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MODULE 1
Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Integrated Marketing communications and Role of IMC in
Marketing Communication.
Chapter 2:One Voice Communication v/s IMC
Chapter 3: Introduction to IMC tools
Case Study1: Vodafone Zoo Zoo
Case Study2: Barack Obama
Case study 3: Horlicks vs. Complan
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Chapter 4: Organizing for Advertising and Promotion: The Role of Ad Agency and Other
Marketing Communication Organization.
Compiled by Dr. TripatKaur
Director
Dr. D.Y. Patil Institute of Management and Research Centre
Bharuch
__________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter -1
Integrated Marketing Communications
Objectives:
1. To introduce the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC) and its evolution.
2. To examine reasons for the increasing importance of the IMC perspective in planning and
executing advertising and promotional programs.
3. To introduce a model of the IMC planning process and examine the steps in developing a
marketing communications program
4. To understand the marketing process and the role of advertising and promotion in an
organization's integrated marketing program.
5. To know the various decision areas under each element of the marketing mix and how they
influence and interact with advertising and promotional strategy.
Overview of Communication
Marketing communications is one of the four major elements of the company‟s marketing mix.
Marketers must know how to use advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations, and
personal selling to communicate the product‟s existence and value to the target customers.
The communication process itself consists of nine elements: sender, receiver, encoding, decoding,
message, media, response, feedback, and noise. Marketers must know how to get through to the target
audience in the face of the audience‟s tendencies toward selective attention, distortion, and recall.
Developing the promotion program involves eight steps. The communicator must first identify the
target audience and its characteristics, including the image it carries of the product. Next the
communicator has to define the communication objective, whether it is to create awareness,
knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, or purchase. A message must be designed containing an
effective content, structure, format, and source. Then communication channels both personal and
nonpersonal must be selected. Next, the total promotion budget must be established. Four common
methods are the affordable method, the percentage-of-sales method, the competitive-parity method,
and the objective-and-task method.
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The promotion budget should be divided among the main promotional tools, as affected by such
factors as push-versus-pull strategy, buyer readiness stage, product life-cyclestage and company
market rank. The marketer should then monitor to see how much of the market becomes aware of the
product, tries it, and is satisfied in the process. Finally, all of the communications effort must be
managed and coordinated for consistency, good timing, and cost effectiveness.
What is Integrated Marketing Communication?
With a rise in global competition, technological advancement, and more updated customers, it is
crucial for businesses to make a strong impact on target customers and markets. IMC is sucha step
directed towards an integrated approach to achieve efficiency by synergy. Many companies still rely
on one or two communication tools to achieve their communication aims. This practice still persists in
spite of the fragmenting of mass-markets into a multitude of minimarkets, each requiring its own
approach; the proliferation of new types of media; and growing sophistication of consumers.
Integrated Marketing Communication means different things to different people.Integrated
marketing communication helps businesses reach prospects from various angles in hope to capture
their attention and gain their loyalty.
The American Association of Advertising Agencies defines IMC as “a concept that recognises 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”.
IMCis a management concept that is framed to make all aspects of marketing communication like
advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing work together as a unified force,
instead of permitting each to work in isolation.
IMC is the coordination and integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, functions and
sources within a company into a seamless program that increases the impact on consumers and other
end users at a least cost.
IMC is a process for managing customer bonding that build brand value primarily through
communication efforts. Such efforts always include cross-functional processes that create and nurture
profitable relationships with customers and other stakeholders by strategically controlling or
influencing all communications to these groups and motivating data-driven, purposeful dialog with
them. This integration influences all firms‟ business-to-business, marketing channel, customer-
focused, and internally directed communications.
IMC is defined by Marketing Guru Philip Kotler“the concept under which a company carefully
integrates and coordinates its many communication channel to deliver a clear, consistent message.‟‟
Integrated Marketing Communications ensures that all forms of communications and messages are
carefully connected with all together.
IMC Components:
The Foundation - corporate reputation and brand equity; buyer behaviour; promotions
opportunity analysis.
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Advertising Tools - advertising management, advertising design: conceptual frameworks and
types of appeals; advertising design: message strategies and executable frameworks; advertising
media selection. Advertising also reinforces brand and firm image.
Promotional Tools - trade promotions; consumer promotions; personal selling, database
marketing, and customer relations management; public relations and sponsorship programs.
Integration Tools - Internet Marketing; IMC for small business and entrepreneurial ventures;
evaluating and integrated marketing program.
The Evolution of IMC
During the 1980s many companies began taking a broader perspective of marketing communication
and seeing the need for a more strategic integration of their promotional tools. The decade was
characterized by the rapid development of areas such as sales promotion, direct marketing, and public
relations, which began challenging advertising‟s role as the dominant form of marketing
communication. These firms began moving toward the process of integrated
marketingcommunication (IMC), which involves coordinating the various promotional elements and
other marketing activities that communicate with a firm‟s customers. As marketers embraced the
concept of integrated marketing communications, they started asking their ad agencies to coordinate
the use of a variety of promotional tools rather than relying primarily on media advertising. A number
of companies also began to look beyond traditional advertising agencies and use other types of
promotional specialists to develop and implement various components of their promotional plans.
Importance of IMC
IMC is playing a vital role in today‟s organisation. IMC advocates describe it as a way of looking at
the whole marketing process instead of focussing on individual parts of it.
Several shifts in the advertising and media industry have caused IMC to develop into a primary
strategy for marketers:
1. From media advertising tovarious forms of communication.
2. From mass media to more specialized (niche) media, which are focused on particular target
audiences?
3. From a manufacturer-leaded market to a retailer-leaded, consumer-dominated market.
4. To data-based marketing from general-focus advertising andmarketing
5. From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability, specifically in advertising.
6. From old compensation system to performance-based compensation (maximized sales or
benefits to the company).
7. From limited Internet access to 24/7 Internet availability and access to goods and services.
Although Integrated Marketing Communications needs a lot of rejuvenation, it delivers many
benefits. It can create unique selling proposition, systematic growth in sales and profits, while saving
budget, time and workload.
IMC grips communications around customers and supports them move through the various stages of
the buying process. The organisation at the same timewraps its image, develops a dialogue and
nurtures it‟s bonding with customers.
This 'Relationship Marketing' builds a bond of trustworthiness with customers which can safeguard
them from the inevitable onslaught of competition. The ability to hold a customer for life time is an
enormous competitive advantage.
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IMC also maximises profitabilitywith the help of increased effectiveness. At its most fundamental
level, a centralized message has more impact than anindividual series of messages. In a busy world,
an accurate, consolidated and crystal clear message has a better chance over the 'noise' of more than
five hundred commercial messages which bombard customers each and every day.
On the other hand, initial research inclines that images shared in advertising and direct mail boost
both advertising awareness and responses. So, IMC can boost sales by stretching messages across
several communications tools to create more opportunities for customers to become aware, aroused,
and ultimately, to make a purchase.
Carefully linked messages also help buyers by giving timely reminders, updated information and
special offers which, when presented in a planned sequence, help them move comfortably through the
stages of their buying process... and this reduces their 'misery of choice' in a complex and busy world.
IMC also makes messages more consistent and therefore more credible. This reduces risk in the mind
of the buyer which, in turn, shortens the search process and helps to dictate the outcome of brand
comparisons.
Un-integrated communications send disjointed messages which dilute the impact of the message. This
may also confuse, frustrate and arouse anxiety in customers. On the other hand, integrated
communications present a reassuring sense of order.
Consistent images and relevant, useful, messages help nurture long term relationships with customers.
Here, customer databases can identify precisely which customers need what information, when and
throughout their whole buying life.
Finally, IMC saves money as it eliminates duplication in areas such as graphics and photography
since they can be shared and used in say, advertising, exhibitions and sales literature. Agency fees are
reduced by using a single agency for all communications and even if there are several agencies, time
is saved when meetings bring all the agencies together - for briefings, creative sessions, tactical or
strategic planning. This reduces workload and subsequent stress levels - one of the many benefits of
IMC.
Example - Marketing Spotlight—Mountain Dew Code Red
When Pepsi-Cola‟s total volume increased a mere tenth of a percent in 2000, the company quickly
sought to boost sales by launching the first line extension of its popular Mountain Dew drink because
Diet Mountain Dew debuted in 1988. A cross-functional team comprised of 35 people from seven
Pepsi departments worked on developing the new product. The team considered several possibilities:
Dew H20 bottled water; Dew Unplugged decaf Mountain Dew; a Mountain Dew sports drink; and a
new Dew flavour. The company settled on creating a new flavour, and within 10 months, instead of
the usual two years it takes Pepsi to develop a new product, launched a bright red cherry-flavored
beverage called Mountain Dew Code Red.
For the launch, Pepsi used radio and outdoor advertising, as well as sampling and in-store
merchandising. To build buzz for Code Red, the company sent free samples to 4,000 select
consumers, such as hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri and radio DJ Funkmaster Flex. The drink was
heavily sampled at marquee sporting events such as the NCAA Final Four and ESPN‟s 2001 winter X
games. Pepsi also developed a special Website for the brand that featured an interactive game called
“Mission: Code Red 2.” Additionally, Pepsi marketed Code Red to urban consumers. When research
revealed that urban and ethnic focus groups preferred the name Code Red to Wild Cherry Mountain
Dew, Pepsi stuck with the former. The company also developed an ad campaign titled “Crack the
Code” that used graffiti-art design elements and an urban setting.
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Code Red attracted a rabid fanbase. According to A.C. Nielsen, Code Red tested in the top five
percent of all new product concepts ever tested among teens. The drink was also popular in the high-
tech community. Two programmers who discovered a computer virus named it “Code Red” after the
beverage they used to maintain late hours in front of their monitors. The virus eventually infected
more than 700,000 computers. Pepsi sent the pair five cases of Code Red in appreciation for the free
publicity.
Within two months of its May 2000 launch, Code Red was the fifth-best-selling soft drink sold at
convenience stores and gas stations (Mountain Dew is number one). This signalled tremendous
success, considering that the drink came in only two single-serve sizes and the muted marketing
campaign did not yet include television spots. Though the drink was launched midway through the
second quarter of 2000, Pepsi credited the Code Red launch with helping to boost net sales 20 percent
to $962 million that quarter. One bottler exclaimed “It‟s flown off the shelves for us.”
Sources: www.mountaindew.com
Mountain Dew
• Mountain Dew: #3 Selling Soft Drink in U.S.
• Primary Market: Teens, Secondary Market: 20-39 years.
• Challenge Grow Remain Hip
• Free Fun, Exhilaration, Energy
• Urban Market. Vans Loaded with 20 oz. Bottles of MD Toured Major Cities, Hip-Hop Music,
• Distribute Free Bottles at Schools, City Parks, and Basketball Courts etc.
• Truly Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Effort
Effective communications elements
The aim of choosing the elements of proposed integrated marketing communications is to create a
campaign that is effective and accurate across media platforms. Some marketers may wish only ads
with greatest breadth of appeal: the executions that, when consolidated, provide the highest number of
attention-getting, branded, and motivational moments. Others may only want ads with the greatest
depth of appeal: the ads with the greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational
points within each.
Although integrated marketing communications is much more than just an advertising campaign, the
bulk of marketing budget is spent on the development and dissemination of advertisements.
Therefore, tremendous amount of the research budget is also spared for these elements of the
campaign. Once the key marketing pieces have been tested, the researched elements can then be
applied to other contact points: letterhead, packaging, logistics, customer service training, and more,
to complete the IMC cycle.
One usual form of integrated marketing communication is personal selling. Personal selling can be
defined as "face to face selling in which a seller attempts to persuade a buyer to make a purchase."
Establish communication objectives
Develop brand awareness
Inform about benefits
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Change customer belief or attitude
Persuade about values
Enhance purchase actions
Encourage repeat purchases
Build customer traffic
Enhance firm image
Increase market share
Increase sales
Reinforce purchase decisions
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Case Study - Aircel
This case is about the promotional strategies adopted by India-based mobile operator Aircel. Aircel
entered the highly competitive Indian telecom market in the year 1999. It adopted innovation as its
key branding strategy and communicated with customers through simple and thoughtful advertising
campaigns. The case discusses the various marketing strategies adopted by a relatively late entrant
into the Indian market and how it increased its subscriber base. Aircel was one of the first mobile
operators to introduce its advertising campaign on Facebook. The case explains how Aircel promoted
its services through several media like TV, print, out-of-home (OOH), and radio.
Our marketing strategy aims to bring to the forefront the multi-functionality of the phone."
- Rahul Saighal, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel in 2009.
Not a Me – Too?
In 2009, India-based mobile operator Aircel Limited (Aircel) bagged the CMAI INFOCOM National
Telecom Award 2009 for 'Excellence in Marketing of New Telecom Service'. Launched in 1999,
Aircel was the fastest growing mobile operator in the country with a subscriber base of over 48
million as of 2010. It had its presence in 23 Telecom Circles and was the market leader in the Tamil
Nadu, Assam, North-East, and Chennai circles.
On receiving the award, Gurdeep Singh (Singh) COO, Aircel, said, "This award means a lot to us as
this acknowledges our pan-India presence and further encourages us to become a Mass Iconic Brand
that truly believes in earning for itself a satisfied customer base, proud employees, & competition
that respects us”.
Aircel, a late entrant into the competitive Indian telecom sector, adopted innovation as its key
branding strategy. The service provider focused on the multi-functionality of the product. Aircel
offered fresh networks, simplified tariff plans, and good Value Added Services (VAS) to subscribers.
