MKF3461 - Lecture notes 1-11 PDF

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MKF3461 Marketing Communication

Resources - online: my.monash.edu.au/moodle/ www.warc.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/ www.communicationscouncil.org.au/ www.mediafederation.org.au www.aana.com.au

OVERVIEW

Marketing: where IMC BEGINS

Marketing: The activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large. • Strategic • Builds and maintains relationships with customers • Adds value

• Foundation for IMC: the ‘M’ in IMC Marketing mix Originally, these elements of the marketing mix were known as the ‘4 Ps’—product, price, place (distribution) and promotion (marketing communication). The basic task of marketing was seen as combining these four elements into a marketing program to facilitate the potential for exchange with consumers in the marketplace. With the realisation that marketing was relevant to understanding and delivering services as well as products, the marketing mix was expanded to 7Ps (see Figure 2.1 ) to include people (who deliver customer service), processes (activities undertaken as part of delivering the service) and physical evidence (the tangible presentation by the people carrying out the processes).

Where marketing communication comes together: timeline

IMC is an audience-driven business process of strategically managing stakeholders, content, channels and results of brand communication programs.

1.

The tactical integration of marketing communication, making it look and sound alike, is often considered to be the first stage of IMC. Tactical integration represented an improvement over the traditional method of treating the various marketing communication tools as separate activities. It also provided an opportunity for advertising agencies to restructure or reinvent themselves to not only deliver all of the functions of marketing communications that a client might want to buy, but also to assure the agency’s viability. 2. The answer was thought to be customer-focused marketing, a strategic planning tool that could explain the lifestyles, attitudes and motivations of distinct buyer groups and predict their likely buying behaviours in the future. Key to this was the database. By using detailed consumer information stored in the database, a synchronised, multichannel communications strategy could reach every market segment with a single, unified message. This required planning, coordinating and measuring the entire communications process. It also required rethinking. As Schultz, Lauterborn and Tannenbaum advise, ‘It’s realigning communications to look at it the way the customer sees it—as a flow of information from indistinguishable sources.’ 3. To accommodate this interactivity and consumer empowerment, Duncan and Moriarty suggested IMC was an ‘on- going, interactive, cross-functional process of brand communication planning, execution and evaluation that integrates all parties in the exchange process in order to maximise mutual satisfaction of each other’s wants and needs’ 4. Message consistency—need for organisation to adequately coordinate messages generated at all levels, department and outside firm Interactivity—ensure voice of all stakeholders is listened to and taken into account in decision making and enhances organisational responsiveness Stakeholder-centred strategic focus—meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders Organisational alignment—horizontal and vertical; within and between external partners Taking these four constructs of IMC a step further, Porcu, Del Barrio-Garcia and Kitchen embedded them into the most recent definition of IMC as, ‘The stakeholder-centred interactive process of cross-functional planning and alignment of organisational, analytical and communication processes that allows for the possibility of continuous dialogue by conveying consistent and transparent messages via all media to foster long-term profitable relationships that create value.’

IMC showcase: connected inside and out • Message consistency • Interactivity • Stakeholder-centered • Organisational alignment Integration that is consistent, interactive, stakeholder-centred and strategically and organisationally aligned —looks like Mastercard is having a ball!

Of course, not everyone loses their head over IMC. In fact, the main barriers to implementing IMC seem to be organisational. Organisational structure, typically vertical in departments or silos, is not conducive to integration. Also, turf battles and agency egos disrupt cross-functional teamwork. This is why the support of top management, especially the CEO, is so important.Without the support of the CEO, integration does not take place at a meaningful level across the organisation. Kliatchko and Schultz suggest that ‘IMC issues have become “C-suite” challenges’, with a lack of a voice at board level. This is supported by a recent study by Mortimer and Laurie, who concurred that the marketing department often lacked a strong enough voice within the organisation to lead change and that this was one of the main barriers to IMC. Another barrier was the actual implementation of IMC and, in particular, the lack of assistance from advertising agencies. Certainly, the client-agency relationship has been identified as an implementation issue since IMC began and the changing environment and changing agency structure do not make implementation any easier. Perhaps this could be overcome if the final barriers were removed: if there was more knowledge of IMC, and more expertise in data and analytics, which were used to make informed marketing communication decisions. Of course, this requires organisational data-collection systems and the right measurement tools, which can also be barriers to implementation. But perhaps one of the most interesting (and avoidable) barriers to implementation is attitudinal. Kerr and Drennan compared how advertising and public relations (PR) professionals in Australia perceived IMC. They found that the views of the two different marketing communication partners were similar in many ways. They both believe that IMC makes sense from a practical standpoint, generates organisational efficiencies and positively impacts long-term brand equity. They also concede that IMC is both strategic and tactical and requires the support of the CEO. Despite having similar perceptions, however, the two disciplines still believe that they think differently about IMC. Twice as many PR practitioners as advertising practitioners strongly agreed that advertising and PR think differently about IMC and that the two disciplines require very different skill sets. Kerr and Drennan suggest, ‘It could be that this perceived difference between the disciplines, rather than their understanding of IMC, is the main obstacle to seamless integration among marketing communication professionals in Australia today,’

