DECIDING ON THE MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS MIX

BY: VIVIAN JAQUE MARTINEZ

QUESTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED

• What does marketing communication really mean?

• What is the communications mix and how should it be set?

• How do marketing communications work?

• What are the major steps in developing effective communications?

• What is the role of marketing communications?

• How can marketing communications be accounted for?

• What is an integrated marketing communication program and how

it works plus its limitations?

INTRODUCTION

• Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt

to perform, persuade and remind customers directly or indirectly

about their products and brands.

MC represent the voice of the company

Through communication, a company can show how and why a

product is used, by whom, where and when to use such product.

It is a link between the company and their customers.

Historically Communication in marketing was mostly done on a traditional point

of view as there were no advanced technologies or any formal tools of marketing

communications as compared to today and the illiteracy rate was high.

The invention of the first formal communication tool was a newspaper. Some of

the earliest newspapers date back to Ancient Rome where important

announcements were carved in stone tablets and placed in highly populated

areas where citizens could be informed of the announcements as seen below;

Today there is explosive growth of mass media which has brought a drastic

change to marketing communications.

However, over the sequence of time, newspaper costs continue to rise and

the number of newspaper subscribers continue to fall. This has led to a vast

reduction in the number of newspapers and newspaper editions in every

market.

And led to invention of other sources of information as a result of the rising

levels of literacy. Increasing influence of social network media facilitated by

the growth of technology and growth of FM radio and TV channel penetration

have made it quite easy for the companies to bring their messages across to

the public.

Communicating the company’s brand, positioning and delivering it to the target audience is the foundation of the organization’s marketing strategy.

In the field of marketing communications, coordination of efforts towards the fourth P of the marketing mix – Promotion is a must. A company needs to develop strong sales and advertising messages that will connect with its customers instantly and effectively highlight the product’s quality and differentiation from other brands.

Marketing communications is a subsection of the general subject area known as marketing.Marketing as a broad business function includes product research and development, merchandising and distribution processes and pricing, as well as communication or promotion.

The communication mix refers to specific methods used to promote the company and its products to targeted customers.

marketing communications mix refers to;the specific combination of marketing communication tools that work together to communicate the marketer’s message, to achieve the marketer’s objectives, and to satisfy the target market.

Advertising - Any paid form of non-personal presentation and

promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.

Examples are:

Broadcast media

Display/outdoor media

Print media

Network media

Electronic media

Types of advertising

Print advertising

Website advertising

Television and radio advertising

There are three main objectives of advertising. These objectives

are to: Inform, Persuade, and Remind.

The AIDA model; getting Attention, hold Interest, arouse Desire,

and then obtain Action.

Effectiveness of a headline;

Attracts attention

Communicates a strong benefit

Appeals to the self-interest of the reader. It answers the question,

"What's in it for me?"

Sets the tone for the offer

A headline acts as an identifier to select the right audience.

Once the headline has done its job, then prospects are so involved in

educating and informing the public about the benefits of what they offer

so that they get to know how to access the product or service.

Most advertising today falls short because too much energy is spent on

glitzy art or cool graphic design and the resulting ads absolutely fail in

the first step of interrupting and capturing attention.

COMPARISON, On headings……

COMPARISON, On content and design

Personal selling - Personal presentation by the firm’s sales force for the

purpose of making sales and building customer relationships.

The personal selling process consists of the following step

1) Prospecting

2) Pre-approach

3) Approach

4) Making the Presentation

5) Overcoming Objections

6) Closing the Sale

7) Follow-up

Sales promotion - Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale

of a product or service.

Examples of devices used in sales promotion include coupons, samples,

premiums, point-of-purchase (POP) displays, contests, rebates, and ruffle

draws or lotteries.

Sales Promotion Strategies

There are three types of sales promotion strategies: Push, Pull, or a combination of the two.

Car dealers often provide a good example of a combination strategy.

Goals of this communication tool include: increasing revenue and cash flow, attracting new customers and clearing out extra inventory.

Manufacturerpromotes to wholesaler

Wholesaler promotes to

retailer

Retailer promotes toconsumer

Consumerbuys from

retailer

TYPES OF SALES STRATEGIESPUSH STRATEGY

Orders to manufacturer

Manufacturerpromotes to

consumer

Consumer demands product

from retailer

Retailer demands product

from wholesaler

Wholesaler demands

product frommanufacturer

Orders to manufacturer

PULL STRATEGY

Public relations;

This tool aims at, Building good relationships with the company’s various

publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good "corporate

image", and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories, and

events.

