure relates to the degree of centralization and decentralization.

Three different types of brand structure can be distinguished:

• Monolithic identity. The whole company presents itself as a unity, both in visual appearance and communications, and in behavior. Es. McDonald's.
• Endorsed identity. Subsidiaries have their own identity and style, but the parent company is always clearly present in the background. Es. Danone.
• 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. Logos 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 organization’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 channel or advertising agencies, may have a significant impact on the company's image and reputation.