The Indian advertising industry is a very upcoming and promising sector; the growth has been a whopping 40%.
The advertising industry in India is growing at an average rate of 10-12% per annum. Over 80% of the business is from Mumbai and Delhi followed by Bangalore and Chennai.
Out-of-home (OOH): Out-of-home communication (on billboards and hoardings and on kiosks and buses) have usually been selected as supplementary reminder media playing second fiddle to TV and press advertising. Now, all of a sudden, outdoor advertising has been used in a more powerful way to launch products.
The newspaper DNA and Ahmedabad Mirror used outdoor advertising almost exclusively for spreading its launch message across the Mumbai & Ahmedabad conurbation. Earlier large companies like Reliance Infocomm, Hutch and Tata Indicom have used outdoor advertising massively to reach a large audience.
As reminder medium nobody who has lived in major Indian city can forget the Amul hoardings, which people actually look forward to seeing.
The problem with outdoors has always been how to measure its effectiveness although it has found its way into the media plans of many advertisers. Now tracking OOH may soon become simpler.
Outdoor with F.M radios. Outdoor advertising most definitely plays an important role in the marketing plan in general and radio stations in particular. “It helps create a lot of local connect. The last few years have seen entertainment companies using outdoor most effectively to increase eyeballs to their programmes and of course for promotions. Given the clutter in the market and the number of radio stations, brand recall becomes a priority. Brand recall of course translates into listenership,”
Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB)
Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB) which is the official agency for verifying the `circulation' of the outdoor advertising industry. The TAB records the number of vehicles and pedestrians passing a given point in order to establish Daily Effective Circulation (DEC). Therefore, an advertiser can spend his money on a hoarding that is located in a region with a high circulation figure. Atomic Outdoor, another company in the US which specializes in ontruck advertising, even offers information whether there is a congruence of the advertiser's target audience and the group that they are catering to.
Outdoor is a very lively media and, hence, picture works better because there is no other way to make the consumer look at your display. He will not get inclined towards your display unless you give him an attractive picture or technology or innovation that is eye-catching. Naturally, visual plays at least a 70 per cent role. It is also important to note that the visual should be catchy in order to attract eyeballs.
According to latest Pitch-Madison media outlook report, the outdoor media will grow at 14 per cent in 2008 to touch Rs 1,454 crorer
Outdoor Advertising
Types of Outdoor Media
Signs
Posters
Hoardings and Billboards
In-store Media
Balloons
Inflatables
Advertising at Airports
Mass-transit Advertising
Mobile Billboards
Benefits of Outdoor Advertising
Reaches More Viewers
Cost Efficiency
Proximity to Purchase Locations
Scope for Creativity
Reach Specific Target Customers
Captive Audience
Constant Exposure
Longevity
Enhances the Effectiveness of Other Media
Outdoor advertising refers to advertising activities carried on by a firm using public display media. Outdoor advertising includes signs, billboards, posters, aerial and transit displays. A sign can be any outdoor display of lettering, parts of letters, figures, numerals, phrases, sentences, emblems, devices, designs, trade names or marks or a combination of them.
They are made visible to the public and are intended to advertise a firm, commodity, or a product. An advertiser can choose from a myriad of signs depending on his communication objectives and the target audience. Some of the signs that he can consider are – projecting signs, roof signs, wall signs, free standing signs, marquee signs and backlit awnings.
A poster is a bill or placard containing a message that is displayed in a public place. Posters are often decorated with various designs to attract the attention of customers towards the message. Hoarding is a large board used for displaying advertisement posters. Hoardings are usually erected on roadsides or in locations that attract huge crowds.
Their large size and the colorful images that appear on them make hoardings popular with customers. Firms also use mobile billboards for advertising. A billboard is placed on the back of a mobile truck and driven along the city routes, through which prospective customers are expected to travel.
Outdoor advertising entered a new phase when firms took to advertising on media like balloons, inflatable’s, transit vehicles, and public places like bus shelters, railway stations and airports. These modes of outdoor advertising have increased the effectiveness of advertisers’ messages and have also facilitated target advertising.
At present, more and more marketers from varied industries are turning to outdoor advertising to increase the effectiveness of their promotional campaigns. Telecom service providers like Tata Indicom, Bharathi Mobile Ltd., Reliance Infocomm and Hutchison have already allotted a major portion of their advertising budgets for outdoor advertising.
