CH-13 Integrated Marketing Communications: Promotional Strategy, Advertising, Sales Promotion, and Public Relations – Essentials of Marketing Management : Exam Guide

Chapter 13 Integrated Marketing Communications: Promotional Strategy, Advertising, Sales Promotion, and Public Relations True/False Questions 1. Sales promotion is one-to-one personal communication with a customer by a salesperson, either in person or electronically in some way that provides two-way dialogue. Answer: False Rationale: Personal selling is one-to-one personal communication with a customer by a salesperson, either in person or electronically in some way that provides two-way dialogue. 2. Buzz is limited to current and potential customers. Answer: False Rationale: Buzz is not limited to current customers or even potential customers; when buzz about a brand hits the marketplace, it can even permeate pop culture. 3. The effectiveness and efficiency of promotional strategies are tracked on the basis of price fluctuations. Answer: False Rationale: Decisions about which metrics to employ to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of promotion must be selected in the context of the specific goals established for the promotion plan. 4. A sales promotion is designed to augment other forms of promotion and is rarely used alone. Answer: True Rationale: A sales promotion provides an inducement for an end-user consumer to buy your product or for a salesperson or someone else in the channel to sell it. It is designed to augment other forms of promotion and is rarely used alone. 5. PR should never be combined with advertising or sales promotion to create demand. Answer: False Rationale: Advertising, consumer-directed sales promotion, PR, or direct and interactive marketing can be combined in various ways to target end users, creating demand that results in the channel making an offering available for purchase. 6. Push and pull strategies are rarely used mutually exclusively. Answer: True Rationale: Push and pull strategies are rarely used mutually exclusively; a promotional strategy is developed that strikes the best balance of investment of promotional funds in both push and pull strategies that make sense for the product and market involved. 7. Public relations and advertising are among the most commonly outsourced functions in marketing because of the specialization required to be successful in each. Answer: True Rationale: Advertising and PR are among the most outsourced functions in marketing; developing sufficient internal expertise in these areas would be extremely costly and could reduce their focus on their core business. 8. The issue of corporate identity and its impact on customer attitudes and responses toward product offerings is no longer relevant in today's marketplace. Answer: False Rationale: Customers pay attention to the organization behind an advertising message, how socially responsible the company is, and what values it stands for. 9. The order of the steps in the AIDA model is not important. Answer: False Rationale: Buyers often pass through purchase decision processes in three steps: cognitive (learn), affective (feel), and behavioral (do). The AIDA model, so-named because the effects build in this order: Attention (or Awareness), Interest, Desire, and Action. The attention stage correlates to the cognitive step of buyer decision making, the interest and desire stages to the affective step, and the action stage to the behavioral step. 10. There is one universal promotional appeal that works on every target market. Answer: False Rationale: Much of the message design process requires strong creative energy to come up with a promotional appeal that is appropriate for the offering and market, connects well with the brand, and has a high likelihood of ultimately taking the target through the AIDA steps toward purchase. 11. Public relations is an area that can be handled by anyone trained in marketing. Answer: False Rationale: PR is a specialized field; usually, undergraduate and graduate marketing programs do not include training in PR. 12. ABC Corp. is the number one leader in its industry. It will probably use comparative advertising to reach its audience. Answer: False Rationale: Comparative advertising works especially well when you are not No.1 in a product category because you can put the market leader on the defensive. 13. Advertising is synonymous with marketing. Answer: False Rationale: To most of the general public, advertising is synonymous with marketing, but really advertising is a paid form of relatively less personal marketing communications, often through a mass medium to one or more target markets. 14. "The incredible edible egg" campaign is an example of product advertising. Answer: False Rationale: "The incredible edible egg" campaign is an instance of institutional advertising, where the goal is to promote an industry, company, family of brands, or some other issues broader than a specific product. 15. The lower the reach and frequency, the higher the cost of a campaign. Answer: False Rationale: The greater the reach and higher the frequency, the more expensive the overall advertising campaign will be. 16. The way an advertisement communicates the information and image is called advertising results. Answer: False Rationale: Advertising execution is the way an advertisement communicates the information and image. 17. Internet marketing succeeds because spam is so popular. Answer: False Rationale: See Exhibit 13.14. Internet marketing succeeds because it allows businesses to target specific demographics and interests effectively, contrary to spam which is generally indiscriminate and often irritating to recipients. 18. Bonus payments, prizes, trips, and other incentives to induce a salesperson to push one product over another are forms of consumer sales promotion. Answer: False Rationale: Bonus payments, prizes, trips, and other incentives to induce a salesperson to push one product over another are forms of internal sales promotion. 19. Buzz, or word-of-mouth communication, is the communication generated about a brand in the marketplace. Answer: True Rationale: Buzz, or word-of-mouth communication, is the communication generated about a brand in the marketplace. 20. Agencies vary from specialized firms that focus on an industry or on a particular area of promotion to full service shops. Answer: True Rationale: Agencies vary from specialized firms that focus on an industry or on a particular area of promotion, such as print media or product placement to full-service shops that manage all aspects of their clients' IMC strategy. Multiple Choice Questions 21. _______________ is NOT part of the promotion mix. A. Advertising B. Sales promotion C. Public relations (PR) D. Pricing E. Personal Selling Answer: D. Pricing Rationale: Marketing managers usually communicate with customers through promotion, which involves various forms of communication to inform, persuade, or remind. This communication is accomplished through elements of the promotion mix—advertising, sales promotion, public relations (PR), personal selling, direct marketing, and interactive marketing. 