The core values of the Aircel brand were Simplicity, Creativity, and Trustworthiness. In the year
2009, the most innovative advertising and marketing campaigns came from Aircel. The brand
communicated with customers through simple, thoughtful ads. It positioned itself around the tagline,
'Explore Your World of Possibilities', and targeted youth across multiple segments.
The mobile operator tried to increase its market share by offering competitive tariff plans and VAS
offerings like location-based services & phone banking to attract subscribers in metros. Aircel was
also associated with the Indian Premier league (IPL), as the official sponsor of the Chennai Super
Kings team. It had initially roped in Indian Cricket Captain M.S. Dhoni for advertisements and
branding.
The telecom sector in India was regulated by Telecom Authority of India (TRAI). The main players in
the telecom industry were state-owned mobile operators, private Indian-owned companies, and
foreign investment companies. Launched in 1999, the Aircel Group was a joint venture between
Maxis Communications Berhad (Maxis) of Malaysia and Apollo Hospital Enterprise Ltd (Apollo) of
India, with Maxis holding a majority stake of 74%.
Promotional Strategy
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Aircel came out with innovative marketing techniques to attract customers. It focused on its core
values - Simplicity, Creativity, and Trustworthiness - and positioned itself around the tagline, 'Explore
Your World of Possibilities'.
Aircel, which had confined itself to the southern states until 2005, needed an ingenious marketing
campaign when it entered the North. Hence, the company used OOH (Out of Home Advertising)
extensively which it thought to be effective and different.
On January 30, 2010, Aircel in association with WWF-India launched a social campaign called "Save
our Tigers" to raise awareness about the dwindling population of tigers in India and across the globe.
During the launch of Aircel, integration routes were worked out on leading General Entertainment
Channels such as Star Plus. On the day of the launch, Aircel flooded all the channels with its
advertisements and the brand was launched during prime time by the leading protagonists of the top
five shows on Star Plus.
To achieve mass reach, Aircel chose mass portals like- Yahoo.com, MSN.com, Rediff.com, Sify.com,
and Indiatimes.com. Cashing in on the passion for cricket in India, it took high impact cricket
properties on Cricinfo.com, rediff scorecard, and the MSN cricket & sports section.
According to some analysts, Aircel had come a long way from being a Chennai-based telecom
operator to a pan-Indian mobile operator with a subscriber base of over 50 million at the end of 2010.
According to some industry experts, Aircel was a relatively small player in the Indian mobile services
market and over 57% of its subscribers were based in just one state i.e. Tamil Nadu. As of March
2010, Aircel was at the fifth place among GSM operators in India, with a market share of 8.38% after
Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, and BSNL.
Courtesy: www.iup.india
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Case Study - Titan
Titan Industries Limited (TIL) is a dominant player in the Indian branded watch industry. The
company has a presence in most segments of the watch market. The case discusses the various
brands/sub-brands of TIL's watch division and talks in detail about the marketing and communication
strategies followed by the company.
The case throws light on the company's decision to use celebrities to market its products. It gives an
account of the evolving market dynamics in the branded watch market in India and TIL's efforts to
sustain its market share. The case also discusses the challenges that the company may face in the
future.TIL, a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development
Corporation, commenced operations in 1987 under the name Titan Watches Limited (TWL). With the
diversification of TWL into jewellery in 1994, the company changed its name to TIL.
In June 2004, the company diversified into other lifestyle products like eyewear by extending its
watch sub-brand Fastrack and perfumery with a new brand Evolve, launched in early 2005. The main
manufacturing plants of the company were situated at Hosur in Tamil Nadu.
Though the decision had been made to use Aamir, the company was apprehensive that the actor might
dominate the brand (Titan) or the message (multiple ownership)
The marketing team at Titan wanted to keep the focus on the brand and the message. A TVC created
by O&M was launched in October 2004.
In October 2004, Titan Industries Ltd. (TIL), leading manufacturer and marketer of watches,
jewellery, eye wear, and other lifestyle products, appointed Aamir Khan (amir) as the brand
ambassador for its Titan range of watches.
Bijou Kurien (Kurien), Chief Operating Officer (Watches), TIL, said, "There is a perfect fit between
Aamir and Titan -- their stature, timelessness, and the love and trust they both share with the people,
both nationally and internationally, makes this an ideal partnership. Moreover, Aamir has a universal
appeal that extends to everyone, across age groups, just as our watches do."
With the celebrity endorsement, TIL hoped to promote the latest trends in the industry. The idea was
to make watches that would be seen as style and fashion accessories rather than just utilitarian
devices. The company decided to use Aamir in brand and product communication on television and in
the print and outdoor media.
It introduced several collections/ranges under each of its sub-brands. Moreover, it participated in the
retail boom that the country was experiencing. It opened several outlets in the huge malls and
hypermarkets that were mushrooming in the big cities. It also paid attention to its communication
strategies. And its attempts seemed to have paid off -- the company posted good annual profits and its
image was rejuvenated.
To a large extent, TIL was successful in enhancing the presence and acceptance of most of its sub-
brands. As an IIM-B professor said, "The varied offerings to diverse segments with a clear cut
positioning strategy have been instrumental in sustaining the market share of the (Titan) brand.
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Factors contributing to IMC’s growing popularity
Several significant and pervasive changes in the marketing and communications environment have
contributed to its growing prominence:
Fragmentation of the media: A huge number of media options are available to marketers.
Broadcasting media now offer „narrow casting‟ so specific that advertisers can reach
consumers at precise locations, such as airports and supermarket checkout counters. The print
media has proliferated dramatically as well.
Better audience assessment through database technology: The ability of firms to generate,
collate and manage databases has created diverse communications opportunities beyond mass
media. Databases can be used to create customer and non-customer profiles. This information
is important to identify target markets.
Consumer empowerment: Today‟s consumers are more powerful and sophisticated.
Empowered consumers are more sceptical of commercial messages and demand information
tailored to their needs.
Increased advertising clutter: The proliferation of advertising stimuli has diluted the
effectives of any single message.
Desire for greater accountability: In an attempt to achieve greater accountability for
promotional spending, firms have reallocated marketing resources from advertising to more
short-term and more easily measurable methods, such as direct marketing and sales
promotions.
Communication Modes/Tools:
Key Functional areas of Marketing Communication
• Advertising
• Direct Marketing
• Publicity (a form of Public Relations)
• Sales Promotion
• Personal Selling
• Packaging
• Events and Sponsorships
• Customer Service
• E-Communication
The Emerging Tools of IMC
Road shows
Sponsorships
Events
Point Of purchase
Globally Integrated Marketing Communication
The same trend that exists among advertising agencies in the United States also occurs in the
international arena. Instead of being called “IMC,” however it is known as GIMC, or a globally
integrated marketing communications program. The goal is still the same to coordinate marketing
efforts. The challenges are greater due to larger national and cultural differences in target markets.
In the past, marketers could employ two different strategies for global companies. The first approach
was called standardisation, in which the idea was to standardize the product and message across
countries. The goal of this approach was generating economies of scale in production while creating a
global product using the same pro-motional theme. The language would be different, but the basic
marketing message would be the same.
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Role of IMC in Marketing Process
FIG 1.1Marketing and Promotions Process Model
Marketing Strategy Target Marketing Marketing Planning Target Market and Analysis Process Program Development
Promotion to
final buyer
Promotion to
Trade
Purchase
Opportunity
analysis
Competitive Analysis
Target Marketing
Identifying Markets
Market Segmentation
Selecting a target Market
Positioning through
Marketing
Strategies
Product Decisions
Pricing Decisions
Channel of Distribution
Decisions
Promotional decisions
•Advertising
•Direct marketing
•internet/Interactive
Marketing
•Sales promotion
•Publicity and public Relations
•Personal selling Resellers
Ultimate custome
r •Consu
mers •Busines
ses
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As figure 1.1 shows that development of a marketing program requires an in- depth analysis of the
market. This analysis may make extensive use of marketing research as an input into the planning
process. This input, in turn, provides the basis for the development of marketing strategies in regard to
product, pricing, distribution, & promotion decisions. Each of these steps requires a detailed analysis,
since this plan serves as the road map to follow in achieving marketing goals. Once the detailed
marketing analysis has been completed and marketing objectives have been established, each element
in the marketing mix must contribute to comprehensive Integrated Marketing Communication.
The steps involved in role of IMC in the Marketing Process-
Four major components are discussed below:
1. Marketing Strategy and Analysis- Any organization that wants to exchange its products or
services in the marketing place successfully should have a strategic marketing plan to guide the
allocation of its resources. A strategic marketing plan usually evolves from an organization‟s over all
corporate strategy and serves as a guide for specific marketing programs and policies.
Steps of marketing strategy:
Opportunity Analysis.
Competitive Analysis.
Target Marketing.
2. The Target Marketing Process: After evaluating the opportunities presented by various market
segments, including a detailed competitive analysis, the company may select one, or more, as a target
market. The process by which marketers do this is referred to as target marketing and involves four
basis steps:
1.Identifying Markets:
2.Market Segmentation
Five-Steps Segmentation Process
Finding ways to group consumers according to their needs.
Finding ways to group marketing actions, usually the products offered, available to the
organization.
Developing a market/product grid to relate the market segments to the firm‟s products and
actions.
Selecting the product segments toward which the firm directs its marketing actions.
Taking marketing actions to reach target segments.
1. Basis for Segmentation
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Geographic Segmentation
State - region - country - climate
Demographic Segmentation
Age, sex, income, education, occupation, social class
Psychographic Segmentation
AIOs, (Activities, Interests, Opinions)
VALS (Values and Lifestyles)
Personality traits
Behaviouristic Segmentation
Usage, loyalties, occasions.
Benefit Segmentation
Types of specific needs or wants to be satisfied.
Selecting a Target Market
2. Determining How Many Segments to Enter
Undifferentiated Marketing – offering one product or service to the entire market
Differentiated marketing – competing in a number of segments with separate marketing
strategies for each
Concentrated Marketing – focusing on one market segment
3. Determining Which Market Segments Offer the Most Potential
Determine sales potential of the segment
Determine opportunities for growth of the market segment
Analyze the competition in the segment
Analyze the company‟s ability to compete in the market segment
Decide how to compete in the market segment
4. Segmentation Decision Check List
Can the size of the market segment be measured?
Is the market segment large and profitable enough to serve?
Is the segment identified accessible? Can it be reached effectively and efficiently?
Can effective marketing programs be developed to attract and serve the segment
identified?
3.Selecting the target market
4. Positioning through marketing strategy.
\
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FIG 1.2The Target Marketing Process
Identify markets with unfulfilled needs
Determining market segmentation
Selecting market to target
Positioning through marketing strategies positioning through
marketing strategy
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The Positioning Process
Positioning Concept The desired perception or
association management wants
target customers to have for a
firm and/or its products
Positioning Effectiveness Positioning Strategy The extent to which management’s The combination of marketing positioning objectives are achieved actions used to portray the in the market target positioning concept to targeted buyers
Positioning of the brand The positioning of the brand by the buyers in the market target
FIG 1.3 The Positioning process
Market
Target
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FIG. 1.4 Positioning Strategy Development Process
3.Marketing Planning Program Development
Product decisions
Pricing Decisions
Channel of distribution decisions
Promo decisions: Advertising, DM, Sales promo, PR, Personal Selling
Identify the competitors
Assess perceptions of them
Determine their position
Analyze consumer preferences
Monitor the position
Make the positioning decision
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Promotional strategies: push or pull?
Most of us are aware of advertising and other forms of promotion directed towards ultimate
consumers or business customers. We see these ads in the media and are often part of the
target audience for the promotions. In addition to developing a consumer marketing mix, a
company must have a program to motivate the channel members. Programs designed to
persuade the trade to stock, merchandise, and promote a manufacturer‟s products are part of a
promotional push strategy. A push strategy tries to convince resellers so they can make a
profit on a manufacturer‟s product and getencouragement in order to merchandise and push it
through to their customers. Sometimes manufacturer face resistance from channel members
who do not want to take on an additional product line or brand. In these cases, companies may
turn to a promotional pull strategy, spending money on advertising and sales promotion
efforts directed towards the ultimate consumer.
4. Target market: the outcome of segmentation analysis reveals the target market. Once the
target market is selected, marketing program decisions are made for contributing to overall image
of the product or brand. This target market becomes the focus of the firm‟s marketing effort, and
goals and objectives are set according to where the company wants to be and what it hopes to
accomplish in this market.To this point we have discussed the various elements of the marketing
plan that serves as the basis for the IMC program. The development and implementation of an
IMC program is based on a strong foundation that includes market analysis, target marketing and
positioning, and coordination of the various marketing- mix elements.
References:
George E Belch, Micheal A Belch &keyoorpurani, “ Advertising and promotion- An Integrated
Marketing communications perspective” Tata McGraw Hill education pvt. Ltd. N.D. 7th.ed. 37 to
42
Diane Brady, “Making Marketing Measure Up” Business Week 2004
Debbie Howell, “Today‟s Consumers More Open to Try New Brands” “DSN Retailing Today
“2004
Kenneth E. Clow& Donald Baack, “Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing
Communications.” Pearson 2009 3rd
ed
Sawyer, Alan G “The Effects of Repetition of Reputational and Supportive Advertising Appeals”,
Journal of Marketing Research 10 (February 1973), pp 23-37;
Szybillo G J, and Heslin Richard, “Resistance to Persuasion: Inoculation Theory in a Marketing
Context,” Journal of Marketing Research 10 (November 1973), pp 396-403.