The benefits of outdoor advertising are: better reach, cost efficiency, ability to reach specific target audience, scope for creativity, longevity and constant exposure. Apart from these benefits, outdoor advertising also helps in enhancing the effectiveness of advertisements run in other traditional media like radio, television, newspapers and magazines.
Sales Promotion Strategy
Reasons behind Growing Importance of Sales Promotions
Growing Might of Retailers
Saturation of Market and Increased Similarities in Competing Brands
Consumer Preference towards Promotional Offers
Decline in the Effectiveness of Advertising
Short-term Focus of the Companies
Types of Sales Promotions
Trade Promotions
Consumer Promotions
Objectives of Sales Promotions
Consumer Promotion Objectives
Trade Promotion Objectives
Planning Sales Promotion Program
Situational Analysis
Identification and Setting up of Basic Objectives
Identification of Right Promotion Program
Implementation of the Promotion Program
Follow-up and Evaluation of Results
Measures to Improve Effectiveness of Sales Promotions
Customize Sales Promotion Campaign to Suit the Target Market Segment
Identifying Synergies between Various Types of Promotions
Understanding the Impact of Sales Promotion Activities on Channel Members
Systematic Tracking and Assessment of Sales Promotion Activities.
Sales promotions are short-term incentives that are offered to consumers and channel members to stimulate consumer demand and improve dealer effectiveness. There are two types of sales promotion activities, consumer promotions and trade promotions. Consumer promotions include price-offs, coupons, bonus packs, sampling, premiums and prize promotions.
Trade promotions include trade incentives, trade contests, training programs, cooperative advertising and trade shows. The importance of sales promotion activities in the marketing communication mix is increasing. Nearly 50% of the marketing communication budget is being allocated to sales promotions.
Various factors have led to the growth in sales promotions. They are: decrease in the effectiveness of advertising; increased presence of retailers in the consumer product market and their influence on consumer behavior; increasing competition and decrease in product differentiation among competing brands; the short term focus of companies coupled with consumer preference for promotional offers.
Proliferation of brands in the consumer goods industry has made it difficult for packaged goods manufacturers to secure the cooperation of intermediaries and patronage of end customers. Manufacturers thus, use sales promotions to attract the attention of end customers and the cooperation of trade channel members.
Some of the major objectives of sales promotion activities include increasing brand awareness, inducing trial, improving market share, increasing brand loyalty of the customers and motivating channel members. Proper planning and implementation are essential for success of sales promotion programs. Planning of the sales promotion program starts with situational analysis where the role of sales promotion in solving a problem or exploiting opportunities is determined.
Then, the basic objectives behind implementation of the sales promotion program are identified. Later, an optimal promotional program that would help in achieving the set objectives is designed. The sales promotion program is then implemented. Finally, the results obtained from the sales promotion are analyzed, to incorporate the findings in future campaigns.
Personal Selling
Personal Selling
Types of Personal Selling
Retail Selling
Business-to-Business Selling
Trade Selling
Personal Selling Process
Identifying Prospects
Qualifying Prospects
Pre-call Planning
Approaching the Prospect
Making Sales Presentation
Overcoming Objections
Closing the Sale
Follow-up
Personal Selling Responsibilities
Pros and Cons of Personal Selling
Integration of Personal Selling with Other Elements of the Marketing Communication Mix
Personal Selling and Advertising
Personal Selling and Public Relations
Personal Selling and Internet
Performance Evaluation of Personal Selling Efforts.
Personal selling refers to a set of activities directed at the attainment of marketing goals by establishing and maintaining direct buyer-seller relationships through personal communication. Personal selling has a unique place in the marketing communication mix.
While other promotional tools (advertising, public relations, and sales promotion) are non-personal communication tools, which have one-way communication with the target audience, personal selling enables the company to communicate directly with its target customers. The key objective of personal selling is to retain existing customers and convert prospects into clients.
In this chapter, we first examined the different types of personal selling – retail selling, business-to-business selling and trade selling. In retail selling, the salesperson communicates directly with individual customers. In business-to-business selling, the salesperson sells products to industrial buyers. In trade selling, the salesperson sells products to marketing intermediaries such as retailers and wholesalers.