22. _______________ uses media such as television and newspapers to deliver the message. A. Advertising B. Personal selling C. Direct marketing D. Interactive marketing E. Sales Promotion Answer: A. Advertising Rationale: Advertising is a paid form of marketing communications that is relatively less personal, often through a mass medium to one or more target markets. Example media include television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and outdoor. 23. _______________ is an interactive marketing system that uses personal communication with a customer by means other than a salesperson. A. Advertising B. Sales promotion C. Direct marketing D. Public relations E. Personal selling Answer: C. Direct marketing Rationale: Direct marketing is an interactive marketing system that uses one or more advertising media to affect a measurable response and/or transaction at any location. It constitutes a personal communication with a customer by means other than a salesperson. 24. The development of promotion mix strategies, or simply promotional strategies, involves decisions about _______________. A. Elements in the promotion mix B. Determining the acceptable ROI for the customer C. Price D. Product development E. Distribution Answer: A. Elements in the promotion mix Rationale: The development of promotion mix strategies involves decisions about which combination of elements in the promotion mix is likely to best communicate the offering to the marketplace and achieve an acceptable ROI for the marketer, given the product and target markets involved. 25. _______________ is a strategic approach to communicating the brand and company message to targeted customers in ways that are clear, concise, and consistent and yet are customizable as needed to maximize the impact on a particular audience. A. Buzz marketing B. Promotional campaign C. Integrated marketing communications D. Media buying E. Sales promotion Answer: C. Integrated marketing communications Rationale: IMC is a strategic approach to communicating the brand and company message to targeted customers in ways that are clear, concise, and consistent and yet are customizable as needed to maximize the impact on a particular audience. 26. _______________ is a strength relating to advertising as an element in the promotion mix. A. Ability to pinpoint small numbers of customers B. Limited creative flexibility maintains control C. Many media choices D. Less costly E. Direct contact with individual targets Answer: C. Many media choices Rationale: One of the advantages of advertising as a product mix element is the many media choices are available. 27. In a push strategy _______________. A. The focus is on end users B. Members of the channel are targeted for promotion C. Advertising is of extreme importance D. End users drive the distribution of the new product E. Couponing to customers is a key strategy Answer: B. Members of the channel are targeted for promotion Rationale: In a push strategy, the focus is on the channel of distribution and in getting the offering into the channel. Members of the channel are targeted for promotion and are depended on to then push the offering into the hands of end users. 28. _______________ is the application of marketing concepts and strategies inside an organization. A. Direct marketing B. Personal selling C. Internal marketing D. Integrated marketing communications E. Publicity Answer: C. Internal marketing Rationale: Internal marketing is the application of marketing concepts and strategies inside an organization. 29. The _______________ stage of the AIDA model is most important when customers are essentially unaware of an offering, and most of the investment in communication must be in raising awareness. A. Decoding B. Interest C. Desire D. Action E. Attention Answer: E. Attention Rationale: If target customers are essentially unaware of an offering, most of the investment in communication must be in raising awareness and gaining their attention. 30. The _______________ stage of the AIDA model is most important when it becomes necessary to inform customers more specifically about what a product offering can do for them to help fulfill needs and wants. A. Decoding B. Interest C. Desire D. Action E. Attention Answer: B. Interest Rationale: To translate customer attention into interest requires persuasive communication; for more technical or complicated products, this means beginning to inform customers more specifically about what a product offering can do for them— how it helps fulfill needs and wants. 31. The _______________ stage of the AIDA model is most important when we want to influence customers to feel that they simply can't do without the item. A. Decoding B. Interest C. Desire D. Action E. Attention Answer: C. Desire Rationale: Moving from interest to desire means that a customer has to move past a need and begin to really want the product. To stimulate ultimate purchase, marketers often rely on salespeople, accompanied by some form of sales promotion, to close the sale. 32. Getting the customer to actually make a purchase is the _______________ stage of the AIDA model. A. Decoding B. Interest C. Desire D. Action E. Attention Answer: D. Action Rationale: The action stage is the purchase itself. 33. When a company wishes to indicate features when introducing its new product, explain product functionality, articulate what the company and its brand stands for in order to develop a clear image, and wishes to discuss various uses and applications for its product, which goal of promotion is it seeking to achieve? A. To persuade B. To inform C. To captivate D. To remind E. To manipulate Answer: B. To inform Rationale: The goal to inform through promotion is served by indicating features when introducing new products or making product modifications, explaining product functionality, articulating what a company and its brands stand for in order to develop a clear image, and by discussing various uses and applications for the product. 34. The marketing manager of ABC Shoes is beginning to develop a promotional strategy for a new line of casual shoes. The first thing she must do is _______________. A. Select the promotion mix B. Establish goals for promotion C. Prepare promotion budget D. Identify targets for promotion E. Develop the message Answer: D. Identify targets for promotion Rationale: It is not possible for the marketing manager to make sense of developing a promotional strategy until the targets are selected. 35. The marketing manager of XYZ brewery is developing a promotional strategy for their high quality low cost beer. He wants to state the advantages of XYZ's line and give customers a reason to choose it over the competition. The goal of this promotional strategy is to _______________. A. Persuade B. Inform C. Captivate D. Remind E. Manipulate Answer: A. Persuade Rationale: Promotion provides the opportunity to state your offering's advantages and to persuade the customer to select you over the competition. 