CH-13-15 Out-of-Home and Support Media – Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective : Book Guide

This Document Contains Chapters 13 to 15 Chapter 13 Out-of-home and support media Answers to Review Questions 1. Explain how outdoor ads can be creative and foster emotional responses. Why would brands use outdoor ads for this purpose? Outdoor ads use humour with clever phrases in a message that is primarily text based. In this case, the humour of the ad is consistent with the brand and reinforces the attitude of the target audience. It would be very difficult to expect short text messages to have a central route to persuasion and actively contribute to significant attitude change. Alternatively, pictures with limited copy can provide reminders of consumption experiences, or reminders of television commercials. In this case, the transformational experience of television commercials is played once again the target audience’s mind allowing the processing of a television commercial when it is in fact not occurring. For an advertiser to deliver a similar kind of message experience at a lower costs, allows potentially greater ad frequency in the overall media plan. 2. What are promotional products? List some of the advantages and disadvantages of this medium. Provide examples of where this medium would be appropriate. Promotional products and advertising specialties consist of products and gifts that are given to clients and/or prospective customers for a variety of reasons. These products may range from something as simple and inexpensive as matchbooks or ballpoint pens to much more expensive items such as leather cases, plaques, etc. Promotional products are used to accomplish a variety of objectives, including creating awareness, building relationships, and increasing the likelihood of retention. The products offer a number of advantages including the ability to be creative, thus increasing awareness and attention to the message, attractive, leading to retention and goodwill and inexpensive. Due to these reasons, many employ this advertising medium to achieve reach and to remind customers of their offerings. Potential disadvantages of promotional products include the potential for waste (the items are lost or thrown away), potentially harmful effects to the company’s image (cheap products) and they can be expensive. Some companies will not permit their employees to accept promotional products that exceed a certain cost, expressing concerns that the employee may favour the giver in future deals, to the detriment of those not providing specialties. Promotional products are appropriate in a number of situations. For a company making a sales presentation and attempting to be creative and/or break through the clutter the medium holds strong potential. In addition, when awareness and or retention are the objectives, specialties serve as an inexpensive means of achieving reach and reminders respectively. (Every time you use your pen, it may remind you of the provider.) Other specialties—for example, desktop items or calendars—serve as an easy way to keep one’s name and phone number in front of the potential customer. It is a lot easier to glance across one’s desk than it is to look up the number in the phone directory. 3. How do out-of-home and support media help achieve awareness objectives? Out-of-home and support media can be used to achieve a number of communications objectives. Creating awareness is foremost among these objectives since the message is not processed for very long but may be seen very often. In this sense, out-of-home and support media offer a tremendous amount of frequency so that brand name and key images may be recalled or recognized. The volume of auto and pedestrian traffic helps with reach again improving awareness levels. In short, the awareness objective is foremost for these media as they act as a constant reminder. Answers to Applied Questions 1. While traveling throughout the town or city, look for the most unusual place-based ad and decide if this was effective advertising. Hopefully students appreciate an adventure to look for unusual ads in all sorts of places. Instructors might like to explore whether students have seen ads in unique places when they might have visited other cities for enjoyment or on exchange programs for their studies. The text and Figure 13-1 can give a list for handy reference to prompt recall of different examples. If none emerge in a discussion, instructors might look to the new Budweiser Red Light that is visiting cities in 2014. This is an especially good example since it acts as a very good support media for the whole campaign that was prominently featured in TV ads. Other examples are easily found with a careful search and other labels for this kind of advertising might occur such as ambient or guerilla. 2. The James Bond movie Skyfall had many product placement deals. Watch the movie and figure out which brands used this strategy; then do an Internet search to find the real answer. Heineken paid $45 million to be Bond’s beer of choice, and many other brands are featured in the movies. A simple search shows multiple news articles that include many brands. One critic claims that the placements were neither blatant nor excessive, despite numerous writers with this contention. Historically, Bond films often featured extensive product placement and given the persona of the Bond character, it is expected that we see high-end brands displayed in the movie. 