Public Relations, is the overall term for marketing activities that raise the

public's consciousness about a product, service, individual or issue.

PR is the management of a company's public image that helps the public

understand the company and its products.

Publicity as an important part of PR

Publicity aims to create interest in a person about a particular product, idea,

organization, or business establishment generally through the generation

and placement of favorable stories in the news media such as newspapers,

magazines, TV, and radio.

Unlike advertising which relies on purchasing power to get a message across,

publicity relies solely on the quality of content to persuade others to get the

message out. Good publicity helps journalists find and report legitimate news

that is important to their audience to consider the company in question as

the best.

Anyone can buy advertising space but not just anyone can earn the respect of

media in order to establish an effective PR campaign.

Direct marketing;Involves, Direct communications with carefully targeted individual consumers to obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships.

Direct marketing usually is carried out through digital or social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, email, blogs, telephone that is telemarketing and telesales, direct mail that is brochures, catalogs, flyers, direct-response broadcast advertising which is television & radio, online computer shopping, and television commercials and home shopping networks.

There are many benefits of direct marketing both to buyers and sellers.For example; Customers enjoy the convenience of direct marketing as they do not have to

battle traffic, find a parking space, or shop through stores. Buying through direct marketing channels is also private and easy and does

not have to involve a face-to-face interaction with a salesperson. Direct marketing can also offer a wider selection of products while making

comparison shopping choices. direct marketing is immediate and goods can be purchased immediately in

the exact desired alignment.

Sellers also enjoy many benefits of direct marketing. It is a great tool in customer relationship building as it provides direct

communication with customers. Direct marketers can also gather a great deal of information about their

customers. Direct marketing also can reduce costs.

Examples include;

Catalog Marketing,

Catalogs save time, appeal to those who are fearful of shopping due to crime

rates, offer convenience, allow leisurely decisions, offer privacy, often offer

toll-free telephone numbers to place orders, and allow comparison of quality

and price.

Mail-order clubs, online or print surveys and infomercials are other examples

of direct marketing communication.

Event Sponsorship

Event sponsorship is the element sometimes left out of the five-elements

communication mix. Many models include it within advertising. The sponsorship

may include a mix of benefits including booth representation during the event

to hand out samples, gifts and literature, name mention during the event and ad

spots connected to the event.

Event sponsorship can be an effective way to connect with a loyal, targeted customer base.

Interactive MarketingThis the newest and fast growing channel of communicating and selling directly to the customers through the internet. The internet provides marketers and consumers with opportunities for much greater interaction and individualization.Examples include; websites, search ads, display ads and emails.

Word of mouthCustomers use “word-of-mouth” to talk about dozens of brands each day, from media and entertainment products such as movies, TV shows and publications

PROCESS OF DECIDING THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX

Relative strengths and weaknesses of each component of the mix,

Define your total budget first and then,

Decide upon the best way to control the different elements of the mix

to maximize the return on your investment.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Reaches large and geographically dispersed audiences, often with high frequency; Low cost per exposure, though overall costs are high, Consumers perceive advertised goods as more legitimate, Dramatizes company/brand, Builds brand image, may stimulate short-term sales however it is Impersonal, one-way communication and Expensive.

Most effective tool for building buyers’ preferences, convictions, and actions; Personal interaction permits feedback and adjustments. It is Relationship-oriented, Buyers are more attentive; Sales force represents a long-term commitment however it is the most expensive of all the promotional tools.May be targeted at the trader or ultimate consumer; Makes

use of a variety of formats: premiums, coupons, contests,

among others; Attracts more customers, offers strong

purchase incentives, dramatizes offers, boosts wilting sales;

Stimulates quick response; But it’s Short-lived and ineffective

at building long-term brand preferences.Highly credible; Very believable; involves many forms like news stories, news features, events and sponsorships, among others; Reaches many prospects missed via other forms of promotion, Dramatizes company or product however it is often the most under used element in the promotional mix yet it relatively inexpensive compared to other promotional tools.