36. _______________ is NOT part of the AIDA model. A. Attention B. Interest C. Desire D. Action E. Deficit Answer: E. Deficit Rationale: The AIDA model is so-named because the effects build in this order: Attention (or Awareness), Interest, Desire, and Action. 37. Moving a customer past a need to really want the product is the _______________ stage in AIDA model. A. Attention B. Interest C. Desire D. Action E. Advertise Answer: C. Desire Rationale: Moving from interest to desire means that a customer has to move past a need and begin to really want the product. 38. Promotion feeds _______________ through strong persuasive communication. A. Attention B. Interest C. Desire D. Action E. Advertise Answer: B. Interest Rationale: To translate customer attention into interest requires persuasive communication; to stimulate interest, the promotion must begin to touch a customer's "hot buttons." 39. Essentially, Coca-Cola has 100 percent brand awareness among U.S. consumers; therefore, the goal for its promotion is to _______________. A. Persuade B. Inform C. Captivate D. Remind E. Manipulate Answer: D. Remind Rationale: For brands that are already top-of-mind for many customers, a primary goal of promotion is to keep the brand and its imagery at the forefront. 40. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires marketers to get parental consent to collect personal information on anyone younger than _______________. A. 18 B. 16 C. 13 D. 10 E. 21 Answer: C. 13 Rationale: Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires marketers to get parental consent to collect personal information on anyone younger than 13. 41. Before moving forward to develop a promotion mix for a brand new product category, the marketing manager must establish _______________ goals for the promotion. A. Inform B. Remind C. Action D. Persuade E. Desire Answer: A. Inform Rationale: The goal to inform through promotion is served by indicating features when introducing new products or making product modifications, explaining product functionality, articulating what a company and its brands stand for in order to develop a clear image, and by discussing various uses and applications for the product. 42. _______________ goals lets a customer know that Hilton has opened a new property in Tahiti. A. Interest B. Action C. Persuade D. Inform E. Remind Answer: D. Inform Rationale: The goal to inform through promotion is served by indicating features when introducing new products or making product modifications, explaining product functionality, articulating what a company and its brands stand for in order to develop a clear image, and by discussing various uses and applications for the product. 43. By influencing customers to purchase right now due to some strong benefit or need, a coupon or special offer would contribute to the promotional goal to _______________. A. Accept B. Remind C. Persuade D. Inform E. Act Answer: C. Persuade Rationale: The goal to persuade through promotion is served by impacting customer perceptions of a product, especially in comparison to competitor's products, getting customers to try a product, hopefully resulting in a more permanent switch from a competitor, influencing customers to purchase right now due to some strong benefit or need, and by driving customers to seek more information online or through a salesperson. A coupon could serve this purpose. 44. _______________ is NOT a reason for Coke to invest in promotion. A. To maintain brand loyalty B. To reduce the tendency to switch to other brands C. To maintain corporate identity D. To encourage brand switching from competitor's customers E. To explain the features of their product Answer: E. To explain the features of their product Rationale: For brands that are already top-of-mind for many customers, a primary goal of promotion is to keep the brand and its imagery at the forefront, and marketers must constantly communicate with customers to maintain brand loyalty and reduce the tendency to switch to other brands. 45. Promotion mix decisions are NOT dependent on _______________. A. The nature of the offering B. Stage of the offering in the product life cycle C. Price of the product D. Nature of the market E. Available budget Answer: C. Price of the product Rationale: Promotion mix decisions are dependent on several factors including the nature of the offering, stage of the offering in the product life cycle, nature of the market, and available budget. 46. Promotion should be viewed as a(n) _______________. A. Cost B. Liability C. Investment D. Revenue E. Income Answer: C. Investment Rationale: Promotion in general should be viewed as an investment, not a cost. From an accounting statement perspective, promotional expenses will show up as costs. But the budget for promotion dollars should be developed as an investment to grow a brand rather than as an afterthought of last year's revenues. 47. A _______________ appeal centers on benefits an offering can provide to a customer. A. Fantasy B. Rational C. Desire D. Lifestyle E. Slice of life Answer: B. Rational Rationale: A rational appeal centers on benefits an offering can provide to a customer. 48. An appeal that uses ordinary folks doing ordinary things is a _______________ style. A. Fantasy B. Rational C. Desire D. Lifestyle E. Slice of life Answer: E. Slice of life Rationale: A slice of life approach to advertising portrays regular people in everyday settings. 49. Little kids and puppy dogs help execute a(n) _______________ appeal. A. Fantasy B. Rational C. Emotional D. Lifestyle E. Slice of life Answer: C. Emotional Rationale: An emotional appeal plays on human nature using humor, drama, joy, adventure, sorrow, love, surprise, guilt, shame, fear—the whole gamut of human emotions and aspirations—in developing promotional messages. 50. A _______________ appeal in promotional messaging is used to strike a chord with a target customer's sense of right and wrong. A. Moral B. Rational C. Research based D. Lifestyle E. Mood Answer: A. Moral Rationale: A moral appeal in promotional messaging is used to strike a chord with a target customer's sense of right and wrong. 51. _______________ is NOT one of the four types of promotional budgets. A. Objective-and-task method B. Percent-of-sales method C. Desire and action method D. Comparative parity method E. All-you-can-afford method Answer: C. Desire and action method Rationale: A variety of typical approaches to promotion budgeting are used including: the objective-and-task method, percent-of-sales method, comparative parity method, and the all-you-can- afford method. 52. Many charities, cause-related marketers, and politicians use _______________ to elicit support. The Salvation Army's tagline "Doing the Most Good" reflects this. A. Moral appeals B. Rational appeals C. Emotional appeals D. Explicit appeals E. Implicit appeals Answer: A. Moral appeals Rationale: A moral appeal in promotional messaging is used to strike a chord with a target customer's sense of right and wrong. Many charities, cause-related marketers, and politicians use moral appeals to elicit support. The Salvation Army uses a tagline "Doing the Most Good" to reflect its reputation of providing more benefits out of donation dollars than many other charities. 