Kruti Shah and Alan Dsouza, IMC: An integrated Marketing Communication McGraw Hill,
20091st edition, Pg 341.
George E Belch & Michel E Belch &KeyoorPurani, Advertising and Promotion: “An Integrated
Marketing Communication Perspective” McGraw Hill, 2010 7th edition, pp25 to 35
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www .mountaindew.com; Hillary Chura. "Pepsi-Cola‟s Code Red is White Hot." Advertising
Age, August 27, 2001, p. 1
Chapter 2
One –Voice Communication vs. IMC
Objectives:
1.To know the real challenges of IMC to make sure those tools are consistently executed.
2.To identify obstacles to implementing IMC.
One –Voice Communication
Typically, when people refer to an integrated communication strategy, they are referring to integrated
advertising. Integrated advertising is the one look, one voice concept, where all of the advertising
material and messages have a common look, feel and message. This is certainly one aspect of
integrated marketing communication (IMC), but IMC goes much further to permeate every planned
and unplanned communication at every contact point where the customer or prospect may receive an
impression of the company.
As consumers increasingly being to be addressed by the same marketer in variety of different ways
(through 5 tools of promotion)-there is a need to ensure a consistency of positioning of message, and
tone across these different media. These different communications must reach consumers with one
voice. All of these communications tool work better if they work together in harmony rather than in
isolation, Their sum is greater than their parts- provided they speak consistently with one voice all the
time, every time.
During its early development, IMC purpose was to coordinate marketing communications, using one-
voice, one-look strategies to ensure consistency among the various marketing communication
function.
Today, the increasing use of database and relational information, as well as the development of
Internet and use of websites have made it possible to know customers better and approach the ideal of
one-to-one, interactive communication.IMCrequires maintaining a consistent and clear images as well
as controlling marketing position, message and theme by guiding them into the same direction via
different marketing communication tools.
IMC is a process, not an event. It is an all-encompassing strategic and tactical approach to every facet
of your marketing communication including mass media advertising, niche market advertising,
interactive marketing, direct response and direct mail, events, promotions, PR, in store displays,
packaging, distribution methods, pricing strategy, store locations, employee uniforms and dress codes,
sales approach, database marketing, contact management, follow-up systems, corporate
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communication, corporate mission statement, cause related or mission marketing and relationship
marketing.
Based on the several definitions of Integrated Marketing Communications discussed above, there are
unsurprisingly several factors to keep in mind while implementing IMC. Restating, the goals of IMC
are (i) creating and presenting a unified "Marketing Personality" through whom you communicate
with your customers and (ii) coordinating various sales and marketing activities for maximum impact.
Integrated Marketing Communications is a simple concept. It ensures that all forms of
communications and messages are carefully linked together. Though consumers are addressed by the
same marketer in a variety of different ways through advertising, public relations, direct marketing,
sales promotion, point –of –purchase etc, there is need of ensuring a consistency of positioning,
message and tone across these different media. The mission of all of these communications tools is
they work better if they work together in harmony rather than in isolation. Their sum is greater than
their parts - providing they speak consistently with one voice all the time, every time.
This is enhanced when integration goes beyond just the basic communications tools. There are other
levels of integration such as Horizontal, Vertical, Internal, External and Data integration. Here is how
they help to strengthen Integrated Communications.
Horizontal Integration
Sales and marketing is not the only prerogative of just the Sales and Marketing departments. Every
department within a company should be arranged around building value and creating customers.
Horizontal Integration occurs across the marketing mix and across business functions. for example,
production, finance, distribution and communications should work together and be conscious that
their decisions and actions send messages to customers.
While different departments such as sales, direct mail and advertising can help each other through
Data Integration. This requires a marketing information system which collects and shares relevant
data across different departments.
Vertical Integration means marketing and communication objective must support higher level
objectives and mission. Ideally, CEO, VPs, Directors, Managers and frontline employees should all
be enabled to postulate your message and connect it to the various needs and benefits of peers
within the customer organization as well as corporate objectives.
Internal Integration requires internal marketing - keeping all staff informed and motivated about
any new developments from new advertisements, to new corporate identities, new service
standards, new strategic partners and so on. Within the Marketing Department itself it is vital to
make everybody harmonized. Product Marketing, Field Marketing, Corporate Marketing, Event
Marketing and other marketing disciplines should not work in same direction but rather in a
coordinated way that fosters the exchange of ideas and creates new synergies.
External Integrationrequires external partners such as advertising and PR agencies to work
closely together to deliver a single seamless solution - a cohesive message - an integrated message.
Data IntegrationWorking upon earlier point, a major facet of IMC in any shape or form is making
sure that all players have access to the same customer and marketing data. As newer customer data is
collected and as the marketing message and new initiatives are refined and developed, employees
and partners should have access to the latest data via your CRM or other centralized data system.
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Benefits of IMC
-It starts with customer or prospect.
-Brand managers and their agencies should be amenable using various marketing communication
tools. Example, brand manager of P&G placed TIDE detergent logo on napkin dispensers in a pizza
shop.
-IMC also increases profits through increased effectiveness. At its most basic level, a unified message
has more impact than a disjointed myriad of messages. In a busy world, a consistent, consolidated and
crystal clear message has a better chance of cutting through the 'noise' of over five hundred
commercial messages which bombard customers each and every day.
References
Geroge Belch, MichaelBelch, and KeyoorPurani, “Advertising &Promotion – an Integrated Marketing
Communications Perspective” Tata McGraw Hill pvt. Ltd 7th ed. 2010
Kruti Shah & Alan DSouza, “Advertising and Promotions”Tata McGraw Hills Delhi ed. 2009.
Donath, Bob, "Putting the Customer into New Products," ISBM Insights, 5 (May), (The Smeal
College of Business Administration, Penn State) 1995
Duncan, Tom and Sandra E. Moriarty, "A Communication-Based Marketing Model for Managing
Relationships." Journal of Marketing, 1998
Kenneth E. Clow& Donald Baack, “Integrated Advertising, Promotion& Marketing communications”
Pearson 3rd
ed.2009.
Hoyer, Wayne D., J. Jeffrey Inman and leigh McAlister "Promotion Signal: Proxy for Price Cuts?"
Journal of Consumer Research, (1990),
Kaatz, Ron, “Advertising & Marketing Checklists”. Lincolnwood: NTC Business Books. 1995
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Chapter –3
I NTEGRATED MARKETING TOOLS
Objectives:
1. List and describe each elements of the promotional mix.
2. Characterize the various forms of sales promotion.
3. Describe the purpose of public relations.
4. Characterize the tools used to implement PR objectives.
5. Discuss how personal selling can be used effectively in the promotion mix.
IMC TOOLS:-
(IMC) is to synergize and start integrating all the communication modes in order to be more
competitive in the market place. The important tools of Integrated Marketing Communications are:
1. Advertising
Advertising is the most glamorous and elaborate of all marketing tools. Advertising is big
business.Wordwide companies spend $500 billion is spent annually on advertising over the world and
that‟s just for media time and space! If we add in all, the costs of producing the advertisements and
the salaries of people working in the industry, the amount of advertising is well over $1 trillion a year.
Advertising means different things to different people. It‟s a business, an art, an institution and a
cultural phenomenon. To a CEO of a multinational corporation, advertising is an essential marketing
tool that helps create a brand awareness and loyalty and stimulates demand. To a local restaurant
owner, advertising is a way to communicate to the neighbourhood. To an art director in an ad agency
advertising is the creative expression of a concept. To a media planner, advertising is a way marketer
uses the mass media to communicate to current and potential customers.
Advertising includes an attempt to persuade. To put it bluntly, advertisements are communication
designed to get someone to do something. Even an advertisement with the stated objective of being
purely informational has persuasion at its core. The advertisements informs the consumer for some
purpose, and that purpose is to get the consumer to like the brand and because of that liking to
eventually buy the brand. In the absence of this persuasive intent, a communication might be news,
but it would not be advertising.
A company like Procter and Gamble which makes Tide detergents, Pampers diapers and hundreds of
other products spent $ 3.5 annually on U.S television, magazines, newspaper and online advertising.
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Features of Advertising
American Marketing Association has defined advertising as “any paid form of non-personal
presentation and promotion of ideas goods and services of an identified sponsor”. This definition
reveals the following features of advertising:
1. It is a paid form of communication. Advertisements appear in newspapers, magazines,
television or cinema screens because the advertiser has purchased some space or time to
communicate information to the prospective customers.
2. It is non-personal presentation of message. There is no face-to-face direct contact with the
customers. That is why; it is described as non-personal salesmanship. It; is a non-personal
form of presenting products and promoting ideas and is complementary to personal selling. It
simplifies the task of sales-force by creating awareness in the minds of potential customers
3. The purpose of advertising is to promote idea about the products and service, of a business.
It is directed towards increasing the sale of the products and services of a business unit.
Advertisement is issued by an identified sponsor.Non disclosure of the name of the sponsor in
propaganda may lead to distortion, deception and manipulation. Advertisement should disclose or
identify the sources of opinions and ideas it presents.
Objectives of Advertising
The fundamental purpose of advertising is to sell something – a product, a service or an idea. In
addition to this general objective, advertising is also used by the modern business enterprises for
certain specific objectives which are listed below:
1. To introduce a new product by creating interest for it among the prospective customers.
2. To support personal selling programme. Advertising maybe used to open customers‟ doors for
salesman.
3. To reach people those areinaccessible to salesman.
4. To enter a new market or attract a new group of customers.
5. To bring competition in the market and to increase the sales as seen in the fierce competition
between Coke and Pepsi.
6. To enhance the goodwill of the enterprise by promising better quality products and services.
7. To improve dealer relations. Advertising supports the dealers in selling he product. Dealers
are attracted towards a product which is advertised effectively.
8. To warn the public against imitation of an enterprise‟s products.
Functions of Advertising
Advertising has become an essential marketing activity in the modern era of large scale production
and serve competition in the market. It performs the following functions:
Promotion of Sales. It promotes the sale of goods and services by informing and persuading
the people to buy them. A good advertising campaign helps in winning new customers both in
the national as well as in the international markets.
Introduction of New Product. It helps the introduction of new products in the market. A
business enterprise can introduce itself and its product to the public through advertising. A
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new enterprise can‟t make an impact on the prospective customers without the help of
advertising. Advertising enables quick publicity in the market.
Creation of Good Public Image. It builds up the reputation of the advertiser. Advertising
enables a business firm to communicate its achievements in an effort to satisfy the customers‟
needs. This increases the goodwill and reputation of the firm which is necessary to fight
against competition in the market.
Mass Production. Advertising facilitates large-scale production. Advertising encourages
production of goods in large-scale because the business firm knows that it will be able to sell
on large-scale with the help of advertising. Mass production reduces the cost of production
per unit by the economical use of various factors of production.
Research. Advertising stimulates research and development activities. Advertising has
become a competitive marketing activity. Every firm tries to differentiate its product from the
substitutes available in the market through advertising. This compels every business firm to
do more and more research to find new products and their new uses. If a firm does not engage
in research and development activities, it will be out of the market in the near future.
Education of People. Advertising educate the people about new products and their uses.
Advertising message about the utility of a product enables the people to widen their
knowledge. It is advertising which has helped people in adopting new ways of life and giving-
up old habits. It has contributed a lot towards the betterment of the standard of living of the
society.
4. Support to Press. Advertising provides an important source of revenue to the publishers and
magazines. It enables to increase the circulation of their publication by selling them at lower
rates. People are also benefited because they get publications at cheaper rates. Advertising is
also a source of revenue for TV network. For instance, Doordarshan and ZeeTV insert ads
before, in between and after various programmes and earn millions of rupees through ads.
Such income could be used for increasing the quality of programmes and extending coverage.
Various Advertising Mediums and its Selection Criteria
A manufacturer or a trader can make use of the following advertising media to spread his message to
the people : (i) Press advertising, (ii) Outdoor advertising, (iii) Film advertising, (iv) Radio
advertising, (v) Television advertising, (vi) Direct mail advertising, (vii) Display advertising, and
(viii) Specialty advertising: The merits and demerits of these media are discussed below.
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Courtsey to www.google.com
1. Press Advertising or Print Media
Press advertising, i.e. advertising through newspapers, magazines, journals, etc. is commonly used by
modern businessmen- It may be noted that advertising is an important source of finance for the press
or print media. Because of advertisements, the subscribers get newspapers and periodicals at
subsidized rates.
Newspaper Advertising. Newspaper reading is a common habit among most of the educated people.
Besides daily newspapers, there are bi-weekly and weekly newspapers also Newspapers reach almost
every place and are read by all kinds of people. Therefore, newspaper can be used as a medium of
advertisement with great advantage. While selecting a newspaper for this purpose, an advertiser has to
take into consideration the strength of circulation, the class of readers it serves, the geographical
region over which it is popular, and the cost of space.
Advertising through newspapers has the following merits:
A newspaper has large circulation and a single advertisement in a newspaper can reach a large
number of people-
Continuous advertisement is possible because newspaper is published daily. Art advertiser
can repeat his advertisement either daily or weekly,
Newspapers provide flexibility in advertising in the sense that advertisement campaign can be
initiated and stopped quickly One day‟s notice is sufficient for this purpose- Similarly,
advertising message can be changed promptly whenever needed.