Later in the chapter, we discussed the personal selling process that a salesperson follows and the communication aspects involved in the steps. Personal selling involves seven key steps – identifying prospects, qualifying prospects, pre-call planning, approaching the prospect, making sales presentation, handling objections, closing the sale and follow-up.
Later, we examined the responsibilities of a salesperson. There are three key responsibilities that a salesperson undertakes – order taking, order getting and order supporting. In order taking, the salesperson processes and routes orders from regular customers. In order getting, the salesperson engages in creative selling so as to increase sales and build relationships with customers.
Order supporting personnel are not directly involved in selling the products but act as support staff for the front-line sales personnel. Then we looked at the various advantages and disadvantages associated with personal selling in comparison with other promotional elements. We examined how an organization can integrate personal selling with other marketing communication elements to achieve the best communication effect.
Finally, we looked into the aspect of performance evaluation of personal selling. The two aspects on which the performance of a salesperson is evaluated are: the quantitative and qualitative aspects. Qualitative evaluation is based on elements like knowledge, ability, personality, motivation, and compliance. On the other hand quantitative evaluation involves defining the nature of the performance evaluation and the expected levels of performance.
Public Relations
Public Relations
Types of Public Relations
Corporate Public Relations
Marketing Public Relations
The Process of PR
Understanding Public Attitude
Developing a PR Plan
Implementing the PR Program
Measurement and Evaluation of PR Effectiveness
PR Evaluation Process
Tools for Measuring PR Effectiveness
Tools for Measuring PR Output
Tools for Measuring PR Outtakes
Tools for Measuring PR Outcomes
Role of Public Relations in Crisis Management.
Public Relations practice is the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its public. Public relations can be classified into two types – Corporate public relations and Marketing public relations.
Corporate PR activities are aimed at maintaining cordial relations and gaining the goodwill of various internal and external stakeholders who may influence the well-being of the organization in the long run. Internal stakeholders include employees and shareholders. External corporate PR can take the form of public affairs, financial PR, or media PR, depending upon the external audience it deals with.
Marketing PR complements the various marketing activities that are aimed at improving the sales of an organization’s products among retail consumers or institutional clients. Public relations process involves understanding of public attitudes, development of a PR plan, and implementation of the PR programs using various tools like personal communications, printed communications, press releases, exhibitions, films, and sponsorships.
This chapter has covered in detail, the process of measurement and evaluation of PR effectiveness. The evaluation process involves the setting up of specific measurable PR goals and objectives, and the measurement of various PR results like output, outtakes, outcomes, and business or organizational outcomes. The chapter then enumerates the various tools to measure each of the PR results. The chapter ends by studying the role of PR in crisis management.
Direct Marketing
Growth of Direct Marketing
Changing Customer Characteristics
Media Fragmentation
Alternative Distribution Channels
Developments of New Technologies
Focus on Relationship Marketing
Database and Direct Marketing
Benefits of Database
Database Development Process
Building a Database
Direct Marketing Campaign Process
Developing the Framework for the Direct Marketing Campaign
Developing the Direct Marketing Campaign
Implementing the Direct Marketing Campaign
Direct Media
Direct Media
Telemarketing
Mass Media Advertising
Internet
Advantages and Disadvantages of Direct Marketing
Response Driven
Measures of Effectiveness
Selective Reach
Customization
Competitive Exclusivity
Direct Marketing is Expensive
Junk Mail Status
Direct marketing involves direct communication with customers and prospects to obtain an immediate and measurable response. Although direct marketing was once considered "junk mail" there is renewed interest in it due to various factors. Prominent among them are changing customer preferences, media fragmentation, alternate distribution channels, development of new technologies, and focus on relationship marketing.
However, a proper database is essential to run a direct marketing campaign successfully. A database contains information about customers and competitors and internal information about the company, which can be used to design effective direct marketing campaigns. Databases can be developed either by using internal sources or external sources.
Internal sources include information gathered from the information requests by the prospects, existing customer demographic details and past purchase history. A company can also obtain information from third party entities. These entities provide data sets, which contain information on specific variables, such as customer segmentation based on income levels, education, and occupation.