53. Sally has seen the same ad for Fishy's Cat food every time she turns on the television. The commercial and its jingle used to amuse her, but now it is boring and sometimes it annoys her. This is an example of _______________. A. A bad campaign B. Advertising wearout C. Overexposure D. Marginal returns E. Advertising response function Answer: B. Advertising wearout Rationale: Customers can quickly and easily become bored with any given advertising campaign, a concept referred to as advertising wearout. 54. Fishy's Cat Food saw great returns on its advertising efforts when it was first introduced, but even with increased spending, their market share has stopped growing and has actually fallen in some areas. This is an example of _______________. A. A bad campaign B. Advertising wearout C. Overexposure D. Marginal returns E. Advertising response function Answer: E. Advertising response function Rationale: The advertising response function effect occurs when market share stops growing—or even begins to decline—despite continued spending. 55. When customers quickly and easily become bored with any given advertising campaign, it is considered _______________. A. Positioning B. Advertising response function C. Guarantee of desire D. Advertising wearout E. Maximum reach Answer: D. Advertising wearout Rationale: Customers can quickly and easily become bored with any given advertising campaign, a concept referred to as advertising wearout. 56. When advertising gets beyond a certain ad spending level and diminishing returns set in this is called _______________. A. Positioning B. Advertising response function C. Guarantee of desire D. Advertising wearout E. Maximum reach Answer: B. Advertising response function Rationale: The effect known as the advertising response function states that beyond a certain ad spending level, diminishing returns tend to set in and market share stops growing—or even begins to decline—despite continued spending. 57. _______________ are the two major types of advertising. A. Inform and persuade B. Product and price C. Institutional and product D. Humor and fantasy E. Moral and product Answer: C. Institutional and product Rationale: There are two major types of advertising: institutional advertising and product advertising. 58. California Dairy Council has been running national advertising on television. The ad features "happy cows" and carries the tag line "Great cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from California." The council developed a logo that is prominently displayed in the ads, and presumably the expectation is that a consumer would look for that logo on a wedge of cheese in the dairy case, selecting it over cheese from elsewhere. This is an example of _______________ advertising. A. Institutional B. Product C. Slice of life D. Moral E. Research based Answer: A. Institutional Rationale: The goal of institutional advertising is to promote an industry, company, family of brands, or some other issues broader than a specific product. 59. The goal of _______________ advertising is to promote an industry, company, family of brands, or some other issues broader than a specific product. A. Institutional B. Product C. Slice of life D. Moral E. Research based Answer: A. Institutional Rationale: The goal of institutional advertising is to promote an industry, company, family of brands, or some other issues broader than a specific product. 60. _______________ is NOT one of the common approaches to advertising execution. A. Humor B. Musical C. Horror D. Animation E. Fantasy Answer: C. Horror Rationale: Common approaches to advertising include humor, musical, animation, and fantasy. Horror is not listed. 61. The vast majority of advertising is _______________, designed to increase purchase of a specific offering. A. Institutional B. Product C. Slice of life D. Moral E. Research based Answer: B. Product Rationale: The vast majority of advertising is product advertising, designed to increase purchase of a specific offering. 62. _______________ stimulates primary demand. A. Pioneering advertising B. Competitive advertising C. Institutional advertising D. Comparative advertising E. Sales promotion Answer: A. Pioneering advertising Rationale: Pioneering advertising stimulates primary demand, so it tends to be used during the introductory and early growth stages of the PLC when it is important to gain purchase by innovators and early adopters. 63. "Cotton: The fabric of our lives" is an example of industry sponsored _______________. A. Institutional advertising B. Ethical advertising C. Comparative advertising D. Competitive advertising E. Product advertising Answer: A. Institutional advertising Rationale: The goal of institutional advertising is to promote an industry, company, family of brands, or some other issues broader than a specific product. 64. Building a positive customer attitude toward the brand is a key component of _______________ advertising. A. Pioneering B. Competitive C. Institutional D. Comparative E. Sales promotion Answer: B. Competitive Rationale: Marketing managers employ competitive advertising to build sales of a specific brand. Here, the appeal often shifts to more emotion and the goal is persuasion as well as providing information. 65. When two or more brands are reviewed side by side against each other on certain attributes this is considered _______________. A. Pioneering advertising B. Competitive advertising C. Institutional advertising D. Comparative advertising E. Sales promotion Answer: D. Comparative advertising Rationale: In comparative advertising, two or more brands are directly compared against each other on certain attributes. 66. Apple has run a series of humorous ads on television in which two guys stand side by side and sling barbs back and forth about features of the Mac versus the PC. This is an example of _______________. A. Pioneering advertising, B. Competitive advertising C. Institutional advertising D. Comparative advertising E. Sales promotion Answer: D. Comparative advertising Rationale: In comparative advertising, two or more brands are directly compared against each other on certain attributes. 67. _______________ measures the percentage of individuals in a defined target market that are exposed to an ad during a specified time period. A. Frequency B. Target C. Pioneering D. Reach E. Din Answer: D. Reach Rationale: Reach measures the percentage of individuals in a defined target market that are exposed to an ad during a specified time period. 68. _______________ measures the average number of times a person in the target market is exposed to the message. A. Frequency B. Target C. Pioneering D. Reach E. Hits Answer: A. Frequency Rationale: Frequency measures the average number of times a person in the target market is exposed to the message. 