Newspaper advertising has the following limitations:
The life of newspaper advertisement is very short. Moreover, people devote only insignificant
part of their day‟s time in reading the newspaper. Thus, advertisement: are likely to draw the
reader‟s attention only casually or marginally.
Newspaper advertisement is successful only when the people to be communicated the
message is literate.
Newspaper is scarcely used for coloured advertisement. The advertisements are generally
printed in black and white. This makes the identification of products more difficult.
Magazine Advertising. Magazine or periodicals are an excellent medium of advertisement when a
high quality of printing in colour is desired. Magazine advertisements can be directed towards a
particular class of people. . Thus, marketers can avoid wasteful expenditure on advertising.
Magazine advertising is considered to be superior to newspaper advertising because of the following
merits:
Magazines are read more carefully and at greater leisure. Advertising through magazines is
more effective.
The life of the magazine advertisements is longer. Magazines are preserved for a long period
of time and are read time and again.
2. Outdoor Advertising
Outdoor advertising has gained wide popularity these days. Its purpose is to attract the attention of the
people at busy roads and markets. It includes the use of poster displays, bill board displays and
electric or electronic displays.
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1. Poster Displays. Posters are fixed on walls of buildings, bridges, and other public places. It is
also quite common to write slogans and other message about the products in bold letters on
the walls to arrange the attention of the people even from a long distance. That is why, it is
also known as `Mural Advertising‟ . Mural advertising is frequently used to advertise fans,
fertilizers, tonics, beauty aids and other consumer items
2. Bill Board Displays. Painted or bill board displays involve the advertisements directly
painted on the boards meant for this purpose. They are quite big in size and are fixed at
outstanding locations like busy markets and crossings. They are also erected on tops of
bridges and important buildings.
3. Electrical Displays. Electrical display involves the use of electric electronic lights or neon
tubes to attract the attention of people, particularly during night. Generally, a short message is
illuminated in tubes of different colours so that it is conspicuous and attractive. Electrical
displays are fixed at heavy traffic consumer centres.
Vehicular Displays. It has become a fashion these days to use modes of public transport for
advertising.
Outdoor advertising has the following merits,
Outdoor advertising is highly flexible and is a low cost medium.
It is very useful for advertising consumer products because posters, etc. can be displayed at
various crowded centres.
Outdoor advertisement attracts quick attention and requires very less time and effort on the
part of the readers. A complete picture of the product can be shown through outdoor displays.
Outdoor adverting is criticized on the following grounds:
It can‟t carry long messages as posters, hoardings, etc. are read bv the people at a glance,
It has a low retention value because people don‟t devote special time to read the message
It distracts the attention of the passers-by and may even c accidents on busy roads.
3. Film Advertising
Films are an important medium of advertisement. Business concerns usually get a short motion
picture prepared and distribute it to different cinema houses for displaying it before the
commencement of the regular shows or during the periods of intermission. Such films are
accompanied by running commentary to explain the features, uses and superiority of the product But
film advertisement, can be adopted only by the well-established firms. Since it involves high cost,
small business firms can get cinema slides prepared for display in the cinema halls.
The merits of film advertising are as under:
Film advertisement is very effective since it combines spoken words and visual presentation
of picture.
It helps in selective advertisement. A trader can advertise his products in the areas from where
he wants to attract the customers.
The demerits of film advertising are as under:
It is usually ignored by people when they are busy in talking.
Its effectiveness is limited as only a few people are present in the hall before the start of the
feature film and during the interval.
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4. Radio Advertising
Radio advertisements are gaining greater popularity these days. Advertisements are broadcast from
the transmitting stations of the commercial service of All India Radio and FM Radio and picked-up by
the receiving sets owned by the public. Radio advertisements are normally broadcast along with
popular programmes of music. Even the sponsored programmes of music, interviews and plays can be
broadcast over the radio.
Radio advertising has the following merits:
Radio advertisements carry an effective appeal and cover numerous listeners of different
tastes.
Radio advertisements reach the illiterate people who cannot read the newspapers and
magazines.
Radio provides selectivity (i.e. market segmentation) to some ex-tent because advertisements
can be included in different programmes meant for different types of people.
Radio advertisements are very much suitable for the promotion of mass-scale consumer
goods.
The demerits of radio advertising are as under:
Detailed message can‟t be announced over the radio, people may not remember the message.
It is non-visual. Thus, the usual impact of illustrating the products not possible.
Sometimes, the message is not understood properly by the listeners. Many people switch off
their radio sets when it is the time for commercials or advertisements.
5. Television Advertising
Television is the fast growing medium of advertisement because of huge expansion of electronic
media and cable network. It makes its appeal through both the eye and the ear. Products can be
demonstrated as well as explained as in film advertisement. Advertising may take the form of short
commercials and sponsored programmes.
T.V. advertising has all the merits of film advertising. It has greater effectiveness as the message is
conveyed at their homes to the people. Selectivity of message can also be achieved. Commercials may
be given during that time period when the prospective buyers are supposed to watch television
programmes.
T.V advertising has got all the demerits of film advertising. Television is a very costly medium of
advertisement and can be made use of by the well established companies only. Another limitation of
television advertisement is that once it is presented, its back reference is not possible.
6. Direct Mail Advertising
Direct mail is probably the most selective of all the advertising media. It is used to send the message
directly to the customer. For this purpose, the advertiser has to maintain a mall list which can be
expanded or contracted by adding or removing names from the list. But a severe limitation is posed by
the difficulty of getting and maintaining a good mailing list.
Advertisements that are sent by direct mail maybe in the form of circular letters, leaflet folders,
calendars, booklets and catalogues. Circular letters are sent to the prospective customers to inform
them about the merits of the product and to create their interest in the product. Booklets and
catalogues contain the information about the products advertised. Information about the terms of sale
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and prices of different varieties of the product is given to the prospective customers through
catalogues.
Merits of direct mail advertising are as under:
Mail advertising has a personal appeal since it is addressed to a particular person.
It maintains secrecy in advertising. The competitors do not get the information about the
advertised material.
It gives flexibility in advertising. The message can be changed whenever the need arises. The
mailing list can also be revised whenever the need arises.
It gives an opportunity to the advertiser to provide detailed and illustrated information about
the product to the prospects.
It is the most selective medium of advertisement. The advertiser saves money also by
directing his advertisement to the selected people.
Demerits of direct mail advertising are given below:
The coverage of direct mail advertisement is limited.
It is not possible to get the names and addresses of all the prospects when the advertisement
material should be sent by mail.
Its effectiveness is doubtful as it does net create a mass appeal.
7. Window Display
Window display is an on sight method of advertising. Goods can be exhibited in artistically laid out.
windows at the shop fronts or at important busy centres like railway stations and bus stops. Large
show rooms are organized by big manufacturers and wholesalers in the main markets to advertise
their product; and attend to the queries of the prospective customers. The retailers also organize
attractive display of goods in the windows of their shops. Window displays are very popular with the
retailers since it helps in informing the customer about the types of goods available with them.
The main objective of window display is to draw the attention of the public and arouse their interest in
the products displayed. Almost all the manufacturers insist that their products should be displayed at
the retail shops. If a product is displayed properly at the point-of-purchase (FOP) by the customers, it
can attract many customers. Many people having no preference for a particular brand may discover a
particular brand quite appealing and attractive and may purchase it. Thus, window display creates the
demand for the product. Window display acts as silent salesman. In order to achieve the purpose of
window display, cleanliness and a well-furnished appearance for the window are essential. Articles
should be arranged in a systematic way and if possible price tags should also be attached with the
articles. It is better if window displays are changed regularly to make the customers look at the
displays every time they visit the shop.
8. Speciality Advertising
Many business firms (like Raymonds, Vimal, etc.) offer speciality articles to the present and
prospective customers. These articles may be diaries, pen holders, desk trays, key chains, purses,
paper weights, cigarette cases and calendars. The name and address of the advertiser is printed in or
inscribed on the speciality items. They also bear the brand name of the firm. Since these articles are of
daily use, they have greater capacity to remind their users about the brand name of the firm offering
such articles
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Publicity and Public Relations
2. Public Relations (PR)
Another component of organisations promotional mix is publicity/public relations. As a part of being
a good corporate and community citizen, a firm will use public relations (PR) as a way to create a
good image and reputation. Public relations is defined as a management function which identifies,
establishes, and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the public‟s
upon which its success or failure depends. Whereas advertising is a one-way communication from
sender (the marketer) to the receiver (the consumer or the retail trade), public relations considers
multiple audiences (consumers, employees, suppliers, vendors, etc.) and uses two-way
communication to monitor feedback and adjust both its message and the organization's actions for
maximum benefit. A primary tool used by public relations practitioners is publicity. Publicity
capitalizes on the news value of a product, service, idea, person or event so that the information can
be disseminated through the news media. This third party "endorsement" by the news media provides
a vital boost to the marketing communication message: credibility. Articles in the media are perceived
as being more objective than advertisements, and their messages are more likely to be absorbed and
believed. For example, after the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes reported in the early 1990s that
drinking moderate amounts of red wine could prevent heart attacks by lowering cholesterol; red wine
sales in the United States increased 50 percent. Another benefit publicity offers is that it is free, not
considering the great amount of effort it can require to get out-bound publicity noticed and picked up
by media sources.
Public relation means communication that can foster goodwill between a firm and its many
constituent groups. These constituent groups include customers, stockholders, suppliers, employees,
government, entities citizen‟s actions groups and the general public.PR is used to highlight positive
events in an organization, such as quarterly sales and profits or noteworthy community service
programmes carried out by the firm. Conversely it is used strategically for damage control when
adversity strikes an organization. PR uses techniques like press releases, newsletters and community
events to reach the target audiences. PR is emerging as a more prominent tool in the promotional mix
of many firms. As mass media becomes cluttered with ads and as consumers retain a healthy sceptism
of advertising, public relations and communication are being viewed as an important addition to the
mix.
Objectives of PR:
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Within the broad guidelines of image building and establishing relationships with constituents, it is
possible to identify six primary objectives:
Promoting goodwill
Promoting a product or service
Preparing internal communications
Counteracting negative publicity
Lobbying
Giving advice and counsel.
Achieving goal.
public relations is an important marketing function in the present-day business environment. The total
process of building goodwill and securing a bright public image of the company called public
relations. It creates a favorable atmosphere for conducting business. There are four groups of public:
(I) customer, (2) shareholders (3) employees (4) the community. The marketers should have the best
possible relations with these groups. Public relation, complement advertising by creating product and
service credibility. Effective marketing communication is not without establishing and maintaining
mutual understanding between the company and its customers. The lubricant making the wheel of
marketing run smoothly is public relations. Bright image is created and maintained only by public
relations. That is why; modern business houses attach great significance to the public relations
activities.
Difference between Advertising and Publicity
Advertising differs from publicity in regard to the following points:
1. Paid/non-paid form: Advertisement is a paid form of communication. Its cost is borne by the
advertiser but publicity is any non-paid mention of an organization or its ideas or products in
the news Media. Publicity cannot be purchased in the usual sense of the term. Any institution
can come to the attention of the public by being newsworthy. It has not to pay anything for
the publicity, but has to supply the necessary information to the news media.
2. Identification of sponsored: Advertisement is issued by an identified sponsor. Publicity does
not need an identified sponsor
3. Control over message: In advertising, the advertiser exercises control over the type, size,
duration, and frequency of the message But in case of publicity, the control lies with the
publicity media.
Difference between Advertisement and Personal Selling
The points of distinction between advertisement and salesmanship are listed below;
1. Personal/Non-personal form: Advertising is a non-personal form of communication. There
is no contact between the advertiser and the buyer. But salesmanship means personal selling.
The salesman has face-to-face contact with the buyer.
2. Mass vs. Individual communication: Advertising is mass communication. It is addressed to
a large number of people. But salesmanship is individual communication. The impact of
salesmanship is visible on the buyer who comes into contact with the salesman.
Purpose: Advertisement may aim at enhancing the goodwill of the advertiser. It may have no
immediate purpose to sell the goods or services. But salesmanship always aims at effecting sales.
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3. Personal Selling (PS)
Personal selling is the presentation of information about a firm‟s product or services by one person to
another person or to a small group of people. Personal selling can be distinguished from all forms of
promotion in that it is the only one to one communication that can deliver a completely customized
message based on feedback from the receiver of the message. In other words, if you are in the
electronics shop considering the purchase of a DVD player, the salesperson can tell you about the
different brands and focus the message content on the features of each brand based on questions you
ask or information you request. No other form of promotion- not even the Internet can customize
messages in this way.
Personal selling is the dominant variable in the promotional mix of any corporate marketers. Complex
products and services, high purchase prices, and negotiated contracts warrant the customized
communication of personal selling. In business to business markets there are many instances where
advertising sales promotion and other promotional mix variables simply do not achieve the needed
communication effect. But this is not always the case in business to business sales.
Types of Personal Selling:
Order taking: This involves accepting orders for merchandise or scheduling services either in
written form or over the telephone. Order takers deal with existing customers who are lucrative to
the firm due to low cost f generating revenue this group. Order takers can also deal with new
customers which means that they need to be trained well enough to answer any new question a
new customer might have about product or services.
Creative Selling: This is the type of selling where customers rely heavily on the salesperson for
technical information, advice and service.
