9_Easy_Managing Marketing Communications

Role of Marketing Communications

• Marketing communications informs, persuades, and reminds consumers about products and brands.
• It gives voice to the company to establish a dialogue with consumers.
• Marketing communication shapes brand image, builds relationships, customer loyalty, and equity.
• Shows consumers how and why a product is used and links the brand to memorable events, places, people, or feelings.
• It encourages consumers to try or buy products to drive responses.
• Moves consumers through awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, conviction, and purchase.

Communication Process Models

• Macromodel focuses on the sender, receiver, message, media, encoding, decoding, feedback, response, and noise.
• Micromodel focuses on how individual consumers respond cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally in awareness, liking, and preference.

Developing Effective Communication

• Set objectives to build awareness, foster liking/preference, or spur purchase.
• Identify the target audience by pinpointing whom the message addresses.
• Craft the message by tailoring content, structure, and format.
• Select channels choosing media that is effective at reaching the target.
• Aim to ensure the offering delivers value, the communication should align with the product's deliverables.
• Measure the communication's effectiveness in achieving objectives like awareness, sales, and consumer attitudes.

Defining Communication Objectives

• A communication objective is a specific task for a target audience within a set timeframe.
• The text identifies the three main focuses as creating awareness, building preferences and inciting action.
• Awareness can be about the need (primary demand) or the brand (selective demand).
• Inciting Action, promotional deals like two-for-one or discounts can spur final commitment.
• Quantitative benchmarks define the needed impact.
• Temporal benchmarks specify when an impact should be achieved.

Budget

• Objective-and-task budgeting defines objectives, identifies tasks, and estimates costs.
• This ensures alignment with desired outcomes and helps track ROI.
• Influences on the budget include the differentiation level, market share status, message complexity, reach needed, competitive spending, and available resources.

Target Audience

• Identification of the target market for communication overlaps the target market for the product or service itself.
• Different communication strategies may be needed depending on if the audience is new to the product, current users, or competitor loyalists.
• Purchase and usage decisions may involve multiple people.
• Communication may specifically target influencers, deciders, or users.

Crafting The Message

• Key message, target audience, and media considerations
• Focus on One or Two Core Appeals, highlighting brand positioning and core selling. Communications should appeal to Function and emotion.
• A "Big Idea" seeks differentiation through rational and emotional resonance.
• Develop a creative brief to ensure consistency in communication.
• Test multiple messages because more concepts provide a higher chance of success.

Communication Media Mix

• Companies allocate budgets across nine major communication modes; advertising, online & social media, direct marketing, events & experiences, word of mouth, publicity & public relations, personal selling, and packaging.
• Different modes may substitute for each other but need coordination.

Media Plan Development

• Consider how media formats work together by creating integrated campaigns that reinforce brand positioning.
• Aims to create consistent brand awareness, image, loyalty, and equity.
• Evaluation includes paid, owned, and earned media.
• Each type has unique reach, impact, credibility, and cost factors.
• Determine the most "cost-effective" based on audience size, composition, and media cost.
• Decide on reach (% of people exposed), frequency (how many times exposed), and medium impact to balance them.

Scheduling & Allocation

• Macroscheduling refers times of year/seasonality to determine ad spend.
• Microscheduling is the allocation over shorter periods to maximize impact.
• Scheduling options include continuity (even distribution), concentration (heavy spending in a single period), flighting (intermittent bursts), and pulsing (ongoing low-level with heavier waves).
• Geographic allocation includes national, spot (specific regions), and local buys (hyper-local media).

Message Strategies

• Informational appeals focus on attributes/benefits with a rational, problem-solution or comparative format.
• Examples include comparison ads, problem-solution, and testimonials.
• Transformational appeals emphasize non-product benefits/experiences and stir emotions or use attention-getting tactics.

Message Credibility

• Expertise (specialized knowledge).
• Trustworthiness (perceived honesty).
• Likability (charisma and attractiveness).
• Celebrity/influencer endorsements can boost attention/recall if there is congruity between the celebrity and brand.

ADPLAN Framework

• Evaluates Attention capture by holding consumer interest by avoiding skipping.
• Distinction ensures the ad and thematic elements set it apart.
• Positioning: communicates the right category and core benefit effectively.
• Reinforces desired points of parity or difference.
• Linkage aids retention of the brand and message.
• The ad should avoid the pitfall of being entertaining and lacking brand identification.
• Amplification focuses on positive or negative thoughts after exposure.
• Encouraging positive reaction reinforces brand attitudes and buying intentions.
• Net Equity should fit heritage to avoid brand contradictions.

Identifying Communication Effectiveness

• Media coverage includes column inches in print and visibility on TV.
• Measuring Recognition and Recall whether the audience acknowledges the message.
• Frequency of exposure and recall of details.
• Attitude shifts that show if feelings toward a brand are positive or negative.
• Assesses Behavioral outcomes such as: purchases, and word of mouth advertising.
• Utilizes Posttests to assess the campaign's overall impact post-launch.
• Tracks brand awareness to measure how it has increased based on specific goals.
• Tracks Share of expenditures, Share of voice, Share of mind/heart, Share of market

This quiz assesses understanding of marketing communications, covering goals, strategies, and key media planning metrics. It explores the role of owned media, the importance of building preferences, and the impact of integrated campaigns.