69. _______________ is NOT one of the examples of the seven broad categories of advertising media. A. Radio B. Magazines C. Outdoor D. Direct mail E. Fax Answer: E. Fax Rationale: Key advertising media include television, radio, newspapers, magazines, outdoor, direct mail, and the Internet. 70. _______________ is an advantage of using television media advertising. A. Short shelf life B. Appeals to multiple senses C. Impressions are fleeting D. Benefit of din E. Cost Answer: B. Appeals to multiple senses Rationale: One of the advantages of using television as a medium of advertisement is that it appeals to multiple senses. 71. _______________ describes the level of competing messages on a medium. A. Reach B. Frequency C. Clutter D. Shelf life E. Impressions Answer: C. Clutter Rationale: Clutter is the level of competing messages on a medium and is inherent to most media forms to some degree. 72. For many marketers, _______________ is the core of their marketing communications strategy. A. Television advertising B. Din C. The company Web site D. Direct mail E. Sales promotions Answer: C. The company Web site Rationale: For many marketers, the Web site is the core of their marketing communications strategy with print and other media types used primarily to drive customers to the Web. 73. When targeted to members of a channel on which a firm relies to sell product, _______________ is an important element of a push strategy. A. Consumer advertising B. Public relations C. Personal selling D. Sales promotion E. Institutional advertising Answer: D. Sales promotion Rationale: Sales promotion can be targeted to members of a channel on which a firm relies to sell product and is an important element of a push strategy. 74. Which of the following advertising media offers advantages of interactive capabilities, flexibility, timeliness, and low cost per exposure? A. Internet B. Television C. Radio D. Outdoor E. Newspapers Answer: A. Internet Rationale: The internet is an advertising media that offers advantages of interactive capabilities, flexibility, timeliness, and low cost per exposure. 75. The TV ad with a movie star talking about Boniva is an example of _______________. A. Fantasy appeal B. Endorsement appeal C. Humor appeal D. Comparative advertising E. Competitive advertising Answer: B. Endorsement appeal Rationale: Endorsement appeals connect an authority figure, company officer, or everyday consumer with the product to sanction and support its use. 76. Showing exotic aliens blasting cavities in your mouth is an example of _______________. A. Fantasy appeal B. Endorsement appeal C. Humor appeal D. Comparative advertising E. Competitive advertising Answer: A. Fantasy appeal Rationale: Fantasy appeals offer a fantasy look at how it might be if a customer purchases the product. 77. Using scientific evidence in a comparative ad is an example of _______________. A. Fantasy appeal B. Endorsement appeal C. Humor appeal D. Research based appeal E. Slice of life appeal Answer: D. Research based appeal Rationale: Research based appeals are often used in comparative ads where a brand provides scientific evidence of its superiority. 78. _______________ is a good reason to use radio advertising. A. It appeals to multiple senses B. It has a long shelf life C. It is high involvement D. It facilitates easy selectivity E. It has an audio only format Answer: D. It facilitates easy selectivity Rationale: Among other advantages, radio as a medium of advertising offers easy selectivity by market and station programming. 79. _______________ is an advantage offered by television media. advertising. A. A short shelf life B. The infomercial option C. That impressions are fleeting D. The benefit of din E. Low cost Answer: B. The infomercial option Rationale: The infomercial option is an advantage offered by television as a medium of advertising. 80. When targeted to customers of a product, _______________ can be an important element of a pull strategy to gain product trial or rekindle interest. A. Consumer advertising B. Public relations C. Personal selling D. Sales promotion E. Institutional advertising Answer: D. Sales promotion Rationale: When a firm is looking to gain product trial, spike distribution, shore up sagging quarterly sales, or rekindle interest in a waning brand, sales promotion can be an appropriate choice for investment of promotion dollars. 81. Internet and direct mail are useful as advertising media because _______________. A. They are high involvement B. They appeal to multiple senses C. They are flexible D. They use traditional media E. All of the above are good reasons to use Internet or direct mail. Answer: C. They are flexible Rationale: Both the Internet and direct mail offer the advantage of flexibility. 82. Newspapers are effective as a medium of advertising because _______________. A. They are a highly credible media B. They appeal to a younger audience C. They have a very personal message D. They appeal to multiple senses E. They provide a high contrast ratio Answer: A. They are a highly credible media Rationale: Newspapers are a highly credible medium, which is an advantage when it is used as an advertising medium. 83. One benefit of magazine advertising is _______________. A. The ad space is guaranteed in a location B. The message can be personalized C. High pass-along rate D. High frequency E. There is a short lead time Answer: C. High pass-along rate Rationale: Magazines as a medium of advertising offer the advantage of a high pass-along rate. 84. Which of the following advertising media suffers from the disadvantage of a long lead time for ad placement due to production? A. Television B. Newspaper C. Billboard D. Magazines E. Transit Answer: D. Magazines Rationale: A long lead time for ad placement due to production is a disadvantage of magazines as a medium of advertising. 85. A news report has just come out that the toddler cups produced by your firm contain high amounts of BPA; a chemical the government states can slow children's cognitive development. As the head of public relations, you should focus on what aspect of your job? A. Buzz B. Managing and writing news stories C. Media relations D. Lobbying and governmental affairs E. Crisis management Answer: E. Crisis management Rationale: Crisis management is a planned, coordinated approach for disseminating information during times of emergency and handling the effects of unfavorable publicity. 86. Amanda needs a media that gives a multiple sensory impact to demonstrate the offerings of her new day spa. _______________ media would be her best choice. A. Television B. Newspaper C. Billboard D. Magazines E. Transit Answer: A. Television Rationale: One of the advantages of using television as a medium of advertisement is that it appeals to multiple senses. 87. Paul needs very precise audience selection to reach his market of antique cigar ashtray collectors. Which advertising media would be the best choice in this case? A. Television B. Newspaper C. Billboard D. Magazines E. All of the above will work Answer: D. Magazines Rationale: The variety of titles in magazines make it an advertising medium that offers high geographic, demographic, and lifestyle selectivity. 