Team Selling: In this, a group of people from different functional areas within the organization is
assembled as a team to call on a particular customer. Sales teams are prevalent in the areas of
communication equipment, computer installations and manufacturing equipments.
Seminar Selling: This is designed to reach a group of customers, rather than an individual
customer, with information about the firm‟s products or services.
System Selling: This type of selling entails selling a set of inters related components that fulfill all
or a majority of a customer‟s need in a product or service area.
4. Sales Promotion (SP)
Sales Promotion is of four types:
Consumer sales promotion: Here the efforts are directed towards the customer. For example: price
discounts, freebies
Trade Promotion: These are basically done for distributors in order to push sales through margins
and discounts.
Business to business promotion: Here promotions are between two companies; one company may
offer bulk discounts on the purchase of raw materials in large supplies etc.
Sales person‟s promotions: Here the promotions are targeted to motivate the sale people working
for an organization. On achieving their targets, the sales person will win a free holiday or he‟ll
receive a non- monetary benefits, etc.
Sales promotion is the use of the incentive techniques that create a perception of greater brand value
among consumers, the trade and business buyers. The intent is to create a short term increase in sales
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by motivating trail use and encouraging larger or repeat purchases. Free samples, coupons, premiums,
sweepstakes and contests, rebates and price discounts are some of the primary methods of sales
promotion in the consumer market.
Sales promotion may not seem as stylish and sophistication as mass media advertising, but
expenditures on this tool are impressive. It is important to realize that full advertising agencies
specializing in advertising planning, creative planning and media placement typically do not prepare
sales promotion materials for clients. These activities are normally assigned to sales promotion
agencies that specialize in couponing, vent management, premiums or other forms of sales promotion
that require specific skills and creative preparation. The rise in the use of sale promotion and the
enormous amount of money being spent on various programmes make it one of the most prominent
forms of marketing activity.
5. Direct Marketing (DM)
Direct marketing is an interactive system of marketing that uses one or more advertising media to
affect a measurable response and or transaction at any location. This definition distinguishes direct
marketing from other primary promotional tools in three ways:
Direct Marketing uses a combination of media: Any media can be used in a direct marketing, and a
combination of media is often used to increase effectiveness.
Direct Marketing is often used to elicit a direct response: An example of this would be getting the
message receiver to phone or mail in an order .Other forms of promotion like traditional advertising,
public relations or an event sponsorship are not designed to elicit immediate action.
The buyer‟s home, by mail or literally any place where the consumer can communicate with the
marketer.
Today the primary methods of direct marketing are direct mail, telemarketing, telephone sales
solicitation and direct response advertising in magazines, newspapers, and on television and radio.
Online ordering via the internet is another form of direct marketing and has come to known as „e-
commerce‟ because of the totally electronic communication between and buyers and sellers. E-
commerce is business conducted between buyers and sellers using electronic exchange media. E-
commerce is quickly emerging as a significant form of direct marketing. In addition, trade markets are
emerging where buyers in specific industries are creating e-market places to enhance the efficiency of
the exchange process.
References:
1)Kruti Shah & Alan D‟Souza “Advertising & Promotions – An IMC perspective” Tata McGraw
Hill education Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. 2nd ed.
2) George E Belch, Michael A Blech&KeyoorPurani “An Integrated Marketing Communications
Perspective” 7th Edition, McGraw hill education pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. 2009 ed.
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Case Study 1.
Vodafone Zoo Zoo 3G Campaign - Integrated Marketing Communication campaign
Private players in telecom industry entered in India in the early 1990s.Vadafone india,on acquiring
Hutch in mid-2007, aiming to become the largest mobile operatorinindia.Vodafone is on a roll. They
have been the highest gainer in terms of the people who have decided to port out of their existing
operator and switch to Vodafone. But as predicted earlier, MNP has not been a game changer. Less
than 1% of the total subscribers have decided to switch their operator. But this post is not about MNP,
it‟s about the 3G campaign featuring Vodafone India's brand ambassadors "The Zoo Zoo community"
and their hero "Zoo 3G". If the tales of Zoo Zoo weren't enough on television you will still not miss
the Zoo Zoo 3G avatar. If you fare high on the geek meter (a nerd like me), you'll catch him on
YouTube, Journal websites, Google ads and news portals. If you toil through the streets like a bus
driver or a rickshaw puller, you'll catch him on almost every second billboard. If you are a frequent
flier, you'll not miss on the airport. If you happen to be at the Delhi airport around this time, you'll see
a Zoo zoo city out there. Every aesthetically sound corner for advertising has a Zoozoo banner. And if
that's not enough, the community kids are spreading the most popular form i.e. Word-of-Mouth. The
important thing to note is that the whole campaign is "Integrated". The term IMC (Integrated
Marketing Communications) is literally engraved in all books and research papers on promotional
strategy, but sadly very few practitioners adopt it. Vodafone's 3G -ZooZoo campaign is an
immaculate example of an integrated marketing communication (IMC) campaign. If Coca-Cola gave
shape to the Santa, the future generations will remember Vodafone for ZooZoo.
About ZooZoos Campaign
In early 2009, Vodafone assigned the creation of an altogether new ad campaign to Ogilvy and
Mather India, which created Hutch commercials.O&M‟S executive creative director of south Asia,
Rajiv Rao was appointed to create unusual kind of Ad campaign for Vodafone inspired by the
animated characters for each value-added service of Vodafone. These ads were created by Ogilvy &
Mather, the agency handling Vodafone advertisements. They were shot by Nirvana Films in Cape
Town, South Africa. The egg headed white creatures with big ballooned bodies are characters
promoted by Vodafone since the second season of Indian Premier League (IPL).Ogilvy & Mather was
asked to create a series of 30 advertisements which could be aired each day during the IPL Season 2.
They are used to promote various value added services of Vodafone. Although they look animated,
they are actually humans in wearing "ZooZoo" costumes. The Idea was conceived by Rajiv Rao, the
national creative director at Ogilvy India. The characters were named ZooZoo because Rajiv and his
team "wanted something that sounded cute, lovable and a bit mad like the characters”. Rajiv also
"wanted to make real people look as animated as possible".
The character
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The ZooZoos are thin small-bodied women covered in layers of fabric. Each facial expression of the
character is made of rubber and pasted on the actors to reduce the time and cost for shoot. The effect
was achieved by a variety of methods including reducing the footage frame-rates, using the right
material for the body suits to ensure a wrinkle free outer layer when the characters moved, and
keeping backgrounds simple in terms of detailing colour (grey). The sets were made larger than life to
make the characters look smaller. The whole of first series was shot in a record time of 10 days.
ZooZoo ad campaign also won the PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) glitter box award
for replacing the pug (remembers Hutch) with ZooZoo (considered to be a more humane alternative).
The toughest task was designing the costume and artwork that would create an illusion of animation
in every part of the Ad, including movements, gestures, speech and emotions. It nearly took three
weeks of pre-production to finalise the costumes of ZooZoos and the design that facilitated all
movements was selected. Therefore the costume was made of fabric and form. The total cost on
making the Zoo Zoo ads was rs 2.5 billion.
The Zoo Zoo impact
The response by Indian audience was phenomenal. Although experts claim that the ads did not
achieve the target of increasing VAS usage. ZooZoos have become a brand in themselves with Zoo
Zoo T-shirts and other accessories being sold at retail chains apart from thousands of visits to their
YouTube advertisements and over 2 million fans on Facebook pages.As expected by Vodafone the
Zoo Zoo campaign stood as a successful endeavour making the company establish maximum brand
Presence.
Zoo Zoos popularity increased by each day due to its much closeness to the human world. They
looked Alien, but the commercial featuring them showed that they live in a world similar to that of
humans --feel emotions, laugh aloud, feel pain-thus placing them in between the reality and animated
world.
As the IPL season was crowd –puller, it was seen as a ground for a dog –fight among the deep pocket
advertisers. And VAS spaceThese ads were created by Ogilvy & Mather, the agency handling
Vodafone advertisements. They were shot by Nirvana Films in Cape Town, South Africa.was main
potential cash cow for Indian mobile operators.
Exercise
Q 1 What was the Objective of Vodafone in this Campaign?
Q 2 Whether the objective achieved?
Q 3 Whether Vodafone Integrated the Communication Campaign? If Yes How? If No Why?
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Q 4 Compare Vodafone‟s Campaign with IMC.
Courtesy ; www.iupindia.com
CASE STUDY-2
BARACK OBAMA
Barack Obama, the 44th President of the US, used integrated marketing communications (IMC) to
win the 2008 US Presidential elections. For the first time in the history of the US Presidential
Elections, the Internet was used widely and effectively for both campaigning and fund raising
purposes. Obama also used the traditional methods of marketing which accounted for 50% of his fund
rising. The case shows how Obama carefully tailored his campaign by targeting people of different
age groups, communities, and professionals systematically to achieve success in the elections. Obama
tapped the growing community of people who preferred the Internet and mobile phones to television.
Other G7 countries had in the past tried to use the Internet as a tool for campaigning but it was not
used as effectively and consistently in the past, according to experts
Introduction
Every country follows its own procedure to elect its head of state. Under the US Constitution, the
Presidential Election is an indirect one. Voters cast ballots for an electoral college, which in turn
elects the President and the Vice-President. The two parties involved in the election are the
Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The US presidential election of 2000 was the first time
that the Internet had been used as a campaign tool for online fundraising with e-mail and websites
being used to reach out to voters. And it was John McCain, the senator from Arizona, who first raised
a large sum of money through the Internet while contesting for the Republican presidential
nomination.The main contestants from the two parties in the 2008 election were Obama, a senator
from Illinois, Hillary Rodham Clinton (Hillary), a senator from New York (and wife of former
President, Bill Clinton), and John Edwards (Edwards) of the Democratic Party and John McCain
(McCain), a senator from Arizona, Mike Huckabee (Huckabee), and Mitt Romney (Romney) for the
Republican Party. Edwards, Huckabee, and Romney later withdrew from the contest
Barack Obama
Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate on November 2, 2004, after serving 7 years as an Illinois state
senator. He's the author of two best-selling books. Obama was named by Time magazine in 2005,
2007 and 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.Barack Obama is an
independent-minded leader with an even-keel temperament, charismatic speaking skills and a knack
for consensus-building. He's also a talented, introspective writer. His values are strongly shaped by
his expertise as a Constitutional law professor and civil rights attorney, and by Christianity. While
private by nature, Obama mingles easily with others, but is most comfortable addressing large crowds.
Obama is known for being unafraid to speak and hear hard truths when necessary. Although armed
with shrewd political sensibilities, he's sometimes slow to recognize viable threats to his agenda.
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Internet & technology for campaign
On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, Democratic Senator, Barack Hussein Obama (Obama), was elected
as the first African-American President of the United States of America. The opening lines of his
victory speech at Grand Park, Chicago, Illinois, were, "If there is anyone out there who still doubts
that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is
alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."
4 Analysts believed that 2008 had been a historical election for two reasons: 1) Obama was the first
African American to be elected President of the country and 2) The Internet had been used
extensively as a campaigning tool. Never in the history of the presidential elections of the US
Experts felt that Obama had revolutionized election campaigning by using this unconventional and
economic method of marketing. He tapped social media both for raising funds and for campaigning.
He made his supporters campaign for him by allowing them to sign up in his website and get phone
numbers of people whom they could call and talk to. In this way, he changed the task of supporters
and made them campaigners on the web.
The consistency with which he publicized his personal information uniformly on all his websites and
also targeted specific information at individual websites, depending on the age groups of the people,
the communities they belonged to, and also what religious backgrounds or professional backgrounds
they belonged to, caught the imagination of analysts. The information contained in each of the
websites was different and that lent a personal touch to them and also added to his credibility.
He managed to get the attention of the younger generation, a segment that was ignored by other
candidates as a group of people who could not contribute funds. This group of people, who also were
the main users of the Internet, got involved in the elections, campaigned for Obama, and also
surprised analysts by turning up in large numbers to vote.
They also contributed small sums which added up to a substantial amount for the campaign, thanks to
the sheer number of contributors. Obama also had a dedicated website called "FighttheSmears" with
the sole aim of addressing and combating any false accusations about himself as and when they
appeared. The entire campaign was well structured to project a consistent image of Obama and every
action taken by the campaigners was well thought out. Experts believed that Obama used the Internet
with skill, efficiency, and care and his labour had borne fruit in the form of his victory. David Plouffe,
Obama's campaign manager, was the one who maintained all campaign communications and kept a
tab on information releases.
In his acceptance speech, Obama said, "To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist
David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this
happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done."
Obama ended his victory speech with the following words: "This is our time, to put our people back
to work, and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of
peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are
one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who
tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes,
we can. Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America".Analysts felt
that Obama's innovative campaign had not only helped overcome some potentially debilitating
barriers on his way to the White House, but also firmly established him as a strong brand.
Results
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Finally The Democrats won the November 4 election with Obama as the President elect and Biden as
his vice-president elect. Obama, the 44th President of the US, made history when he was elected the
first African American President of the country. Experts felt that along the way, he had caught the
collective imagination of the nation as well as earned respect in the global arena.
Influence was so much that lawyers in the White House were mulling copyrighting 'Brand Obama' to
curb misuse of the brand to promote goods, etc., considering the global fascination for the US's first
African American President. According to marketing expert John Quelch, the campaign was nothing
short of a "case study in marketing excellence".8 At the same time, analysts were keeping a close
watch to see to what extent (and in what ways) Obama would fulfil his pre-election promise of
remaining in touch with the people.