Census data is another major external source. A direct marketing campaign process involves three key steps – developing the framework for direct marketing campaign, developing the direct marketing campaign and implementing the campaign. Key issues considered while developing the framework for direct marketing are communication objectives, target audience, and media vehicles to be used.
While developing the actual campaign, a company focuses on two issues – content of the campaign and selection of individual customers. While implementing the campaign, the company should focus on good order fulfillment and constant evaluation of the campaign. Selecting the right media will determine the success of the direct marketing campaigns.
Media selection will depend on the communication objectives, product characteristics, target audience, and budgetary allocation for the campaign. There are four prominent media options that are widely used by companies – direct mail, telemarketing, mass media, and the Internet. Direct mail and telemarketing help a company achieve higher response.
However, these two media involve higher costs and efforts. Direct mail and telemarketing are used to maintain relationships with customers. Mass media like newspapers, magazines, and television are cost effective in reaching the target audience. However, due to their anonymous nature, it is not possible to maintain one-to-one relationship with the customers.
Mass media is, therefore, used to recruit new customers and build brand awareness among the customers. The Internet is the new media, which has gained popularity due to the low-costs and high interactivity involved. Direct marketing offers several advantages to marketers. Direct marketing is response driven unlike other communication elements.
Response tools are incorporated in direct marketing campaigns, to enable customers to respond to the offer. Evaluation of the effectiveness of direct marketing campaigns is easier as direct marketing obtains immediate and measurable responses. Direct marketing also offers precision targeting thereby securing higher response from customers.
Another major benefit that direct marketing offers is that the campaigns can be conducted without the knowledge of competitors, thus providing competitor exclusivity. However, certain disadvantages are associated with direct marketing.
Direct marketing is expensive compared to other marketing communications mix elements. This is more so for mass marketed products where the cost of reaching a large number of customers individually, through this route, is uneconomical. Another disadvantage is the “junk mail” image of direct marketing.
Integrated Marketing Communications
Definition of Integrated Marketing Communications
Drivers for Integrated Marketing Communications
Increasing Competition
Increased Number of Information Sources for Consumers
Decline in Effectiveness of Mass Advertising
Technological Advances
Integration Process of Marketing Communications
Tactical Coordination of Marketing Communication
Redefining the Scope of Marketing Communication
Application of Information Technology
Financial and Strategic Integration
Barriers to IMC
Top Management Support
Organizational Barriers
Cultural Barriers
Ways for Successful Implementation of IMC
Organizational Culture
Client Agency Relationship
Collaborative Strategy
IMC can be defined as a process in which messages communicated by each of the promotional elements are harmonized, so that consumers will receive a consistent message regarding the brand or the company. It can be defined comprehensively as a process for managing the customer relationships that drive brand value.
More specifically, it is a cross-functional process for creating and nourishing profitable relationships with customers and other stakeholders by strategically controlling or influencing all messages sent to these groups and encouraging data-driven, purposeful dialogue with them. The growing importance of IMC can be attributed to various factors.
This include increasing competition, decline in effectiveness of mass advertising, more information sources for consumers and technological advances. Implementing the IMC process in an organization is not an easy task and it cannot be done at one go. The implementation of IMC in a company requires proper planning.
The American Productivity & Quality Center has devised a four stage process to integrate the marketing communication function. The four stages are tactical coordination of marketing communication, redefining the scope of marketing communication, application of information technology and financial and strategic integration. Though the awareness about IMC is on the rise, implementation has been slow.
This is because of three key barriers, namely lack of top management support, organizational barriers and cultural barriers. To implement the IMC process effectively company needs to follow certain guidelines. It should adopt a flexible organizational structure and change the mindset of the employees. It should adopt a customer centric strategy to design communication campaigns from the consumer perspective.
A collaborative strategy is needed, that enables coordination and cooperation between various departments in the organization. Entrusting all its creative activities to a single agency will help the company in reducing costs and increasing consistency in communication campaigns.