88. The _______________ element of the promotion mix is the most effective in generating action. A. Direct marketing B. Advertising C. Interactive marketing D. Public relations E. Sales promotion Answer: E. Sales promotion Rationale: Think of sales promotion as prompting a "buy now" response; that is, it is squarely aimed at the action (behavior) stage of the AIDA model. 89. Coca-Cola cups sitting on the desk of the American Idol judges is an example of _______________. A. Rebate program B. Product placement C. Promotion D. Institutional advertising E. Premium Answer: B. Product placement Rationale: Product placements involve having product images appear in movies, on television, or in photographs in print media. 90. Buy-one, get-one-free is an example of a(n) _______________. A. Rebate program B. Product placement C. Multiple purchase offer D. Institutional advertising E. Premium Answer: C. Multiple purchase offer Rationale: Multiple-purchase offers provide customers an incentive to buy more of the brand at a special price; typically "buy 2, get 1 free" or similar. Short Answer Questions 91. Define sales promotion. How is it most effectively used in a promotional campaign? Answer: Sales promotion is defined as a promotion mix element that provides an inducement for an end-user consumer to buy a product or for a salesperson or someone else in the channel to sell it. Sales promotion is designed to augment other forms of promotion and is rarely used alone. This is because sales promotion initiatives rely on other media forms such as advertising and direct or interactive marketing as a communication vehicle. Think of sales promotion as prompting a "buy now" response; that is, it is squarely aimed at the action (behavior) stage of the AIDA model. 92. List and describe the three major channel focused sales promotion approaches targeted toward channel members. Answer: Trade show - an industry- or company-sponsored event in which booths are set up for the dissemination of information about offerings to members of a channel. Cooperative advertising and promotion - a manufacturer provides special incentive money to channel members for certain performances such as running advertisements for one of the manufacturer's brands or doing product demonstrations with potential customers. Allowance - money is made available for a channel member in the form of a special payment for selling certain products, making a large order, or other specific performance. 93. What is clutter, how is it described as it relates to customers, and how does it impact media selection and creative execution? Answer: Clutter - the level of competing messages on that medium. Clutter is described in the context of the overall din of advertising, meaning that consumers are bombarded by so many messages that they become confused or have difficulty distinguishing what ad goes with what brand. Rising above the din is an overarching goal in media selection and creative execution of the message. 94. What is puffery and why must it be used carefully? Answer: Puffery is the relatively minor embellishment of product claims to bolster the persuasive message, and generally is legal. However, in today's litigious environment, determining the fine line between puffery and making a false claim is best left to attorneys not marketers. 95. List and describe the steps of the AIDA model. Answer: The AIDA model, so-named because the effects build in this order: Attention (or Awareness), Interest, Desire, and Action. The attention stage correlates to the cognitive step of buyer decision making, the interest and desire stages to the affective step, and the action stage to the behavioral step. If target customers are essentially unaware of an offering, most of the investment in communication must be in raising awareness and gaining their attention. To translate customer attention into interest requires persuasive communication. Moving from interest to desire means that a customer has to move past a need and begin to really want the product. The action stage is the purchase itself. 96. Explain the difference between IMC and the historical approach to promotions. Answer: Think of the difference in IMC versus more traditional promotion mix strategies along the lines of the illustrations in Exhibits 13.2 and 13.3. Exhibit 13.2 portrays the concept of a traditional promotion mix decision—separate assessment of whether to invest in promoting the offering through one or more of the promotion mix elements. In contrast, Exhibit 13.3 captures the different nature of IMC decision making—a holistic and interrelated decision process, integrative, connected to the overall brand message, yet still fully customizable to different customer groups. IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) integrates various promotional elements (advertising, public relations, direct marketing, etc.) into a unified, coordinated strategy, whereas the historical approach to promotions often involved separate, disjointed efforts without a cohesive strategy. 97. What promotion mix elements should be the focus of a push strategy? Answer: In a push strategy, the focus is on the channel of distribution and in getting the offering into the channel. Members of the channel are targeted for promotion and are depended on to then push the offering into the hands of end users. A push strategy typically relies on a combination of personal selling and sales promotion directed toward channel members. 98. Explain the fundamental differences between a push and a pull strategy. Which type is usually used? Answer: In a push strategy, the focus is on the channel of distribution and in getting the offering into the channel. In a pull strategy, the focus shifts to stimulating demand for an offering directly from the end user. In practice, push and pull strategies are rarely used mutually exclusively. Rather, a promotional strategy is developed that strikes the best balance of investment of promotional funds in both push and pull strategies that make sense for the product and market involved. 99. What promotion mix elements should be the focus of a pull strategy? Answer: In a pull strategy, the focus shifts to stimulating demand for an offering directly from the end user. Advertising, consumer-directed sales promotion, PR, or direct and interactive marketing can be combined in various ways to target end users, creating demand that results in the channel making an offering available for purchase. 