Questions:
1. What efforts were made by Barack Obama to reach the mass people?
2. Analyze the strategies adopted by Barack Obama for elections?
3. Analyze how Barack Obama used the new media effectively in his election campaign
4. How integrated marketing communications can be used effectively
Courtsey : www.europeanbusinessreview.com
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3. Case Study – Horlicks vs. Complan
Abstract This case is about the advertising war between two popular health drink brands Horlicks
and Complan in India. The war for supremacy between these two brands started as early as in 1960s
and had continued ever since. Over the years, the brands were involved in aggressive comparative
advertising in print and television over attributes such as ingredients, protein content, growth, and
flavors. However, in late 2008, the makers of Horlicks, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare
(GSK), and the makers of Complan, Heinz India (Heinz), came out with advertisements that directly
compared the brands using the competitor brand's trademarks. Industry observers felt that in their bid
to outdo each other, the two companies had ended up denigrating the competitor brand.
Usually issues related to disparaging ads by rival companies were resolved by the Advertising
Standards Council of India (ASCI). But with constant mudslinging at each other, the two companies
decided to solve the issue in courts. In September 2008, Heinz moved the Bombay High Court
objecting to the Horlicks ad, while in December 2008, GSK approached the Delhi High Court against
the Complan ad.
Keywords
Marketing communication, Advertising, Comparative advertising, Ethics, Legal, Health drinks
market, Horlicks, Complan , GlaxoSmithKline, Heinz
Background Note
Horlicks was invented by William Horlick (William) and his brother James Horlick (James) (1844-
1921) in 1873. The brothers belonged to Gloucestershire, England. James was a chemist and worked
for a company which made dried baby food. Complan, owned by the Heinz Company, was one of the
most popular health drinks in India. The name Complan was coined from the words "COMPLETE"
and "PLANNEEd". Complan was introduced by Glaxo Laboratories (Glaxo) in the UK during World
War II (1939-1945), as an essential nutritional supplement for soldiers at the frontlines.
According to analysts, until the 1990s, Horlicks was the more aggressive player in the health drink
market compared to Complan. While Horlicks introduced a series of variants aimed at the family
segment and promoted its products well, Complan lay low on the promotional front, with its ads just
focusing on the "extra growth" attribute.
The Fight for the Indian Health Drink Market Turns Ugly
In late 2008, a legal battle broke out between GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSK) and
Heinz India (Heinz) over the advertisements of their respective health drinks Horlicks and Complan.
The advertisements talked about how their respective brand was better than the other and showed the
competitor's product in bad light when compared to the company's products. In September 2008,
Heinz moved the Bombay High Court objecting to advertisements of Horlicks which highlighted the
nutritional content and price gap between the two brands, and showed Horlicks as a better and more
inexpensive health drink than Complain.
The advertisement showed the competitor brand clearly while making the comparison. Heinz later
followed up with its own ad comparing Horlicks unfavorably with Complan. This prompted GSK to
file a case in the Delhi High Court in December 2008 claiming that the ad released by Heinz
disparaged its brand by calling it low priced, and thereby damaging its reputation.
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Horlicks and Complan were popular health drinks in Indian households. The estimated Rs. 18 billion
health drinks market in India was growing at an annual rate of 20% as per AC Nielsen data. As of
2008, GSK was the market leader in the health drink category in India with a share of 55%, while
Complan's market share was about 14%.
Experts felt that the latest tiff between GSK and Heinz had brought to the fore the issues and
challenges involved in comparative advertising and the legal/ethical issues involved in such kind of
advertising.
Questions:
1.Analyze the advertising strategies adopted by Complan and Horlicks over the years?
2.What issues and challenges are faced by companies while using comparative advertising?
3.Examine the efficacy of comparative advertising in enhancing brand image and sales?
4.Study the implications of the advertising war between Complan and Horlicks?
5.Discuss and debate the legal/ethical issues involved in the case?
Courtsey :http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/icmr_case_studies.htm
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Compiled by Prof.Tushar M Bhavsar
B.E(Chemical),MBA(Marketing),PhD(Pursuing)
Summer Institute of Management
MBA College,
Himatnagar
Chapter 4-Organizing for Advertising and Promotion: The Role of Ad Agency and Other
Marketing Communication Organizations
Objectives:
1. To explain the role and functions of specialized marketing communications organizations.
2. To examine various perspectives on the use of integrated services and responsibilitiesof
advertisers versus agencies.
3. To understand how companies organize for advertising and other aspects of integrate marketing
communications.
4. To examine methods for selecting, compensating and evaluating advertising agencies.
Introduction:
To be able to do this effectively requires the co-ordination of various specialized disciplines, such as
packaging communications, direct marketing, sales promotion, event marketing, interactive marketing
etc. While we shall discuss each of these specialized areas separately, at this point it is important to
recognize that coordination of all these activities is extremely important in a communications
campaign.
These activities, often termed "below the line" activities, as opposed to advertising which is
considered to be above the line", are often termed as integrated marketing services.
The evolution of modern advertising as we know it, began somewhere around the mid nineteenth
century. Volney Palmer in the USA is credited to being the first advertising agent, who set up the first
advertising agency ever. He merely acted as commission agent, collecting ads from the advertising
agent, and releasing them in the print media. Over the Years the advertising agency evolved to include
functions that would improve the look and feel of the ad, bring in appropriate expertise to decide on
the right choice of media and letter develop better communication strategies through the development
of better consumer insights.
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Today, The Standard Advertising agency Format has seen several changes and most large agencies
today attempt to develop capabilities in the area of integrated marketing services, in the found belief
that advertisers would prefer multiple services under one umbrella.
This chapter examines the various organizations that participate in the IMC process, their roles and
responsibilities, and their relationship to one another. We discuss how companies organize internally
for advertising and promotion. For most companies, advertising is planned and executed by an outside
ad agency. Many large agencies offer a variety of other IMC capabilities, including public relations,
Internet/interactive, sales promotion, and direct marketing. Thus, we will devote particular attention to
the ad agency's role and the overall relationship between company and agency.
Other Participants in the promotional process (such as direct-marketing, sales promotion, and
interactive agencies and public relations firms) are becoming increasingly important as more
companies take an integrated marketing communications approach to promotion. We examine the role
of these specialized marketing communications organizations in the promotional process as well. The
chapter concludes with discussion of whether marketers are best served by using the integrated
services of one large agency or the separate services of a variety of communications specialists.
(1) Participants in the Integrated Marketing Communications Process
The advertisers, or clients, are the key participants in the process. They have the products, services,
or causes to be marketed, and they provide the funds that pay for advertising and promotions. The
advertisers also assume major responsibility for developing the marketing program and marking the
final decisions regarding the advertising and promotional program to be employed. The organization
may perform most of these efforts itself, either through its own advertising department or by setting
up an in-house agency.
Advertiser
(client)
Advertising
agency
Media
organizations
Collateral
Services
Marketing
Communication
specialist organizations
direct-marketing
agencies Sales promotion
agencies Interactive
agencies Public relations
firms
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However, many organizations use advertising agency, an outside firm that specializes in the creation,
production, and/or placement of the communications message and that may provide other services to
facilitate the marketing and promotions process. Many large advertisers retain the services or a
number or agencies, particularly when they market a number of products. For example, Kraft Foods
uses as many as eight advertising agencies for its various brands, while Procter & Gamble uses five
primary ad agencies and two major media buying services companies. Many large companies often
use additional agencies specialize in creating ads for specific ethnic markets. For example, in addition
to its primary agency of record, Toyota Motor Corporation uses three additional agencies in the
UnitedState to create ads for the African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American markets. More
and more, ad agencies are acting as partners with advertisers and assuming more responsibility for
developing marketing and promotional programs.
Media organizations are another major participant in the advertising and promotions process. The
Primary function of most media is to provide information or entertainment to their subscribers,
viewer, or readers. But from the perspective of the promotional planner, the purpose of media is to
provide an environment for the firm's marketing communications message. The media must have
editorial or program content that attracts consumers so that advertisers and their agencies will want to
buy time or space with them. While media perform many other functions that help advertisers
understand their markets and their consumers, a medium's primary objective is to sell itself as a way
for companies to reach their target markets with their messages effectively.
The next groups of participants are organizations that provide specialized marketing
communications services. They include direct-marketing agencies, sales promotion agencies,
interactive agencies, and public relations firms. These organizations provide service in their areas of
expertise. A direct response agency develops and implements direct-marketing programs, while sales
promotion agencies develop promotional programs such as contests and sweepstakes, premium offers,
or sampling programs. Interactive agencies are being retained to develop websites for the Internet and
help marketers as they move deeper into the realm of interactive media. Public relations firms are
used to generate and manage publicity for a company and its products and services as well as to focus
on its relationships and communications with its relevant publics.
The final participants are those that provide collateral services, the wide range of support functions
used by advertisers, agencies, media organizations, and specialized marketing communications firms.
These individuals and companies perform specialized functions the other participants use in planning
and executing advertising and other promotional function
.
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(2) Organizing for Advertising And Promotion In The Firm:
(2.A) The Centralized System
In many organizations, marketing activities are divided along functional lines, with advertising placed
alongside other marketing functions such as sales, marketing research, and product planning, as
shown in below figure. The Advertising manager is responsible for all promotions activities except
sales (in
The Advertising Department under a Centralized System.
President
Some companies this individual has the title of Marketing Communications Manager). In the most
common example of a centralized system, the advertising manager controls the entire promotions
operation including budgeting, coordinating creation and production of ads, planning media
schedules, and monitoring and administering the sales promotions program for all the company's
products or services.
Basic functions the manager and staff perform include the following:
Planning and Budgeting The advertising department is responsible for developing advertising and
promotions plans that will be approved by management and recommending a promotions program
based on the overall marketing plan, objectives, and budget.
Administration and Execution The manager must organize the advertising department and supervise
and control its activities. The manager also supervises the execution of the plan by subordinates
and/or the advertising agency. This requires working with such departments as production. media, art,
copy and sales promotion. If an outside agency is used. the advertising department is relieved of much
of the executional responsibility; however, it must review and approve the agency's plans.
Production
Finance Marketing Research
and
developme
nt
Human
resources
Marketing
research
Advertising Sales Product
planning
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Coordination with other Departments The manager must coordinate the advertising department's
activities with other departments, particularly those involving other marketing functions. For example,
the advertising department must communicate with marketing research and/or sales to determine
which product features are important to customers and should be emphasized in the company's
communications.
Coordination with Outside Agencies and Services Many companies have an advertising department
in house but still use many outside services. For example, companies may develop their advertising
programs in-house while employing media buying services to place their ads and/or use collateral
services agencies to develop brochures, point-of-purchase materials, and so on. The department serves
as liaison between the company and any outside service providers and also determines which ones to
use. Once outside services are retained, the manager will work with other marketing managers to
coordinate their efforts and evaluate their performances.
(2.B) The Decentralized System
In large corporations with multiple divisions and many different products, it is very difficult to
manage all the advertising, promotional, and other functions through centralized department. These
types of companies generally have a decentralized system, with separate manufacturing, research and
development, sales and marketing departments for various divisions, product lines, or business. Many
companies that use a decentralized system, such as Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Nestle, assign
each product or brand to a brand manager who is responsible for the total management of the brand,
including planning, budgeting, sales, and profit performance. (The term product manager is also used
to describe this position.) The brand manager, who may have one or more assistant brand managers,
is also responsible for the planning, implementation, and control of the marketing program.
As shown in below Figure, the advertising department is part of marketing services and provides
support for the brand managers. The role of marketing services is to assist the brand managers in
planning and coordinating the integrated marketing communications program. In some companies, the
marketing services group may include sales promotion. The brand managers may work with sales
promotion people to develop budgets, define strategies, and implement tactical executions for both
trade and consumer promotions. Marketing Services may also provide other types of support services,
such as package design and merchandising.
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Sales Promotion
Package design
Merchandising
An advantage of the decentralized system that each brand receives concentrated managerial attention,
resulting in faster response to both problems and opportunities. The brand managers have full
responsibility for the marketing program, including the identification of target markets as well as the
development of integrated marketing communications programs that will differentiate the brand. The
brand manager system is also more flexible and makes it easier to adjust various aspects of the
advertising and promotional program, such as creative platforms and media and sales promotion
schedules.
There are some drawbacks to the decentralized approach. Brand managers often lack training and
experience. The promotional strategy for a brand may be developed by a brand manager who does not
Production
Finance Marketing Research and
development
Human
resources
Sales Product
Management
Marketing
services
Advertising
department
Marketing
research
Brand managar
Brand manager
Brand managar
Corporate
Ad agency
Ad agency
Ad agency
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really understand what advertising or sales promotion can and cannot do and how each should be used
Brand managers may focus too much on short run planning and administrative tasks, neglecting the
development of long- term programs.
(2.C) In-House Agencies
Some Companies, in an effort to reduce costs and maintain greater control over agency activities,
have set up their own advertising agencies internally. An in-house agency is an advertising agency
that is set up, owned, and operated by the advertiser. Some in-house agencies are little more than
advertising departments, but in other companies they are given a separate identity and are responsible
for the expenditure of large sums of advertising dollars. Large advertisers that use in-house agencies
include Calvin Kenin, Avon, Revlon, and Benetton. Many companies use in-house agencies
exclusively; others combine in-house efforts with those of outside agencies. For example, retail giant
Target has internal creative department that handles the design of its weekly circulars, direct-mail
pieces, in-store displays, promotions, and other marketing materials. However, the retailer uses
outside agencies to develop most of its branding and image-oriented ads and for specific TV and print
assignments.
