1

MN3455 Advertising and Promotion in Brand Marketing

Professor Chris Hackley

Introduction This course aims to provide students with a strategic perspective on contemporary marketing communication management within an international context. It draws together theoretical and practitioner traditions from diverse literatures to focus not only on issues of advertising and brand management but also on the cultural role and ethical standing of advertising. It seeks to offer an integrated understanding of advertising and promotion from both a managerial and a cultural perspective, as reflected in the essential course text, Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Approach (2010) (2nd Edn, London, Sage).

Please bring the text book to workshops

Module Aims To provide students with a strategic perspective on contemporary marketing communication management within an international context To develop knowledge by drawing on the major pathway themes and principles of marketing management, marketing research, and consumer behaviour, within a strategic and international marketing communication perspective Objectives After successful completion of this course students will 1) Possess a working knowledge of way promotional campaigns are constructed by advertising agencies 2) Demonstrate awareness of the complimentarity and inter-dependence of discrete marketing activities within a strategic perspective by creating an outline promotional campaign 3) Appreciate the complexity and salience of ethical issues in marketing and advertising, especially with respect to the wider social influence 4) Be able to deconstruct promotional communications in terms of their likely intended segmentation and positioning rationale. Indicative module topics NB these topics are subject to change in order or content. The essential reading provides an introduction but it is recommended that supplemental readings, indicated in each chapter of the text, are also looked at. Session1 Introduction to Advertising and Promotion

Reading essential text C1 Session 2 Theorising Advertising and Promotion

2

Reading chapter 2. Session 3 The Brand and Integrated Marketing Communications Reading chapter 3. Session 4 Ad Agencies; Creative Work and Management Processes Reading chapter 4. Session 5 Promotional Media in the Digital Age Reading chapter 5 Session 6 Non-advertising promotion in integrated marketing communications Reading chapter 6 Session 7 International Advertising Reading chapter 7 Session 8 Advertising Ethics and Regulation Reading chapter 8 Session 9 Advertising Research Reading chapter 9 Session 0 Integrating e marketing and advertising

Reading C 10 Assessment Coursework (100%) Group presentation (25%) and report (75%) Coursework instructions There are two components to the coursework: a group presentation and a group academic report. The group presentation must be no more than 10 minutes long and is weighted 25% of the module grade. The report is weighted 75% of the total module grade, and must be no more than 3000 words in length.

It is mandatory that each student completes and submits a peer appraisal form with the group report.

3

Presentation Form groups, ideally with 5 members though we can be slightly flexible on this. If any students would prefer to be allocated into a group randomly by us then please email me and we will try to help, but do remember that it may not always be possible to help and the primary responsibility to find a group is yours.

Groups are required to prepare a ‘pitch’ of no more than 10 minutes duration for an original IMC campaign for a product or service of your choice, as if you are an agency account team pitching for a client’s business. Your task is to outline what your tem would do for the brand and how you would do it through your campaign. The objective is to win the business. Each group member must take a speaking part, however small.

The brand can be a made-up one or an existing one, but the campaign ideas must be original. The main issues each project must address are:

Brand idea and positioning: communication strategy, creative and media ideas

You might have an idea for a new service or product, for re-positioning or refreshing an existing brand, for re-launching an old brand, or for a public health or safety campaign. The nature of the brand and objectives of the campaign are up to you. Remember this is not a new business pitch, but an advertising campaign pitch. The potential budget and all other variables are left open. There is no need for figures/costs to be given. But please ensure that the scenario is plausible. For example, if you are promoting a campus sandwich bar, it won’t be realistic to roll out a national TV campaign. Keep everything in proportion.

You are strongly advised to rehearse presentations thoroughly and edit them ruthlessly for maximum impact. The task of a pitch presentation is to get the audience’s attention immediately and keep it with compelling ideas communicated with flair.