100. Why are employees of a firm potentially its best and most trusted brand and message ambassadors and give an example of a company that puts this to good use? Answer: Employees of a firm are potentially its best and most trusted brand and message ambassadors. Properly armed, they can articulate what the firm and its offerings stand for in ways that nobody else can. Great brand marketers today pay a lot of attention to ensuring that everybody in the firm has pride of ownership in its brand, products, and services. Companies are placing a high priority on enabling each and every employee to communicate the marketing message. Examples: Southwest Airlines, Caterpillar, Apple 101. Describe the goal of institutional advertising and give an example of an institutional advertising campaign. Answer: The goal of institutional advertising is to promote an industry, company, family of brands, or some other issues broader than a specific product. Institutional advertising is often used to inform or remind, but to a lesser degree to persuade. Examples: • California Dairy "happy cows" • "Intel Inside" branding on computers • Cotton, the fabric of our lives. • The incredible edible egg. • Pork, the other white meat. • Beef, it's what's for dinner. 102. What is advertising wearout, and how does it impact promotional strategy? Give an example of a company that has had to deal with this issue. Answer: Customers can quickly and easily become bored with any given advertising campaign, a concept referred to as advertising wearout. This phenomenon necessitates a constant creation of new ads with new or adjusted themes, resulting in a constant churn of messages. Recently, Subway has backed off substantially from using genial spokesperson Jared in ads. Although Jared is well-liked and admired for his substantial weight loss on a "Subway diet", his spots just weren't selling sandwiches like they used to. Plus, Subway has a good number of items that are actually high in calories and fat (think meatball sub), and Jared is clearly not in a position to hawk the less healthy fare. 103. Angus Promotions, Inc. is just launching its screen-printing business. Which is the best promotional goal for their promotion campaign and why? Answer: To inform: • Indicate features when introducing new products or making product modifications • Provide explanation of product functionality • Articulate what a company and its brands stand for in order to develop a clear image • Discuss various uses and applications for the product 104. Crest toothpaste is in the maturity stage of the product life cycle. What promotion mix decisions would be best? Answer: Advertising may begin to decrease. Direct and interactive marketing used to keep customers loyal. Sales promotion props up volume. Reduced promotional expenditures allows for an increase in the bottom line. 105. You need to design a message for "Breast Cancer Awareness", which is the best category of promotional appeal and why? Answer: A moral appeal in promotional messaging is used to strike a chord with a target customer's sense of right and wrong. Many charities, cause-related marketers, and politicians use moral appeals to elicit support. The Salvation Army uses a tagline "Doing the Most Good" to reflect its reputation of providing more benefits out of donation dollars than many other charities. 106. Verizon has a new version of SmartPhone to introduce to the market. What is the best advertising execution strategy for showing how the product works and why? Briefly explain what should be done in this execution? Answer: Demonstrations - physically show how the product works. E.g., Show how the phone links up via Bluetooth, show its messaging capabilities, etc. 107. What are the three core functions of PR that are most closely aligned with the role of the marketing manager and why are they important? Answer: Gaining publicity and buzz - Especially when it comes to new product offerings, gaining publicity in news outlets and other public forums can provide a major boost to sales. Securing event sponsorships - Having your brand and company associated with events in the sports, music, arts, and other entertainment communities, can add tremendous brand equity and also provide substantial exposure with the right target customers. Crisis management - A planned, coordinated approach for disseminating information during times of emergency and for handling the effects of unfavorable publicity. 108. What is crisis management and do all companies need to have a crisis management plan? Answer: Crisis management is a planned, coordinated approach for disseminating information during times of emergency and for handling the effects of unfavorable publicity. All firms should have a crisis management plan in place for contingencies that are relevant to their industry and customers. Essay Questions 109. Describe the pros and cons of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and direct and interactive marketing in the promotion mix. Answer: 110. Describe the principle types of product advertising and give examples of each. Answer: • Pioneering advertising stimulates primary demand. It tends to be used during the introductory and early growth stages of the PLC when it is important to gain purchase by innovators and early adopters. From an AIDA model perspective, pioneering advertising seeks to gain awareness and initial interest. Marketing managers introducing new products almost always focus advertising on this form, letting potential customers know what the product is and how it is used. The appeal is usually more rational than emotional. • Competitive advertising is employed to build sales of a specific brand. The appeal often shifts to more emotion and the goal is persuasion as well as providing information. Building a positive customer attitude toward the brand is a key component of competitive advertising, and this approach is heavily used during the growth and early maturity stages of the PLC. Triggering the desire and action stages of the AIDA model is a focus of the message. • Comparative advertising is where two or more brands are directly compared against each other on certain attributes. Comparative advertising is common during the maturity stage of the PLC, as attempts at shaking out weaker competitors are generally part of a marketing strategy. Obviously, a key to successfully employing this approach is having one or more legitimate claims about your brand that put it in a favorable position against the competition. Comparative advertising works especially well when you are not No.1 in a product category because you can put the market leader on the defensive, however, it is a very risky advertising approach when you are the top brand. 111. Describe how attention is translated into interest in a technical product. Give an example of a company that has done this well. Answer: To translate customer attention into interest requires persuasive communication. For more technical or complicated products, this means beginning to inform customers more specifically about what a product offering can do for them—how it helps fulfill needs and wants. To stimulate interest, the promotion must begin to touch a customer's "hot buttons." For example, generating awareness about the iPhone was not a problem for Apple; the buildup in the media was gargantuan for months before the initial product introduction. But what would stimulate a person to move beyond just awareness that the product exists to interest in possibly pursuing purchase? Apple masterfully used its early promotion to point out the elegance of the form and integrated functionality of the iPhone to begin to convince customers that any ordinary PDA, let alone a lowly cell phone, simply would not do. Interest was peaked by the communication of product features and benefits, and also by the imagery suggesting that the iPhone was something really different. 