A major reason for using an in-house agency is to reduce advertising and promotion costs. Companies
with very large advertising budgets pay a substantial amount to outside agencies in the form of media
commissions. With an internal structure, these commissions go to the in-house agency. An in-house
agency can also provide related work such as sales presentations and sales force materials, package
design, and public relations at a lower cost than outside agencies.
Saving money is not the only reason companies use in-house agencies. Time savings, bad experiences
with outside agencies, and the increased knowledge and understanding of the market that come from
working on advertising and promotion for the product or service day by day are also reasons.
Companies can also maintain tighter control over the process and more easily coordinate promotions
with the firm's overall marketing program. Some companies use an in-house agency simply because
they believe it can do a better job than an outside an agency could.
Opponents of in-house agencies say they can give the advertiser neither the experience and objectivity
of an outside agency nor the range of services. They argue that outside agencies have more highly
skilled specialists and attract the best creative talent and that using an external firm gives a company a
more varied perspective on its advertising problems and greater flexibility. Outside agencies also can
provide greater strategic planning capabilities, outside perspectives on customers, and ore creative
experience with certain media such as television. In-house personnel may become narrow or grow
stale while working on the same product line, but outside agencies may have different people with a
variety of backgrounds and ideas working on the account. Flexibility is greater because an outside
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agency can be dismissed if the company is not satisfied, whereas changes in an in-house agency could
be slower and more disruptive.
Comparison of Advertising Organization Systems
Organizational
System
Advantages Disadvantages
Centralized Facilitated Communications
Fewer personnel required
continuity in staff
Allows for more top management
involvement
Less involvement with
and Understanding of
overall marketing goals
Longer response time
Inability to handle
multiple product lines
Decentralized Concentrated Managerial attention
Rapid response to problems and
opportunities
Increased flexibility
Internal conflicts
Misallocation of funds
Lack of authority
In-house agencies Cost Savings
More control
Increased Coordination
Less experience
Less objectivity
Less flexibility
(3) ADVERTISING AGENCIES
More than 13,000 U.S. and international agencies are listed in the Standard Directory of
Advertising Agencies (the "Red Book")' However, most are individually owned small business
employing fewer than five people. The U.S. ad agency business is highly concentrated. Nearly two-
thirds of the domestic billings (the amount of client money agencies spend on media purchase and
other equivalent activities) are handled by the top 500 agencies. In fact, just 10 U.S. agencies handle
nearly 30 percent of the total volume of business done by the top 500 agencies in the united States.
In India, Indian Newspaper Society- Which is an accreditation body for the advertising agencies has
listed close to 800 advertising agencies in its 2006-07 handbook. However, like the US, in India too,
the industry is highly concentrated and top 10 agencies handle nearly 30% of the total volume of
business. The top 12 agencies in India have been listed in below Figure
Top Twelve Ad Agencies-India, 2007
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Rank Agency
1 Ogilvy & Mather
2 Mudra Communications
3 McCann Erickson
4 JWT
5 Lowe Lintas
6 Rediffusion DY&R
7 Leo Burnett
8 Grey Worldwide
9 FCB-Ulka
10 Satchi&Satchi
11 RK Swamy BBDO
12 Contract Advertising
(4) Type of Ad Agencies
Since ad agencies can range in size from a one-or two-person operation to large organizations with
over 1,000 employees, the services offered and functions performed will vary. This selection
examines the different types of agencies, the services they perform for their clients, and how they are
organized.
Full-Service Agencies Many companies employ what is known as a full-service agency, which
offers its clients a full range of marketing, communications, and promotions services, including
planning, creating, and producing the advertising; performing research; and selecting media. A full-
service agency may also offer nonadvertising services such as strategic market planning, sales
promotions, direct marketing, and interactive capabilities; package design; and public relations and
publicity.
The full-service agency is made up departments that provide the activities needed to perform the
various advertising functions and serve the client, as shown in below figure.
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Full-Service Agency Organizational Chart
Account Service: - Account services, or account management, are the link between the ad agency and
its clients. Depending on the size of the client and its advertising budget, one or more account
executives serve as liaison. The account executive responsible for understanding the advertiser's
marketing and promotions needs and interpreting them to agency personnel. He or she coordinates
agency efforts in planning, creating, and producing ads, The account executive also presents agency
recommendations and obtains client approval.
Vice president
creative service
Vice president
account service
Vice president
marketing
services
Vice president
management
and finance
PrintProduc
tion
Account
Supervision TV
Production
Account
executive
Board of Director
President
Media Sales
promotion
Research
Traffic
Office
manageme
nt
Finance
Accounting
Personnel
Writers
Art
Directors
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Marketing Services: - Over the past two decades, use of marketing services has increased
dramatically. One service gaining increased attention is research, as agencies realize that to
communicate effectively with their clients customers; they must have a good understanding of the
target audience.
Most full-service agencies maintain a research department whose function is to gather, analyze, and
interpret information that will be useful in developing advertising for their clients. This can be done
through primary research-where a study is designed, executed, and interpreted by the research
department-or through the use of secondary (previously published) sources of information.
The research department may also design and conduct research to pre-test the effectiveness of
advertising the agency is considering. For example, copy testing is often conducted to determine how
massages developed by the creative specialists are likely to be interpreted by receiving audience.
The marketing services department may include account planner who are individuals that gather
information that is relevant to the client's product or service and can be used in the development of the
creative strategy as well as other as aspects of the IMC campaign. Account planers work with the
client as well as other agency personnel including the account executives, creative team members,
media specialists, and research department personnel to gather information about the target audience.
They organize all of the information and make recommendations regarding advertising and promotion
strategy that can be used by the creative department as well as by others in the agency.
The media department of an agency analyzes, selects and contracts for space or time in the media that
will be used to deliver the client's advertising message. The media department is expected to develop
a media plan that will reach the target market and effectively communicate the message. Since most
of the client's ad budget is spent on media time and/or space, this department must develop a plan that
both communicates with the right audience and is cost effective.
Creative Services: The Creative team in the agency is responsible for the creative output. This could
be in the form of a print ad, a radio jingle or television commercial.
This team normally consists of someone who is responsible for the written matter called the
copywriter and another who is responsible for the visual element, called the art person. These two
individuals normally work as team on the campaign as the written and art elements of the ad have to
be in sync with each other for maximum impact. This teamwork also helps in the process of ideation.
The designations that commonly figure in the creative department are as follows
At the lower end of the copy stream is the copywriter and at the art stream is the art director. As they
progress in life, they can hope to become creative directors. At the top end, the copy and art functions
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coalesce. At this level the CD's as they are known are expected to be able to guide both the copy and
art streams and even to be able to single handedly write and visualize ad campaigns.
Management and Finance: - Like any other business, an advertising agency must be managed and
perform basic operating and administrative functions such accounting. Finance, and human resources.
It must also attempt to generate new business. Large agencies employ administrative, managerial, and
clerical people to perform these functions. The bulk of an agency's income (approximately 64 percent)
goes to salary and benefits for its employees. Thus, an agency must manage its personnel carefully
and get maximum productivity from them.
Agency Organization and Structure: - Full-function advertising agencies must develop an
organizational structure that will meet their clients‟ needs and serve their own internal requirements
most medium-size and large agencies are structured under either a departmental or a group system.
Under the departmental system, each of the agency functions shown in above figure is set up as
separate department and is called on as needed to perform its specialty and serve all of the agency's
clients. Ad layout writing, and production are done by the creative department, marketing services is
responsible for any research or media selection and purchases, and the account services department
handles client contact. Some agencies prefer to departmental system because it gives employees the
opportunity to develop expertise in servicing a variety of accounts.
Many large agencies use the group system, in which individuals from each department work together
in groups to service particular accounts. Each group is headed by an account executive or supervisor
and has one or more media people, including media planners and buyers; a creative team, which
includes copywriters, art directors, artists, and production personnel; and one or more account
executives.
Other types of Agencies and Services
Not every agency is a large full-service agency. Many smaller agencies expect their employees to
handle a variety of jobs. For example, account executives may do their own research, work out their
own media schedule, and coordinate the production of ads written and designed by the creative
department. Many advertisers, including some large companies, are not interested in paying for the
services of a full-service agency but are interested in some of the specific services agencies have to
offer. Over the past few decades, several alternatives to full-service agencies have evolved, including
creative boutiques and media buying services.
Creative Boutiques: - Creative boutiques are small ad agencies that provide only creative services
and have long been an important part of the advertising industry. These specialized agencies have
creative personnel such as writers and artists on staff but do not have media, research or account
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planning capabilities. Creative boutiques have developed response to some company‟s desires to use
only the creative services of an outside agency while maintaining control of other marketing
communication functions internally. While most creative boutiques work directly for companies, full-
service agencies often subcontract work to them when they are very busy or want to avoid adding full
time employees to their payrolls. They are usually compensated on a project or hourly fee basis.
An example of a successful creative boutique in India is VyasGianneti Creative, which is a Mumbai
based agency whose clients include Aditya Birla Group, Godfery Philips, BBC World, TATA Group,
Taj Hotels, and The Indian Cricket League among others.
Media Companies (Planning and Buying)
The media department in an ad agency is responsible for deciding how much money should the client
spend on a campaign and across what media.
The media planner is expected to prepare the media plan using the client's brief and all the media data
at his command. In this he works closely with the media buyer, who is usually a tough negotiator and
is able to get good rates from the media. With the media options increasing by the day, the media
planner has to depend heavily on the media buyer, with the result that very often the media plan is
driven by the rates one can get.
Today, there is a plethora of media data that is available to the media planner this data is now
available in digitized format. So it is possible to develop optimum media plans faster, as opposed to
the days of old when things had to be manually calculated.
The designations that commonly figure in the media department are
At the bottom end are the media planners/media buyers. At the top end are the media directors of VP
media.
Today, this function has become a part of independent media houses and hived off from the mainline
agency function. Larger agencies however continue to retain this function within their fold.
Some of the prominent media houses in the country are Group M. Madison Media, Carat, Starcom
and Optimum Media Solutions.
(5) AGENCY COMPENSATION
As you have seen, the type and amount of services an agency performs vary from one client to
another. As a result, agencies use variety of methods to get paid for their services. Agencies are
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typically compensated in three ways: commissions, some type of fee arrangement, of percentage
charges.
(5.A) Commissions from Media
The traditional method of compensating agencies is through commission system, where the agency
receives a specified commission (usually 15 percent) from the media on any advertising time or space
it purchases for its client. (For outdoor advertising. the commission is 16 1/2 percent.
(5.B) Fee, cost, andIncentive-Based Systems
Since many believe the commission system is not equitable to all parties many agencies and their
clients have developed some type of fee arrangement or cost-plus agreement for agency
compensation. Some are using incentive-based compensation, which is a combination of a
commission and a fee system.
Fee Arrangement: - There are two basic types of fee arrangement systems. In the straight or fixed-
fee method, the agency charges a basic monthly fee for all of its services and credits to the client any
media commissions earned. Agency and client agree on the specific work to be done and the amount
the agency will be paid for it. Sometimes agencies are compensated through a fee-commission
combination, in which the media commissions received by the agency are credited against the fee. If
the commissions are less than the agreed-on fee, the client must make up the difference. If the agency
does much work for the client in noncommissionable media, the fee may be charged over and above
the commissions received.
Cost-Plus Agreement :- Under a cost-plus system the client agrees to pay the agency a fee based on
the costs of its work plus some agreed-on profit margin (often a percentage of total costs). This
system requires that the agency keep detailed records of the costs it incurs in working on the client's
account. Direct costs (personnel time and out-of-pocket expenses) plus an allocation for overhead and
a mark-up for profits determine the amount the agency bills the clients.
Incentive-Based Compensation: - Many clients these days are demanding more accountability from
their agencies and tying agency compensation to performance through some type of incentive-based
system. While there are many variations, the basic idea is that the agency's ultimate compensation
level will depend on how well it meets predetermined performance goals. These goals often include
objective measures such as sales or market share as well as more subjective measures such as
evaluations of the quality of the agency's creative work. Companies using incentive' based system
determine agency compensation through media commissions, fees, bonuses, or some combination of
these methods.
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Recognizing the movement toward incentive-based system, most agencies have agreed to tie their
compensation to performance, Agency executives note that pay for performance works best when the
agency has complete control over a campaign. Thus, if a campaign fails to help sell a product or
service, the agency is willing to assume complete responsibility and take a reduction in compensation.
On the other hand, if sales increase, the agency can receive greater compensation for its work.
(5.C) Percentage Charges
Another way to compensate an agency is by adding a markup of percentage charges to various
services the agency purchases from outside providers. These may include market research, artwork,
printing, photography, and other services or materials. Markups usually range from 17.65 to 20
percent and are added to the client's overall bill.
(6)EVALUATING AGENCIES
The agency evaluation process usually involves two types of assessments, one financial and
operational and the other more qualitative. The financial audit focuses on how the agency conducts its
business. It is designed to verify costs and expenses, the number of personnel hours charged to an
account, and payments to media and outside suppliers. The qualitative audit focuses on the agency's
efforts in planning, developing, and implementing the client's advertising programs and considers the
result achieved.