Marketing Communications Budgeting
Relationship between Communication Budget and Sales
Marketing Communication Goals
Threshold Effect
Cumulative Effect
Diminishing Returns Effect
Negative Returns Effect
Marketing Communication Budgeting Methods
Judgment Oriented Methods
Data Oriented Methods
Allocation of Communications Budgets
Product Life Cycle and Level of Competition
Branding Strategy
Pricing Strategy
Market Share of the Brand
Organizational Factors
Communications Budgeting Process
Identifying Marketing
Communication Objectives
Fix Initial Budget and Allocation
Implement the Plan
Control of the Budget
In this chapter, we studied marketing communications budgeting. The growing importance of communications budgeting can be attributed to increasing media costs, rise in competition and the increased focus of top management on productivity in a company's operations. Moreover, the marketing communications budget is the first area to be reconsidered by the top management during trying times, to save costs.
This has put a great deal of pressure on managers to maximize the effectiveness of the communication spending a company undertakes. In this chapter, we first understood the relationship between communications spending and sales. The key factors that influence the relationship between communications spending and sales are marketing communication goals, threshold effects, cumulative effects, diminishing returns effects and negative returns effects.
Later, we examined the budgeting methods that are widely adopted by companies. Two types of methods can be followed for fixing communication budgets. Judgment oriented methods and data-oriented methods. Prominent judgment oriented methods are arbitrary method, affordable budgeting method, and percentage-to-sales method. Prominent data-oriented methods are competitive parity method, objective-to-task method, and payout planning method.
Measuring Promotional Performance
Advantages and Disadvantages
Promotion in Perspective
Identify the Test Variables
Decide on the Timing of the Test
Decide on the Location of the Test
Measuring Advertising Performance
Recognition
Recall
Persuasion
Purchase Behavior
Measuring Sales Promotion Performance
Parameters Used for Measurement
Measuring Public Relations Performance
Measuring Personal Selling Performance
Parameters Used for Measurement
Methods Used for Measuring Effectiveness
Measuring Direct Marketing Performance
The ever-increasing number of products in the market has resulted in clutter of advertisements and promotions. With promotion budgets increasing, managers are becoming more concerned about measuring the effectiveness of the various promotional methods used by the company. In this chapter, we discussed the pros and cons of measuring the effectiveness of promotions.
We also discussed the identification of test variables, timing and location of test. Then the parameters and methods used for measuring effectiveness of various promotions like advertising, sales promotions, public relations, personal selling and direct marketing were discussed in detail. The effectiveness of any promotional vehicle can be calculated by measuring the sales generated by the promotion.
The advertising effectiveness is measured in terms of recognition, recall, persuasion and purchase behavior. Some of the commonly used methods are mail surveys, Starch test, day-after-recall, portfolio test, theater test, on-air test, coupon simulated purchasing, split-cable testing, etc. The effectiveness of sales promotions is measured in terms of new customers acquired, repeat purchases and attitude changes.
The methods used are the communication framework model, shopper tracking and scanner data. The effectiveness of PR is measured in terms of PR outputs, PR outtakes and PR outcomes. The various methods used are media content analysis, cyber space analysis, trade show & event measurement, public opinion polls, surveys, ethnographic studies, experimental research, behavior and attitude, and preference measurement studies.
For measuring personal selling performance, the ability of the sales force to use market intelligence, follow-up of customers, program implementation and fulfillment of communication objectives are considered. Time utilization studies, comparative performance and other qualitative measures are used for studying the effectiveness of personal selling.
The results of direct marketing efforts depend on the database used for contacting targets, the design and layout of the mailers, and the cost-per-order. The methods used for studying effectiveness are focus group discussions and eye tracking for the layout.
Global Marketing Communications
Emergence of International Marketing
Less Demand in Domestic Markets
Decline in Profit Margins
Opening up of Economies
Growth of International Media
International Marketing Environment
The Economic Environment
The Demographic Environment
The Cultural Environment
The Legal and Regulatory Environment
Standardization Vs Adaptation
Advantages of Standardization
Challenges of Standardization
Globalization
Development of an International Advertising Strategy
Message Strategy
Selection of Agency
Media Strategy
Other Promotional Elements in Global Marketing Communications
Sales Promotions
Personal Selling
Public Relations
Companies are increasingly entering foreign markets due to various factors. These include saturation in domestic markets, decreasing profit margins, advancements in technology, and proliferation of global media. The need for proper global marketing communications has risen, to promote their products in world markets.