Advertising is defined as ‘a paid, mediated form of communication from an identifiable source, designed to persuade the receiver to take some action, now or in the future’ Advertising is the best-known and most widely discussed form of marketing communication, probably because of its pervasiveness. It is also a very important IMC tool, particularly for companies such as car manufacturers and cereal makers, whose products and services are targeted at mass consumer markets, as it is very cost-effective at reaching large audiences. Its other key strength is its ability to create a brand image or personality, quickly and convincingly. In direct marketing , organisations communicate one-on-one with target customers in order to generate an immediate response or initiate a transaction. But the platforms have changed to include direct selling, telemarketing and direct-response ads through direct mail, the internet and various broadcast, digital and print media, retargeting and programmatic advertising. Some companies, such as Tupperware, Nutrimetics and Amway, do not use any other distribution channels, relying on independent contractors to sell their products directly to consumers. Others like ASOS rely on online sales alone, whereas retailers such as Myer and Foot Locker have been quite successful in incorporating both. Another IMC tool is sales promotion , which is generally defined as those marketing activities that provide extra value or incentives to the sales force, the distributors or the ultimate consumer, and can stimulate immediate sales. Sales promotion is generally broken into two major categories: consumer-orientated and trade-orientated activities. Consumer-orientated sales promotion is targeted to the ultimate user of a product or service and includes coupons, samples, premiums, rebates, contests, sweepstakes and various point-of-purchase materials. These promotional tools encourage consumers to make an immediate purchase and thus can stimulate short-term sales. Trade-orientated sales promotion is targeted towards marketing intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors and retailers. Promotional and merchandising allowances, price deals, sales contests and trade shows are some of the promotional tools used to encourage the trade to stock and promote a company’s products. Public relations (PR) is defined as ‘the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or organisation with the public interest, and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance’.The purpose of public relations is to establish and maintain a positive image of the company among its various publics. Its big advantage over other IMC tools is its credibility. Consumers generally tend to be less sceptical towards favourable information about a product or service when it comes from a source they perceive as unbiased. Public relations uses publicity and a variety of other tools—including special publications, participation in community activities, fundraising, sponsorship of special events, and various public affairs activities—to enhance an organisation’s image. Publicity refers to non-personal communications regarding an organisation, product, service or idea not directly paid for or run under identified sponsorship. It is also called earned media and typically comes in the form of a news story, editorial, social media or announcement about an organisation and its products and services. Sponsorship is defined as the ‘financial support of an organisation, person or activity in exchange for brand publicity and association’.Organisations can sponsor almost anything from events, sporting teams, cultural organisations and media programs to causes or individuals. Music festivals such as Splendour in the Grass often have more promotional banners than bands. Some sporting teams must wear the sponsor’s hat on the winner’s dais. The difference between sponsorship as a corporate donation and the use of sponsorship in building competitive advantage is the association between the brand and the event, organisation or individual sponsored. There should be some connection between the two, so that the association is mutually

beneficial. Qantas’s sponsorship of the Wallabies, the Australian rugby team, is a good example. With Qantas projecting a strong Australian brand image through its marketing communication, it makes sense for it to sponsor an Australian sporting team. It feels like it’s carrying the national flag, and even the naming rights—the Qantas Wallabies. If, however, the association was inconsistent with other marketing communication messages (for example, Qantas choosing to sponsor the All Blacks rather than the Wallabies), this sponsorship may be detrimental to the product or service. Customers may become confused about what the brand really stands for. Personal selling is a form of person-to-person communication in which a seller attempts to assist or persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company’s product or service or to act on an idea. Unlike advertising, personal selling involves direct contact between buyer and seller, either face to face or mediated through platforms such as the telephone or webchat. This interaction provides flexibility; the seller can see or hear the potential buyer’s reactions and modify the message accordingly. The personal, individualised communication in personal selling allows the seller to tailor the message to the customer’s specific needs or situation. Personal selling also generates more immediate and precise feedback, because the impact of the sales presentation can be assessed from the customer’s reactions. If the feedback is unfavourable, the salesperson can modify the message. Personal selling efforts can also be targeted to specific markets and customer types that are the best prospects for the company’s product or service.