Evaluation of an agency is very important in selecting an agency as well as in retaining as agency.
The starting point clearly is asking oneself the question: Why are we hiring an agency for?
Depending upon the answer to this question, it is possible to fix up the evaluation parameters for
selecting and retaining the agency.
The core competence of an advertising agency is primarily the ability to meet the requirements of the
client in terms of answering three fundamental questions:
What to say?
How to say it?
When and Where to say it?
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The first refers to advertising strategy, the second to creative strategy and the third to media strategy.
Assuming that the agency provides all these functions under one roof, in an integrated way, evaluation
parameters can be defined for each.
The advertising strategy essentially revolves around how well the brand's positioning platform is
arrived at positioning essentially means identifying the vacant slots in the consumers mind and then
determining the kind of slot we would want our brand to occupy. This involves the use of
sophisticated research tools such as factor analysis and multi dimensional scaling. The successful
measure of the advertising strategy would be to identify through tracking studies, the perceptual maps
of various brands and their effect on purchase behaviour.
The creative strategy essentially involves arriving at a creative work in the form of a print, TV, radio,
internet or even an outdoor campaign, which appeals to the target segment and created awareness,
interest, and desire and ultimately purchase of the brand. A good measure of creative strategy could
be internally designed research tools, which can be qualitative of quantitative in nature. The research
would measure recall, likeability of the ad, content analysis etc. Outside bodies, such the various
advertising club also have independent panels that judge the creativity of the ads and give away
awards, these also help evaluate agencies on the basis of their creativity. Advertising effectiveness
awards have also now been instituted, which not only evaluate the creativity of the ads but their
relevance, originality and impact on market share results.
The media strategy essentially involves arriving at an optimum media plan, which delivers the best
reach and frequency for the campaign. It means getting the maximum mileage for the advertising
rupee. In today's context is also involves getting the best media rates for the client.
In advertising agency evaluation, it is extremely important the advertising objectives are clearly
outlined. There should be clear to the ad agency as well as the client, so that expectations are clearly
laid out right from the beginning. This could prevent heartburn after the conclusion of the campaign.
Many clients believe that since the agency business is people driven, it is important get the best
people work on their brands. Hence in many cases, clients actually go through an intensive search of
the agencies, to find out the men behind the good campaigns, and very often insist on getting the best
relent within the agency to work on their brands.
An Advertising agency therefore would be typically evaluated by clients on the following criteria.
1. How good are they in their understanding of the product category?
2. Do they have any experience in handling the product category?
3. What is reputation of the team that is going to handle the business?
4. What is the overall reputation of the agency?
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5. How sound is the agency financially?
6. What are the kinds of financial terms do they operate on?
(7)SPECIALISED SERVICES
We have seen earlier that the typical advertising agency has had to morph itself to providing multiple
specialized skills to meet the demands of integrated marketing communications. The promotion of a
product may require sometimes, not only advertising, but also direct response marketing, sales
promotion, public relations, event marketing, internet marketing etc. Some agencies have set up
separate divisions within the agency to cater to these needs. However there also exist in the market,
separate agencies, each with specialized skills. Some clients prefer to deal with agencies that provide
all the specialized skills under one umbrella, whereas others prefer to deal with stand-alone
specialized agencies separately. Let us now understand what specialized skills each of these
specialized services, need bring to the table.
(7.1) Direct Response Agencies
As Opposed to advertising which involves mass communication, and where consumers are identified
in terms of broad groups, sharing common demographic profiles, direct response involves
communicating and getting a response from individuals who can be identified by name, address and
purchase behaviour.
Direct response communication differs from advertising in many ways. Here the attempt is to get the
consumer decide on purchase of the product as soon as he sees the communication. One good from
of direct response is direct mail. This is effectively used by organisations such as Readers Digest,
that attempt to get the potential consumers buy the product either through a discount or some other
attractive offer. Since the response has to be immediate, the communication of a direct response
usually provides a response coupon or a toll free number, so that the consumer can immediately
contact the seller the avail of the benefit.
In Direct response, consumers feel a high degree of risk since the product bought unseen. On the other
hand in the case of advertising, the role of the communication is to bring the consumer to the retail
outlet, where he has that opportunity to see the product. Hence direct response marketers have to be
extremely trustworthy as the consumer has very little recourse to change his mind, should he not like
the product on seeing it. Companies have however now begun to offer to take back the product in
such cases with no loss to the consumer.
Direct response communication also differs from advertising, in that in DR, the medium is the
marketplace. In advertising the retail outlet is the marketplace.
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Direct response advertising calls for specialized skills which is able to evoke a desirable consumer
response immediately. In DR ads one will see that there is usually a definite offer, all information
required to make a decision is available in the ad and the ad has response devise.
As can be seen from above direct response advertising call for very specialised skills because of the
context and nature of the communication. Hence many ad agencies have developed divisions within
the agency to cater to these needs. Good examples are Rapp Collins (part of the Mudra Group), Lintas
Personal, Saatchi and Saatchi Direct etc. However some agencies notably DIREM and Wunderman
India Pvt. Ltd., have pioneered this activity in the country in a standalone way.
Since direct response entails one-to-one communication, maintaining a database of consumers is very
important. This is often very difficult to get, and, more importantly, to keep updated. Agencies that
are able to do so well make for good direct response agencies. (More on this in chapter)
(7.2) Sales Promotion Agencies.
Sales promotion comprises a wide variety of tactical promotion tools of short term nature, designed to
stimulate an earlier or a stronger market response. Sales promotions are designed for consumer‟s
trade, institutions and even the company's sales force.
Consumer promotions are designed essentially to temp the consumer to purchase immediately and are
for a short period. They could be in the form of sampling, gif t, coupons, prices off, contests etc.
Trade promotions are designed to get the trade to stock up more of the company's product and thus
preempt competitors. They could be in the form of free goods, dealer contest, extended credit etc.
Sales promotion agencies should be capable of designing effective campaigns and implementing them
at the grass root level. Some advertising agencies have developed separate divisions to cater to this
requirement. Others such as Kidstuff have built organizations form scratch and over a period of time
have become competent in this area. (More on this in chapter 14)
(7.3) Public Relations Firms
Public relations or PR as it is often called confused to mean only press relations. this really
undermines the role of a PR firm and its importance in the development of an Integrated marketing
communications campaign for a client. Public relations actually extend the entire of the gamut of the
business chain. It includes employees, suppliers, shareholders, regulatory bodies, the retail and the
firm' consumers.
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Good PR essentially involves getting good coverage for the company and its brands across the media
Hence many companies employ PR managers within the firm to look after the PR requirements of the
company.
The role of the PR Manager in the company is:
a. To monitor the internal and external communication of the firm.
b. To liaise with the PR agency and the media.
c. To develop PR strategies for the company and execute them.
d. To evaluate the company's PR Programmes and provide feedback to the PR firm and top
management.
Public relations agencies ' core competence is ensuring good media coverage for the company and its
brands. The PR Agency therefore must have good relations with the media. This involves cultivating
the correspondents over time so that they are amenable to publishing articles in a positive way for the
company.
Public relations agencies need to employ people with good writing skills, not only in the English
language but also in the national language and the vernacular. In a vast a diverse country like India
with its manifold diversities in terms of religions, language, and culture etc., the importance of such a
capability within the agency cannot be underestimated. This capability helps in drafting of good press
releases which accurately project and highlight the company's point of view.
Arranging for press conferences is another function of the PR firm. This involves contacting the
reporters of the various media, primarily the press and the TV channels and ensuring their attendance,
organizing the venue and all the logistics involved thereof, giving proper guidelines to the client in
terms of what to say and what not to say etc., ensuring proper coverage and finally monitoring the
coverage received and providing this to the client in the form of a dossier.
Since the company's PR effort has to be in sync with the company's total communications programme,
advertising agencies are best suited for the job, if they can provide the above mentioned competencies
in house. Accordingly several ad agencies have set up PR divisions to cater to the clients requirement.
Notable among them are Ogilvy PR, Rediffusion PR, Madison PR, Clea PR etc. However other
standalone PR agencies that have made their mark in India include Good Relations India Pvt. Ltd.,
Genesis Burson Mar stellar and Hanmer and Partners.
(7.4) Event Marketing Agencies
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Event Marketing is increasingly becoming an important marketing tool in the hands of many
companies In India cricket and films attract the maximum audiences. Accordingly most companies try
to have their brand presence at events featuring cricketers or film stars.
Events can broadly be categorized into the following kinds:
a. Sports Events
b. Film Star Events
c. Industrial Exhibitions
d. conferences
a. Sports Events: The most popular sport in the country being cricket, sponsorship of such
events has become big business today big companies bid for the sponsorship right and/ or
television right for such events and then market the same to clients. Similarly cricketers too
employ professionals to negotiate on their behalf for the endorsement of various brands.
Agencies such as Nimbus and Madison are Players in this domain.
b. Film Star Events: Film stars are another big attraction in India. Accordingly film star award
functions are big events and many companies vie with each other to sponsor such events.
Beauty contests for another genre of glamorous events which attract good sponsors. Agencies
such as Wiz craft International are in the forefront of organizing and managing such events.
c. Industrial Exhibitions: Also sometimes termed as trade fairs, these are organized to get the
trade under one umbrella. Such exhibitions also attract customers. Goods examples in the
country are the India International Trade Fair organized in Delhi and the Inside-Outside trade
fair organized in different Part of the Country.
d. Conferences: are becoming more and more popular particularly among the intelligentsia of
the country. Many publication groups such as the India Today Group, The Times of India
Group and the DainikJagran Group have developed capabilities in organizing such events.
These conferences typically attract speakers of repute from all across the world and include
businessmen, management gurus, religious godmen, politicians etc.
While sponsorship of the event delivers to the sponsor a limited audience at the event itself,
major mileage is obtained through the telecasting of that event. Event management agencies
therefore have to have the capabilities of not only being able to manage to event, but also the
advertising and publicity that follows. It is for this reason that many event mnagement firms
have developed PR capablities and many PR firms, event management capabilities.
Event management is a very labour intensive job. It involves managing the artistes, the
logistics of stage management and preparation of sets, lighting, sound, traffic control etc.
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Event Managers often experience Murphy's law in action, and things begin to go wrong, when
they least expect it.
(7.5) Interactive Agencies
The Internet is increasingly becoming an important media today and is growing in leaps and bounds
while advertising agencies are extremely comfortable with dealing with the offline media, most do not
still understand this new medium. Therefore many agencies are addressing the issue of not still
understand this new medium. Therefore many agencies are addressing the issue of understanding this
medium and developing capabilities of communicating through this medium.
Hitherto, most agencies were happy with developing websites for clients. These were more in the
nature of brochure ware on the Net. However, recognizing that the Internet offers capabilities in terms
of one to one communication and therefore immense possibilities for branding, more and more
agencies are employing specialists such as site architects, content developers, art directors and
visualizes and software Programmers to enhance and deliver value and customers through this
medium.
One of the biggest advantages of interactive agencies, is the ability to target focus communication as
well as track customers. Tribal DDB an international agency that is tied up in India with Mudra
Communications has been a pioneer in India in this domain. Almost all the leading agencies today
have interactive agencies in their fold.
(7.6) Collateral Services
Many advertising agencies outsource some of their work, giving rise to the formation of collateral
services. These are photographers, Stock Picture banks, model coordinators, and film production
houses.
Some agencies have in-house capabilities for photography. However many outsource this to freelance
photographers. The choice of the photographer depends on the nature of photograph required. Some
photographers specialize in food photography, others in fashion photography, yet other in outdoor.
The rates depend on the reputation of the photographer. Typically it consists of a daily rate plus
expenses.
Many Clients and agencies prefer to buy the pictures they require though various photo banks. Some
suppliers are Dinodia and Indiapictures.com.
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Models are very often required by agencies for various campaigns. There are many freelance
coordinators in the market who maintain a database of models which they make available a fee.
Most agencies prefer to work with film production houses to produce their commercials. The agencies
develop the creative product up to a point and then engage a film production house to produce the
commercial. These film production houses have their own film directors, set developer, cameraman,
studio coordinators, film editors etc. They charge depending upon the kind of input that will be
required to produce a given commercial.
(7.7) Market Research Companies
Market research is an important component of communication activity.
As indicated earlier, any advertising agency performs three critical functions:
Developing the Advertising Strategy
Developing the Creative Strategy
Developing the Media Strategy
In order to able to perform these functions effectively, there is need for data various kinds this
function is performed by the market research firms.
The developing of advertising strategy involves an understanding of the consumer and their
perceptions. This helps the Ad agency to develop the positioning strategy. Research in positioning
strategy. Research in this area is conducted by the market research firm.
Through specialized techniques, market research firms help in gauging whether the ad is
communicating the intended massage through the print medium or the TV Medium.
Also there is need to understand manner in which various media get consumed by various segments of
consumers. This helps media Planners do Their Job Better. Once again there are specialized market
research firms that do this.
Some of the Will know market research firms in India are AC Nielson ORG Marg., IMRB, TAM
Media,Hansa Research, Synovate India, Pathfinders, Indica Research etc.
References:
1. Geroge Belch, MichaelBelch, and KeyoorPurani, “Advertising &Promotion – an Integrated
Marketing Communications Perspective” Tata McGraw Hill pvt. Ltd 7th ed. 2009
2. Kruti Shah & Alan DSouza, “Advertising and Promotions”TataMcgraw Hills pvtltd,Delhi