112. Describe why targeting Gen Y and Millennials are a more challenging target audience for marketers than older people. Answer: Growing evidence suggests that Gen Y and Millennials may respond differently from prior generations to promotional strategies. These differences may be attributable to the hierarchy of effects they go through in making purchase decisions. Previous generations, which have been the focus of marketing for years (i.e., Gen X and older), did not grow up with the same level of information availability and access as these younger groups. As a result, marketers have traditionally been placed in the pivotal role of outbound information providers for these customers, largely through promotion. This is true not only in the B2C marketplace, but also in B2B markets where organizational buyers traditionally relied especially on their salespeople for information about products and markets. Gen Y and Millennials have experienced a very different set of circumstances related to information. Because of the Internet and related communication technology, they are accustomed to doing their own research on products, developing their own opinions, and then taking action with less influence from traditional promotional approaches (including salespeople). This is not to say that the role of the marketing manager in developing promotional strategy is less important when it comes to the younger generation. Rather, the caution is that the response of younger generations to different promotional approaches is not the same as that of previous generations. They are much less likely to want to be "sold to," are generally disinterested in mass advertising, and tend to place high value on objective information for decision making, likely from sources outside of traditional promotion. For example, communication going on in MySpace, blogs, message boards, chat rooms, and other forms of virtual communities carry much more weight than other communication forms. Although many of these qualities make marketing to the younger generations more difficult, their unique attitudes toward marketing also create important opportunities for marketers. 113. What are the 7 Elements of the marketing manager's role in promotional strategy? Answer: See Exhibit 13.9 The 7 elements of the marketing manager's role in promotional strategy are: 1. Setting Objectives: Establishing clear goals for promotional campaigns. 2. Budgeting: Allocating resources effectively to achieve objectives. 3. Message Development: Crafting compelling messages that resonate with the target audience. 4. Media Selection: Choosing the appropriate channels to reach the target market. 5. Campaign Execution: Implementing and coordinating promotional activities. 6. Evaluation: Assessing the effectiveness of promotional efforts. 7. Adjustment: Making necessary adjustments based on evaluation results to optimize future strategies. 114. List and define the three goals of promotion. What types of product would best fit each? Answer: Goal One: To Inform Indicate features when introducing new products or making product modifications Provide explanation of product functionality Articulate what a company and its brands stand for in order to develop a clear image Discuss various uses and applications for the product New products or new events are best served by this goal. Goal Two: To Persuade Impact customer perceptions of a product, especially in comparison to competitor's products Get customers to try a product, hopefully resulting in a more permanent switch from a competitor Influence customers to purchase right now due to some strong benefit or need Drive customers to seek more information online or through a salesperson Established products that face lots of competing brands would be best served by this goal Goal Three: To Remind Maintain a customer relationship with a brand Provide impetus for purchase based on some impending event Brands that are entrenched at the top-of-the-mind for most customers would be best served by this goal 115. Whether in the B2B or B2C space, the nature of the market served affects promotion mix decisions. Discuss the important factors. Answer: Level of heterogeneity of target customers. The more target groups and the more diverse the targets, the wider array of promotion mix applications to be developed. Level of geographic dispersion of target customers. Obviously, online interactive approaches permeate geographic borders much more efficiently than traditional advertising. Geographic constraints are especially challenging for using face-to-face personal selling, since buyers and sellers have to physically get together. Type of purchase decision to be made. Is the purchase typically a routine, low customer involvement purchase or is it a specialized purchase with higher customer involvement? Level and type of competition. If there are many competitors in the same market space, and especially if they are also actively engaged in promoting their offerings, consideration must be given to ensuring your promotion stands out from those of the competition. This may entail going with a promotion mix that seems unusual for the situation but assures notoriety. For example, CUTCO promotes its cutlery only through direct personal selling to consumers. All of its major competitors use more traditional forms of promotion, such as advertising and sales promotion through retail channels. On many occasions CUTCO's management has been asked why it doesn't adopt more traditional promotional forms for household products. The simple answer is that it is the most profitable company in the industry and it wants neither to increase promotional expenditures by turning to advertising nor to risk getting lost among a sea of other brands in department stores. 116. Name and define three of the Common Approaches to Advertising Execution. Answer: 117. Describe and give examples of three different consumer sales promotion options. Answer: 118. How would you respond to someone who says that PR is "free marketing"? Why do companies spend so much on it? Answer: In fact, PR can account for a great deal of money in a promotion budget due to the work hours required to constantly be writing stories and cultivating media outlets. But the payoff on that investment can be substantial due to the buzz generated among everyday consumers about a brand. Buzz, or word-of-mouth communication, is the communication generated about a brand in the marketplace. Buzz is not limited to current customers or even potential customers; when buzz about a brand hits the marketplace, it can even permeate pop culture. Test Bank for Essentials of Marketing Management Greg W. Marshall, Mark W. Johnston 9780078028786, 9780071082020, 9780077400187