Has many forms: Telephone marketing, direct mail, online

marketing. Four distinctive characteristics: Nonpublic,

Immediate, Customized, Interactive but it is well-suited to

highly-targeted marketing efforts. When deciding upon your unique marketing communications mix, you should

also consider the Product Life Cycle.

Pre-Introduction: Needs light advertising and pre-introduction publicity.

Introduction: Heavy use of advertising, public relations for awareness, events

and experience followed by personal selling to gain distribution coverage, sales

promotion and direct marketing to induce trial.

Growth: Growth has its own momentum through word of mouth and interactive

marketing.

Advertising, public relations, branding and brand marketing and personal selling

for distribution.

Maturity: Here advertising, events and experiences, and personal selling all

become more important. There is need for reminder and persuasion of the

public about the relevance of the product.

Decline: Sales promotion remains strong, other communication tools are

reduced and salespeople give the product only minimal attention for distribution

purposes.

OTHER FACTORS;

The target audience and its characteristics Type of product and its market Consumers’ readiness to purchase Availability of media and its effectiveness Consumers’ preferences for various media Regulations, competitors, and environmental factors Promotional Budget available

MARKETING COMMUNICATION BUDGET

By Karishma

What is a marketing communication budget?

• This refers to the estimated projection of costs required to promote a

business’ products or services.

This budget typically includes all promotional cost including marketing

communications tools i.e. website development, advertising, sales promotion

etc.

A marketing communication budget provides a formal process for planning,

tracking and measuring the impact of your expenditures on marketing

communications activities such as advertising, direct marketing, online or

events.

The budget sets out the funding required to meet your communications

objectives and provides a method of managing the expenditure over a budget

FEATURES OF A MARKETING BUDGET

• Objectives; The objective of the marketing communication budget is to achieve

the communication goals as cost effectively as possible and demonstrate a

successful return on investment.

• Scope; The budget covers the direct and indirect costs of communications

programs.

• Time; The budget also sets out the timescales for expenditure over the year

• Efficiencies; Putting together a budget can highlight opportunities to reduce

marketing communications costs.

• Tracking; Budgets enable you to track planned expenditure against actual

costs

• Metrics; Use the budget to measure how well the program achieved

communications objectives. Use metrics to measure factors such as changes in

brand perception, number of sales leads, responses to direct marketing

DETERMINING A BUDGET

• Marketing budgets aid in the planning of operations by forcing managers to

prioritize activities and consider how conditions may change.

• Essential purpose of budgeting include:

-To control resources

-To communicate plans to various responsibility center managers

-To motivate managers to strive to achieve budget goals

-To evaluate the performance of managers

-To provide visibility into the company's performance

Marketing plans are resource driven and they affect the budget. Therefore, two

big budgeting decisions should be resolved up front,

1. How shall these efforts be funded?

2. Who will benefit from the new program?

BUGDETING UNDER INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION.

When determining a budget for an integrated marketing plan, it is important for

managers to understand the components of IMC in order to allocate funds

properly, these include:

-The foundation

-The corporate culture

-The brand focus

-Consumer experience

-Communications tools

-Promotional tools

-Integration tools

HOW TO PREPARE A MARKETING COMMUNICATION BUDGET?

There are six steps considered when making or drafting a communications

budget and these include;

1. Calculate overall marketing communication budget

2. Decide what communication tools to use through out the year

3. Review previous year’s communications budget

4. Assign a budget to each section of your promotional campaign

5. Set aside some funds in the marketing communication budget for new

promotion ventures

6. Include a segment of the advertising budget for marketing materials i.e. flier

printing, t-shirts and giveaway products

PRESENTED BY: NISTA & AZIA

What is integrated Marketing Communications?

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is an approach to brand communications where the different modes work together to create a seamless experience for the customer and are presented with a similar tone and style that reinforces the brand’s core message.

Its goal is to make all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations direct marketing, online communications and social media work together as a unified force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation, which maximizes their cost effectiveness.

COMPONENTS OF IMC

Corporate image/media

Branding

Market segmentation

Media selection

Promotional tools

Customer relationship management

Consistent messages

Sales promotion

Advertising

Direct mail

Why is IMC important?

Integrated marketing communication plays an integral role in communicating

brand message to a larger audience.

Integrated marketing communication goes a long way in creating brand

awareness among customers at a minimal cost.