LESSON 2 - BRANDS, BRANDING AND IMC PLANNING W2 Objectives ● ● ● ● ●

What does “brand” mean? How are brands created and maintained? What is the role of IMC in branding? What tools are available to analyse brands and their relationships with customers? Basic IMC planning process

What does “brand” mean? Concepts of a Brand “a name, a symbol, logo, trademark, etc, that identifies and differentiates a product or service” Kevin Keller

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“a successful brand is an identifiable product, service, person or place

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augmented in such a way that the buyer or user perceives relevant unique added values which match their needs most closely ...furthermore, its success results from being able to sustain these added values in the face of competition” Leslie de Chernatony & Malcolm McDonald

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Tangible and intangible dimensions of the brand

Brands have both tangible and intangible qualities. The tangible qualities are those we can see, feel, taste and judge: elements such as the design of the product, what it is made of, how well it works and how much it costs. The intangible attributes, however, usually involve our perception: what we think of the brand or the stores where it is sold, what kind of people use the brand, and what image the product projects. Ambler (1992) says that a brand is ‘the promise of the bundles of attributes that someone buys to provide satisfaction. They may be real or illusory, rational or emotional, tangible or invisible’.

Brands competing only on tangibles simply need to provide an equal or superior offering. However, they will quickly find their competitors are offering the same, and their point of difference is eroded. On the other hand, intangible attributes provide better opportunities for sustained differentiation and, when chosen effectively, have the potential for greater engagement and relationship building.

Example: what is a brand?

Gillette provides intangible benefits to engage users on its website. It not only has product information but it also has shaving tips and styling advice. It adds value and relevance for the brand's users by aligning with their lives. Choosing a brand name for a product is important from a positioning and an IMC

perspective because the name communicates attributes and meaning. Marketers search for brand names that can communicate product concepts and help position the product in customers’ minds. Names such as WeChat (a Chinese multipurpose messaging and social media app), Pampers (disposable nappies) and Head & Shoulders (anti-dandruff shampoo) all clearly communicate the benefits of using these products and at the same time create images extending beyond the names themselves. But what does Tiger beer tell us? Clearly, it is not what the beer is made from, but perhaps it reflects the cultural heritage of the product or even the way it makes us feel after a few drinks. Today’s communication is not just about words or names. It is telegraphic, iconic, unmistakably global and often instant. That’s why having a strong brand symbol can often say more than words. Some call these trademarks, or ‘the mark of a trade’, which represent the company or product as an element, word or design. You’ve probably seen the designation ‘registered trademark’ on packaging, which shows how commercially important these symbols are. A logo is a kind of trademark that symbolises the brand and appears in all brand communication. Well-designed logos share some common characteristics. They are distinctive, simple and fit the desired image and positioning of the brand. The stylised apple with a bite out of the side for ... Apple ... is instantly recognisable all around the world. Packaging is another aspect of branding that is important. Traditionally, the package provided functional benefits such as economy, protection and storage. However, the role and function of the package has changed because of self-service retail, online shopping and click and collect. It is difficult to estimate the percentage of unplanned retail purchases. According to one source, as many as three-quarters of all purchases made in the supermarket are unplanned. This means that the package is often the consumer’s first exposure to the product, so it must make a favourable impression. A typical supermarket has more than 30 000 items competing for attention. Not only must a package attract and hold the consumer’s attention, but it must also communicate information on how to use the product, divulge its composition and content, and satisfy any legal requirements regarding disclosure and maybe also a sales-promotion message such as a contest, sweepstake or premium offer. Many companies view the package as a significant way to communicate with consumers and create an impression of the brand in their minds. Design factors such as size, shape, colour and lettering all contribute to the appeal of a package and can be as important as an advertisement in determining what goes from the store shelf to the checkout. Many products use packaging to create a distinctive brand image and identity or to add value to the product.

How consumers engage

monash.edu/m

Emotional bonds

The most basic relationship indicates how consumers think about brands in respect of product benefits. This occurs, for the most part, through a rational learning process and can be measured by how well the marketing communication delivers product information. Consumers at this stage are not very brand loyal, and brand switching is common. At the next stage, the consumer assigns a personality to a brand. For example, a brand may be thought of as self- assured, aggressive and adventurous, as opposed to compliant and timid. The consumer’s judgment of the brand has moved beyond its attributes or delivery of product or service benefits. In most instances, consumers judge the personality of a brand on the basis of an assessment of overt or covert cues found in its advertising.

McCann-Erickson researchers believe the strongest relationship that develops between a brand and the consumer is based on feelings or emotional attachments to the brand. Consumers develop emotional bonds with certain brands, which result in positive psychological movement towards them. The marketer’s goal is to develop the greatest emotional linkage between its brand and the consumer. McCann-Erickson believes advertising can develop and enrich emotional bonding between consumers and brands.

Behavioral bonding with brands – develop links to develop relationship

When great campaigns bond with their consumers, the outcome is often a behavioural response. That is, they like the brand and so they buy the brand. A study by Cross and

Smith proposed a number of behavioural bonding links that connect a company to a customer. These links involve the four key behaviours of consistency, accessibility, responsiveness and commitment. The first of these, consistency, is also a key concept in IMC, whereby the company delivers consistent positioning, messages and service to customers. The second link is accessibility, where customers can easily and quickly contact the company if they have a question or a problem. This involves a feedback loop....