IMC Objectives and the Brief

Advertising vs. Marketing Marketing = 4Ps Advertising = subset of Marketing – Focuses on the “P” of promotion How do advertising and marketing works together? – Advertising communicates points of differentiation, which may emerge from the other ‘P”s

Points of Differentiation Price New channels of distribution Customer service Packaging Product differences Introducing new products Helping to “push” or to “pull”

Advertising relates to marketing in key ways Product Life Cycle consideration – Where is the product in its life cycle – Different stages have different advertising demands Segmentation – Who wants or needs this product – Where are new market opportunities

Advertising and Marketing… Product differentiation – Does the product match our message? – How strong is the competitive field? – How strong is brand loyalty? – Where do we sit in relationship to competition? Perceptual mapping Positioning – Advertising articulates the positioning

Positioning Segmentation – Targeting -- Positioning Positioning as the backbone of the brand – Examples: Sony Kia Trader Joes New Seasons

How do marketers establish a position? What does the customer currently believe about our product? What do they perceive about our competition? What do we want them to believe about us? Can we afford the position? Do we have the resources necessary to change attitudes? Do we have good reason to change our current position? How strong is the competitor’s position?

Establishing Objectives/Goals Communication goals, generally – …to inform – …to change attitudes/persuade – …to change behavior, encourage action Must include: – Target audience – Measureable objective – Time frame

Communication Process Sender EncodingChannelDecodingReceiver

Advertising Theory AIDA: – Awareness – Interest – Desire – Action – Advertising’s job is to move the consumer along this continuum

Advertising Theory Innovation Adoption Model – Awareness – Interest – Evaluation – Trial – Adoption

Advertising Theory – Variables that affect message Semiotics Source credibility Message credibility & delivery method Channel credibility

Common Advertising Goals Build the brand: enter the evoked set Create awareness: of new products, information Persuade, i.e. influence intent to purchase, or brand switch Support specific promotional initiatives Prompt action, i.e. stimulate trial Link an attribute to a product

The Creative Brief Developed to provide creative insight Articulates the insights about the consumer in relationship to the product Leads to creative inspiration and execution of communications that resonate emotionally with the consumer and cut through the clutter. The “Big Idea” or creative concept

Message and Media Strategies/Tactics What is our message? – What is the Unique Selling Point? – What is the function? Appeal? – What is the support? Constraints? What combination of promotional strategies will we use to distribute the message for maximum impact?

Budget Percentage of sales: allocate a percentage of gross sales to promote a product, generally around 2-10% Drawback: If sales are low, more promotional spending may be warranted than the 2-10%

Budget methods Per unit allocation: assign a specific dollar amount to advertising based on the per unit production cost ( a percentage of cost of production is allocated for advertising) Drawback: what if you’re not producing much? Won’t you need advertising to grow demand so you can make more?

Budget Share of voice: allocates an amount to advertising based on a relative portion of the overall amount spent in the category. To be “louder” than the competition. Drawback: doesn’t account for the power of the creative message

Budget Share of market: Determine desired market share (i.e. 10%) and multiply by a factor of 3 to reach the amount of ad money required to spend in the overall category. Drawback: same as share of voice

Budget Objective and Task: Break down the objectives into measureable advertising tasks (exposure = awareness). Calculate the cost for those tasks to come up with budget. Drawback: can be difficult to quantify cost to change attitude, often results in budgets client can’t support.

Budget Arbitrary: spend what you can afford.

Promotional Opportunity Analysis - Review Situation Analysis/Communication Opportunity Overview Objectives Creative Brief Strategies/Tactics Budget Evaluation

Ad Goals Ad forum.com