Integrated marketing communication scores over traditional ways of

marketing as it focuses on not only winning new customers but also

maintaining long term healthy relationship with them.

Marketers do not also have to think really hard as to which marketing tool is

really effective in creating brand awareness. Integrated marketing

communication saves time which is often lost in figuring out the best

marketing tool.

TOOLS OF IMC

• Advertising :

Advertising is one of the most effective ways of brand promotion. Advertising

helps organizations reach a wider audience within the shortest possible time

frame.

Advertisements in newspaper, television, radio, billboards help end-users to

believe in your brand and also motivate them to buy the same and remain loyal

towards the brand.

Advertisements not only increase the consumption of a particular

product/service but also create brand awareness among customers. Marketers

need to ensure that the right message reaches the right customers at the right

time. Be careful about the content of the advertisement, after all you are paying

for every second.

SALES PROMOTION:

Brands (products and services) can also be promoted through

discount coupons, loyalty clubs, membership coupons, incentives,

lucrative schemes, attractive packages for loyal customers,

specially designed deals and so on.

Brands can also be promoted effectively through newspaper

inserts, danglers, banners at the right place, glorifiers, wobblers

etc.

DIRECT MARKETING:

Direct marketing enables organizations to communicate directly

with the end-users. Various tools for direct marketing are emails,

text messages, catalogues, brochures, promotional letters and so

on. Through direct marketing, messages reach end-users directly.

PERSONAL SELLING:

• Personal selling is also one of the most effective tools for integrated

marketing communication.

Personal selling takes place when marketer or sales representative sells

products or services to clients. It goes a long way in strengthening the

relationship between the organization and the end-users.

Personal selling involves the following steps like:1. Prospecting2. Making first contact3. The sales call 4. Objection handling 5. Closing the sale

Public Relation Activities:

Public relations activities help promote a brand through press releases,

news, events, public appearances to mention but a few. The role of

public relations officer is to represent the organization in the best

light/way possible.

LEVELS OF IMC

• Level 1: tactical coordination and marketing communications initial, IMC focus

is on the tactical coordination of diverse marketing such as advertising,

promotion, direct response, public relations, and special events. This level

focuses on delivering “one sight, one sound” via marketing communication.

• Level 2: Redefining the scope of marketing communication the organization

begins to examine communications from the customer’s point of view.

Marketing communication begins to give consideration to all sources of brand

and company contact a customer has with the product or service.

Management broadens the scope of communication activities to encompass and

coordinate internal marketing employees, suppliers, and other business partners

and align with the existing external communication programs.

• Level 3: Application of information technology an organization’s application of

empirical data using information technology to provide a basis identity, value,

and monitor the impact of integrated internal and external communication

programs to key customer segments over time.

• Level 4: Financial and strategic integration the emphasis shifts to using the

skills and data generated in the earlier stages to drive corporate strategic

planning using customer information and insights. Organizations re-evaluate

their financial information infrastructure.

IMC entails coordinating the organization’s promotional mix to communicate a

clear, consistent & compelling company & brand message.

The IMC program must blend these elements to inform, persuade, remind &

reinforce their attitudes/perceptions most effectively at each brand contact.

BASIC REASONS FOR COMMUNICATION IN IMC

Inform – increase new product awareness, inform about specific brands,

educates about product features/benefits

Persuade – persuading consumers to try new products, brands or services

to create product demand (& secondary demand)

Remind – keep the firm’s brand fresh in the consumers memory, ‘creating

top of mind awareness’

Add value – altering consumer perceptions, innovation, improving quality,

delivering sales promotions

Assist other efforts – assist sales reps, pre-sell products

Wraps communication around customers: Helps consumers helps to move

through various stages of the buying process.

Increases profit: It increases profit through increase effectiveness. As its most

basic level, a unified message has more impact than a disjointed myriad of

messages.

Enables relationship marketing: It cements a bond of loyalty with consumers

which can protect them from the inevitable onslaught of competition. The ability

to keep a customer for life is a powerful competitive advantage.

Makes messages more consistent. IMC makes messages more consistent and

thus more believable.

Boosts sales: IMC can boost sales by stretching messages across several communications

tools to create more avenues for customers to get aware, aroused, and ultimately, to arrive

at a purchase.