In this chapter, we examined the various aspects involved in global marketing communication programs. First, we discussed the international marketing environment from a marketing communication perspective and then looked at various environmental factors that a company has to consider while designing its marketing communication programs.
Later, we emphasized the need for evaluating the pros and cons of standardization or globalization of advertising strategy and the adaptation i.e., localization of advertising strategy. We also examined the various key decisions that a company has to take while developing international advertising campaigns.
These include message strategy, selection of advertising agency and media decisions. Finally, we examined the other elements in the promotional mix such as sales promotions, personal selling and public relations in the international marketing context.
Brand Management
Brands and Their Significance
Attributes
Benefits
Values
Target User
Personality
Culture
Categories of Brands
Characteristics of Successful Brands
Role of Brands
Branding Strategies
Line Extensions
Brand Extensions
Corporate Branding
Multi-Branding
Co-Branding
Brand Equity
Managing Brand Equity
Brand Loyalty
Brand Awareness
Perceived Quality
Brand Associations
Branding and Marketing Communications
International Branding Considerations
Brand Management during Recessions
Corporate Image and Brand Management
A brand communicates attributes, benefits, values, culture, personality and use. The power of a brand lies in what is imprinted in the minds of customers. What they learn, feel, see and hear about the brand as a result of experiences over time plays a role. The categories of brands include the manufacturer’s brand, own-label brands and generic brands.
Brands play a number of roles like communicating a promise of utility, value, safety and reliability to customers. Companies can adopt different brand strategies depending on various factors, such as environment, budget, etc. The different branding strategies include line extensions, brand extensions, corporate branding, multi-branding and co-branding.
Brand equity is the overall result of factors like monetary value, intangibility and perceived quality. The brand equity of a product or service has five major determinants, awareness, quality perception, loyalty, patents and trademarks. Brand awareness is the ability of a person to recall the brand name. Perceived quality is a relative term used to establish the overall image of the brand in comparison to alternatives based on key attributes.
Brand association is the linking of the brand to the customer. Brand communications includes four imperative factors critical to the success of the brand. These are consistency in advertising, sales promotion and brand image, sponsorships and spokespersons and packaging.
International branding considerations consist of vital factors like language, culture and religion, which a company has to consider in depth. Any shortcomings in this regard can lead to the loss of billions. The components of corporate image consist of the perceptions of the customer and the corporate itself.
Brand management during recession is at the discretion of managers and requires their intuition and good tactics to deal with the situation. This would involve avoiding discounting methods for short-term profitability and sticking to advertising for improving brand awareness.
Ethical Issues in Marketing Communications
Social Responsibility
Ethics in Advertising
Puffery
Taste
Stereotyping
Advertising to Children
Promoting Unhealthy Products
Subliminal Advertising
Ethics in Sales Promotion
Contests and Sweepstakes
Slotting Allowances
Ethics in Advertising Research
Ethics in Advertorials and Infomercials
Regulations
Self-regulation
Regulatory Bodies
The Economic Effects of Advertising
Consumer choice
Competition
Product Costs and Prices
In this chapter, we discussed the ethics and social responsibility of an organization. Then we discussed ethical issues in various marketing communication instruments like advertising, sales promotions, etc. The main ethical issues in advertising are puffery, bad taste, stereotyping, targeting children, promoting unhealthy products and subliminal advertising.
Puffery refers to making exaggerated claims about the product, which cannot be proved. Advertisements are said to be in bad taste when they offend people. Stereotyping refers to portraying men or women in a particular role, with a negative image. Advertisements targeted at children are considered unethical as children are not capable of processing the given information.
Consumption of unhealthy products like fast food and tobacco products lead to bad health. So promoting such products is not good. In subliminal advertising, the viewer is exposed to product messages and pictures in such a way that he is not aware of watching them. We also discussed ethical issues in sales promotion, advertising research, advertorials and infomercials.
We went into the various regulations applicable to the advertising industry. The self-regulation and regulatory bodies operating in India were discussed in detail. Finally, we discussed the economic effects of advertising on consumer choice, competition and product cost & prices. Advertising influences people to buy heavily advertised products and pay more, as advertising costs are often passed on to the customers.
The outdoor media bagged the third position with a 7.2 per cent share of the Rs 17,690 crore advertising pie in 2007 after print and television at 47.9 and 40.2 per cent shares
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