The Nature of Communication

The Nature of Communication

• Communication involves transmitting, receiving, and processing information.

Communication Process

• The communication process begins with the sender.
• The sender encodes a message.
• The message is then transmitted via a device
• The message is then decoded by the receiver.
• Feedback is provided.
• Noise can disrupt any stage of this process.

Encoding

• Forming verbal and nonverbal cues is encoding.
• Designing an advertisement involves taking an idea and transforming it into a memorable message.

Transmission Device and Decoding

• Marketing communications move through various channels or media.
• Decoding occurs when the message reaches one or more of the receiver's senses.

Communication Noise Examples

• Talking on the phone during a TV commercial
• Driving while listening to the radio
• Looking at a sexy model in a magazine ad and ignoring the message and brand
• Scanning a newspaper for articles to read
• Talking to a passenger as the car passes billboards
• Scrolling past Internet ads without looking at them
• Being annoyed by ads on a social media site
• Ignoring tweets on Twitter because they are irrelevant
• Being offended by the message on a flyer for a local business

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

• IMC coordinates various promotional elements and marketing activities to communicate with the firm's customers.
• IMC recognizes the added value of a comprehensive marketing plan.
• The plan evaluates strategic communication disciplines.
• The disciplines combine to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communications impact.
• IMC ensures all marketing and promotional activities project a consistent, unified image.

American Association of Advertising Agencies definition of IMC

• IMC recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan while evaluating the strategic roles of a variety of communication disciplines.

Elements of the Promotional Mix

• The elements are advertising, direct marketing, digital/internet marketing, sales promotion, publicity/public relations, and personal selling

Advertising

• Advertising is any paid form of nonpersonal communication about an organization, product, or service.
• Advertising also promotes an idea from an identified sponsor
• Advertising is nonpersonal and involves mass media
• Messages are transmitted to large groups.
• There is no opportunity for immediate feedback in advertising

Benefits of Advertising

• It's the most cost-effective way to reach many consumers.
• It builds brand equity by influencing consumer perceptions.

Advertising to Business and Professional Markets

• Business-to-business advertising targets those who buy or influence industrial goods or services purchases for their companies.
• Professional advertising targets professionals, encouraging them to use a company's product in their business operations.
• Trade advertising targets marketing channel members, encouraging them to stock, promote, and resell the manufacturer's products.

Direct Marketing

• Direct Marketing communicates directly with target customers to generate a response and/or a transaction.
• It involves database management, direct selling, telemarketing, and direct-response advertising.
• Direct-response advertising encourages consumers to purchase directly from the manufacturer.
• Direct marketing has increased due to the rapid growth of mobile devices accessing the Internet.
• Companies use omnichannel retailing
• It uses extensive databases of customer names and information

Digital/Internet Marketing

• Interactive media allows users to participate in and modify information in real time.
• Social media involves online communication and interactions, for creating, sharing, and exchanging content.
• Mobile marketing involves messages specific to a consumer's location or consumption situation.

Website Creation Example

• Clarifying the purpose is important before building a website
• Types of websites include blogs, news, and e-commerce sites.
• Choose a domain name that reflects your brand or business e.g GoDaddy or Hostinger
• Hosting is where website files stored e.g InfinityFree
• An SSL Certificate ensures encrypted and secure communication between website and visitors
• Installation of WordPress helps setup the Website Admin Panel
• WordPress is a user-friendly website-building platform that requires no coding skills

Digital/Internet Marketing Advantages

• There is an interactive nature
• There is capability to precisely measure the effects of advertising and other forms of promotion

Sales Promotion

• Sales promotion involves marketing activities to provide extra value or incentives to the sales force, distributors, or ultimate consumers.
• Sales promotion aids in stimulating immediate sales.
• Categories of sales promotions are consumer-oriented and trade-oriented.
• There is increased emphasis due to declining brand loyalty, increased consumer sensitivity to promotional deals, and retailers' demanding more trade promotion support.

Publicity

• Nonpersonal communications regarding an organization, product, service, or idea not directly paid for or run under identified sponsorship is publicity.
• A key advantage is high credibility and low cost.
• Disadvantages include less control of the organization and highly damaging negative stories.

Public Relations

• Public Relations evaluates public attitudes to identify policies and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest.
• It establishes and maintains a positive image among various publics.

Personal Selling

• Personal selling involves person-to-person communication where the seller attempts to assist and/or persuade prospective buyers.
• Goal to purchase a company's product or act on an idea
• It allows sellers to tailor messages to the customer's needs
• It involves immediate and precise feedback.

IMC Involves Audience Contacts

• Every opportunity a customer has to see or hear about a company/brands or have an experience.
• Categories include company-created, intrinsic, unexpected, and customer-initiated

IMC Audience Contact Tools

• IMCs include broadcast media (TV/radio), Print media (newspapers, magazines), public relations/publicity, internet/interactive, mobile, out-of-home media, direct marketing, personal selling, sales promotion, point-of-purchase (displays, packaging), word of mouth, and events and sponsorships.
• Included are product placements (TV and movies) and branded entertainment.

Paid, Owned, and Earned Media

• Paid media involves channels marketers pay to leverage, including traditional advertising (TV, radio, print, etc.).
• Owned media involves channels a company controls, such as websites, blogs, apps, and social media channels.
• Earned media involves exposure for a company through viral marketing.

The IMC Planning Process and Integrated Marketing Communications Management

• Developing an integrated marketing communication strategy involves combining various promotional-mix elements.
• Planning, executing, evaluating, and controlling promotional-mix elements is important to communicate effectively with target audiences

Marketing Plan

• The marketing plan describes overall marketing strategy and programs for the organization, consisting of a detailed situation analysis.
• This includes specific marketing objectives with a time frame and a mechanism for measuring performance.
• Selection of a target market and implementing plans for each element of the marketing mix
• There is a process for monitoring, evaluating performance and providing feedback

Review of the Marketing Plan

• This involves examining overall marketing plan and objectives, identifying the role of advertising and promotion, performing competitive analysis, and assessing environmental influences.

Promotional Program Situation: (Internal Analysis)

• This assesses relevant areas involving the product/service offering and the firm itself.
• Includes the capability to develop and implement a promotional program in-house, brand image, and a product's relative strengths and weaknesses.
• Reviews previous promotional programs and results.

Promotional Program Situation: (External Analysis)

• Assess characteristics of firm’s customers, market segments, positioning strategies, and competitors.
• This involves customer analysis, competitive analysis, and environmental analysis.

Analysis of Communication Process

• Involves analyzing the receiver's response processes
• Source, message, and channel factors are taken into consideration
• It establishes communication goals and objectives.

Communication Process - Analysis

• Marketing objectives involve sales, market share, or profitability
• Communication objectives the firm wants to accomplish with its promotional program.
• It considers the Nature of the message to be communicated and Specific communication effects to be achieved.

Budget Determination

• There is a tentative marketing communications budget set.
• A tentative budget is allocated across different media, geographic markets, and time periods.
• Budgets are finalized until specific promotional-mix strategies are developed.

Developing the Integrated Marketing Communications Program

• It decides the role and importance of each promotional-mix element.
• Aspects of an advertising program include creative and media strategy.
• Creative strategy determines the message to be conveyed to a target audience.
• Media strategy determines which communication channels to use
• The goal is to deliver the message.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Control

• Well the program is meeting communication objectives.
• The firm accomplishes its overall marketing goals and objectives through this process.
• This also evaluates the effectiveness of the promotional program results
• Measures are taken to control and adjust promotional strategies.