You can present your ideas using any a/v aids you choose: Powerpoint is usually a staple for putting across key issues and visual ideas, and groups can use storyboards, cartoon stick-men, photographs, role-plays etc.,

Many groups have produced short video ads for this project. This is not compulsory, you can convey the creative ideas in any way you feel appropriate. If you choose to make a TV or viral ad, remember that the best TV or radio ads are usually under 20 seconds and very tightly scripted and edited. If you do a video ad, save it in Windows Media player or Quicktime on a CD or memory stick to include when you hand in your report. Make the file as small as possible to ensure that it’ll play on the a/v kit in the presentation room. For examples of previous MN345 TV ads see

http://royalhollowaymarketing.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/rhul-advertising-students-showcase.html

4

Academic report A jointly written academic report of no more than 3000 words excluding references and appendices explaining the pitch and its rationale. Key content will include: Brand idea and positioning what is the product, service or cause you are promoting? How will you make it into a compelling proposition? What are the key brand values and qualities?

Communication strategy what do you need to say? What is the purpose of saying it (communication objectives)? Which media channels will you use, and how will they support each other? Why will the target audience believe it?

Creative and media ideas How will your brand idea be represented visually/aurally/textually in a compelling way?

The proportion of space given to each topic is up to groups to decide for themselves, depending on the particular pitch. There is no specified format for the report, but it should be written in an academic style. Theories should be used to justify the chosen campaign strategy and Harvard references should be used to cite relevant research papers. This assessment is designed to test not only your commercial flair, creativity and presenting/organising skills, but also your knowledge of the course content. Groups who get carried away with their idea but do not correctly apply the concepts in the course material and texts invariably produce weaker work.

Groups can divide the work as they see fit, but carefully copy-edit the final report so that it reads like one fluid document and not several disconnected ones. It is often a good idea for one group member to act as lead editor on the report.

Possible topic ideas Some previous student projects included…

Mars/Kit Kat launched in China: ‘Oats so Solid’ fictional instant oats (with free samples and roller blading servers at the presentation): new condom brand: student safety campaign: Fairtrade promotion: a new campaign for Bailey’s one for wine, another for Spotify: a campaign for campus bicycle hire: pizza brand: bottled water brand re-positioning: fashion clothing brand: radio ads: and many more.

Course Reading Essential Course Text Hackley, C. (2010) Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Approach 2nd Edn, London, Sage

5

Useful additional sources See readings posted on Moodle pages

Web-based resources (I cannot guarantee that these all remain currently available) Brand communication consultancy www.symbolism.org/about/html

Brand marketing network www.utalkmarketing.com Advances in Consumer Research (Proceedings of the Association of Consumer Research: downloads are available at www. vancouver. wsu.edu/acr/home.htm or www.acrwebsite.org

A database of advertising slogans www.adslogans.co.uk The UK account planning group www.apg.org.uk The UK advertising regulator the Advertising Standards Authority www.asa.org A site by branding consultancy Interbrand called www.brandchannel.com UK-based media research resource called the Broadcast Audience Research Board www.barb.co.uk University of Texas advertising teaching resource http://advertising.utexas.edu Duke University advertising history resource http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/ Advertising Trade press Campaign magazine www.brandrepublic.com Advertising Age magazine www.adage.com Admap Professional associations

UK advertising association www.adassoc.org.uk American Advertising Federation www.aaf.org American Association of Advertising Agencies http://www.aaaa.org/eweb/startpage.aspx

6

UK Institute of Practitioners in Advertising http://www.ipa.co.uk/ Some useful academic journals

These can normally be obtained through academic libraries and electronic databases. All general marketing journals carry articles about advertising from time to time. European Journal of Marketing International Journal of Advertising Journal of Advertising Journal of Advertising Research Journal of Consumer Research Consumption, Markets and Culture Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising Journal of Marketing

Managerial text books

There are countless text books about advertising. Any will contain some useful additional perspectives. This is just a small selection of examples.

Belch, G. and Belch, M. (latest edition) Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. New York: McGraw Hill Fill, C. (latest edition), Marketing Communications: Interactivity, Communication and Content, 5th ed., Essex: Pearson. Ogilvy, D. (1983) Ogilvy On Advertising, Carlton Books.

Percy, L., and R. Elliott (2009) Strategic Advertising Management, 3rd ed, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Shimp T. (latest edition) Advertising, Promotion, and Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communication, South-Western. Steel, J. (1998) Truth Lies and Advertising, John Wiley.

Cook, G. (2001) The Discourse of Advertising, London, Routledge. Leiss, W., Kline S., Jhally, S. and Botterill, J. (2005) 3rd Edn Social Communication in Advertising: consumption in the mediated marketplace, London, Routledge.

McFall, L. (2004) Advertising: a Cultural Economy, London, Sage.

7