Eases the consumers in their buying process: Carefully linked messages also help buyers

by giving timely reminders, updated information and special offers which, when submitted

in a planned sequence, help them move comfortably through the phases of their buying

process…

Saves money in the long run: IMC saves money as it gets rid of duplication in areas such

as art and photography since they can be portioned out and used in say, advertising,

exhibitions and sales literature

Examples of companies using IMC

1. Walt Disney company in south Africa

2.Guinness company

3.Coca cola company

Coca cola uses integrated marketing communications in order to communicate

with its target. It is a pioneer company in 360 communication tools as they

rapidly understood they had to come in touch with consumers to create links,

and to look for them wherever they are. The communication plan is adapted

regarding the market, the society, the potential and the product positioning.

Coca cola is willing to be close to its customers, to be a part of their daily life, to

become a kind of ritual attached to specific moments, for that they use social

media and social marketing through social responsibility, for e.g. Creating

emoticons and feelings of affiliation towards its consumers. It always focusses

on fun and entertainment as it is the main message they want to deliver. They

adapt their message to the target market but they are always based on the same

values; sharing happiness, fun, tradition of coke.

BARRIERS TO INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

• Functional silos

• Stifled creativity

• Time scale conflicts

• Lack of management know how

GOLDEN RULES OF IMC

• Get senior management support for the initiative by ensuring they understand the benefits of IMC

• Integrate at different levels of management

• Ensure the design manual or even a brand book is used to maintain common visual standards for the use of logos, fonts, colors and then on.

• Focus on a clear marketing communications strategy.

• Start with a zero budget

• Think customers first

• Build relationships and brand values.

• Develop a good marketing information system, which determines who needs what data when

• Share artwork and other media

• Be prepared to change it all

WHAT IS A BAD IMC?

One of the most common failure of IMC is the use of too

many tools for the social media. For e.g. Some

brands/companies use social sites like Facebook, twitter,

Instagram etc. When the audience really pays attention to

those channels, what ends up happening here is that

although one channel looks nice and engages in meaningful

conversation, the other look like a barren wasteland that

ignores their audience ,which is not good at all.

But even when you have someone concentrating specifically

on your social media, they need to not only be conversant of

the messaging they are attempting to convey, but the

manner in which they are communicating that message.

Even then, it doesn't always go well !!

CASE STUDY: “3 IDIOTS”

• How the producers of the film “3 idiots” promoted it

The producers of 3 idiots- a successful Bollywood hit of 2009 used a

variety of communication vehicles to rake in a record of 240 crore in both

domestic and international markets in just the first ten days…….

Question is, how did they do it??

Movies take quite a while to reach the semi-urban and rural areas in

India. The producers of “3 idiots” noticed this gap and planned

promotional campaigns targeted at rural and semi-urban audiences.

Interviews were conducted by regional movie stars in rural areas.

The concept of alternative reality gaming was used in relatively bigger

cities.

CONTINUATION;

Aamir Khan Sachin Tendulkar

An interactive website, www.Idiotsacademy.Com was also designed in keeping the name of the movie. Additional activities included tie-

ups with reliance life insurance for “all-is-well insurance plans” named after a popular song in the movie, “aal izz well”,

T-shirts, rickshaws and butt chairs at multiplexes were all used in the promotion of the movie

IN CONCLUSION;

Once the overall marketing strategy has been determined and the marketing plan has been

outlined, it is necessary to develop a set of operational communication objectives. It is only when

this is done that an appropriate marketing communications mix can be designed. There are,

however, a number of intervening factors to be considered before the communications mix is

finalized. These include the nature of both the product and the market, the stage at which the

product lies in its life cycle and the relative value of the product in terms of its price to potential

purchasers. Having decided upon the communications mix, the promotional message can be

determined and the medium or media best suited to delivering this message can be chosen. At

this point, the budgetary implications of the decisions made so far have to be considered. If the

cost of the communications program exceeds the resources available to the organization, then

there may have to be an adjustment in the communications mix. In some instances, the

organization may conclude that it can adjust the communications mix to reduce the cost to an

affordable level but that the revised communications package is unlikely to achieve the original

objectives. Faced with this situation, the organization may resort to revising its marketing

communications objectives. Once the budget has been set the program can be implemented.

The effectiveness of the program has to be measured against its objectives and, if necessary,

adjustments or wholesale revisions of the program will be made leading to creation of the

FOR BEING A GREAT AUDIENCE