3. Explain how out-of-home and support media might be used as part of an IMC program. Take any of the media discussed in the chapter and explain how they might be used in an IMC program for automobiles, cellular phones and Internet services. Out-of-home and support media can be used to achieve a number of communications objectives, awareness, attitude, purchase intention/shopping. Consider the following examples: Automobiles-product placements are often effectively done in movies for image purposes. Outdoor billboards have been used by all major brands for awareness. Promotional products are another hallmark of auto advertiser for reminder and image reasons. When in the market for a new car, auto brands often place themselves in key places for demonstrations (e.g., malls). In short, auto brands typically us all forms of out-of-home and support media. Cellular telephones- Promotional products have been used by a number of cell phone companies. Key chains shaped like cell phones have been used to create awareness and retention. Note pads for desktops have also been commonly employed. Outdoor is a favorite of many cell phone companies, primarily to create awareness. Cell phone ads have also appeared on transit ads and bus shelters. Internet services-These companies are also frequent users of outdoor and transit advertising for all communication purposes. Most of these messages focused on creating awareness of the service As you can see in each of these examples, support media can be used by a variety of companies to achieve a number of communications goals. Due to their flexibility these media can be creatively used to effectively promote companies and their service offerings. Additional Discussion Questions (Not in Text) A. Discuss some of the reasons why in-flight advertising is an attractive medium for advertisers. In-flight advertising is attractive for a number of reasons: • the audience is desirable. The average traveler is upscale, and professional. They are often involved in the purchase decision for a variety of products. • the audience is captive. The programming and ads are relatively free from distraction and quite often there is little more to do than watch the ads—particularly on long flights. • relative cost. The cost of advertising in-flight is low on a relative basis than many other media reaching this target audience. • target marketing. In-flight allows the advertiser to segment and to target specific demographic groups. Expensive products including perfumes, liquors, jewellery, etc. are products with a strong potential market in in-flight. In addition, products targeted to travelers (both business and pleasure), products with international appeal, and hotels, restaurants, and auto rentals can all reach their target markets with this medium. Generally, all products targeted to an up-scale market may have potential. Business products—for example, luggage, computers, etc.—may also be marketed effectively on in-flight television. The percentage of travelers that are on business trips accounts for a substantial target market. The reason for these products having the best potential is the demographics of the airline passenger. Given an older average age with a higher household income, the traveler has money to spend, and can afford more luxurious items. Given the high percentage of business travelers, the market for business products and services may also be attractive. B. What are some of the reasons in-store media may be effective in increasing sales? Many marketers believe that the majority of purchase decisions are made when the consumer is in the store. For that reason, they believe that by being “where the action is” they will be able to more directly influence the consumer’s decision. The cite a number of reasons why they feel that they will be more effective advertising in-store: • they can influence the consumer at the precise time the decision is being made. • the consumer has no time to forget the brand name • coupons can be used as an extra incentive to purchase • in-store displays can catch the consumer’s eye and stimulate trial • product information can be conveyed at the exact time the consumer needs it • the consumer has less time to experience dissonance and change his/her mind C. Discuss advantages and disadvantages associated with advertising in movie theatres. For what types of products and/or services might these media be most effective? • There are a number of advantages associated with these forms of advertising. First, there is the potential for a high number of exposures and for high frequency. The cost in local theatres can be relatively low, though this is typically accompanied by a lack of creative potential. There is little or no clutter, and the audience is more likely to be attentive (essentially a captured audience). Recall of movie ads can be quite high (though not necessarily positive) and if the experience is an enjoyable one, positive effects of mood are experienced • One of the primary disadvantages is that such ads may lead to dissatisfaction among consumers in that they feel the ads are intrusive. Unlike television, radio and other media, the consumer often feels that they have paid a significant price to enjoy their movies and are not happy when they must watch an advertisement. As a result they tend to react negatively when the ads appear. Studies have shown that ads in movie theaters are rated as intrusive, irritable and less well liked. Consumers often express the idea that they are paying to watch a movie, and if they wanted to watch television with all of the commercials, they could have done so for free at home. • A second disadvantage is that of cost—particularly with movie ads. Both absolute and relative costs are high, with the CPM’s for movie advertising particularly high relative to other media. • Perhaps the most viable product or service to advertise in these media are entertainment related products and/or services. Movies are advertised in the format of previews, and some companies have been successful in promoting travel and related services. D. Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of outdoor advertising. Outdoor ads are creative, more attractive, more attention getting, and in general more appealing to both advertisers and viewers. More specifically, outdoor advertising has the following advantages: • wide coverage of local markets—if the budget allows, outdoor advertising can be used to cover a very broad local customer base. Ads can be placed in strategic locations such as freeways, bus terminals, city streets and buildings, etc., allowing for the potential of a large number of exposures. • high levels of frequency—because purchase cycles are usually for a minimum of one month, passers-by will have the opportunity to be exposed to the message a number of times. • geographic flexibility—as noted, outdoor ads can be placed in a variety of locations, potentially reaching drivers, walkers, mass transit users, etc., throughout a number of geographic locations. • creativity—due to recent technological advances, outdoor has now become a very creative medium. Boards are no longer unidimensional and boring. (Note some of the examples provided in the text.) Outdoor also has its disadvantages: • target audience selectivity—outdoor is not a very effective medium for targeting specific markets. Given that locations are chosen on the basis of the number of potential exposures, the medium is most effective when a mass market is sought. • limited message capabilities—in many cases—particularly for billboards—exposure times to the ad are very short. As a result the message must be simple and limited. (Of course this is less true for terminal ads or transit ads on the inside of commuter vehicles. It is also possible to increase message comprehension with well-thought-out illustrations or pictures.) • media image—one of the advantages of outdoor (high frequency) may also result in a disadvantage—wear out. If the viewer sees the ad repeatedly for a lengthy period of time, the likelihood increases. • Absolute cost—outdoor is expensive in both an absolute and relative sense. E. One of the disadvantages associated with transit advertising involves image. Discuss why this might be a problem and why advertisers might stay away from this medium as a result. Ads that appear on buses, subway cars, benches, etc. may suffer from image problems. A variety of reasons may contribute to this: • the image of transit itself—many people feel they would never ride a bus, are afraid of the subway and/or have a negative image of taxi drivers—this image may carry over to the advertisers themselves. • advertisers—while ads on buses, taxi’s, etc. may involve a number of companies with well known names and reputations, ads on benches (for example) may be sponsored by less well known companies. The receiver may impute a lack of credibility or form a negative impression as a result (Would you use a lawyer whose ad you saw on a bus bench?) • The low cost of the ads can also attract advertisers who could not afford to advertise elsewhere. • appearance—weather conditions can contribute to the negative image. For example, slush and dirt on motor vehicles, dirt and fading on benches, graffiti on posters, etc. Problems: • If the ad does not create a favourable impression this may carry over to the image of the product/service. • Attributions may be made to the advertiser—as noted above “would you eat in a restaurant you saw on a subway ad?” Many people wouldn’t. • The ad could be defaced beyond recognition. • Ads on transit vehicles may go to places outside the targeted area. For example, a restaurant ad targeting urban dwellers may reach those on a cab or bus that are not likely to go into the city to eat. F. A prevalent strategy among advertisers is to get themselves into television shows and movies. Discuss the possible advantages and disadvantages that might result form such exposures. The advantages of this form of promotion include excellent exposure, the potential for high levels of frequency, relatively low cost per thousand, and recall. One of the major advantages, is however, source association and image creating abilities. At the same time, all product placements are not successful. Due to a variety of reasons, the product may fail to be seen or heard. When it is seen or heard, the time of exposure may be minimal—it costs more to have a long exposure. The advertiser also does not have total control over the placement. For example, if a scene is cut, the product placement may be cut as well. If the script calls for a change, the product placement may suffer in the process. Product placements are not inexpensive in an absolute cost sense. As noted in the text, as more and more advertisers employ this form, the law of supply and demand will dictate cost increases. Finally, two factors may even lead to negative consequences of product placements. One is the negative placement described in the book. The mood created by the movie or television show may negatively impact the impression of the product, and/or the product may be depicted in a less than positive fashion (see Pepsi/Coke example in text.) Secondly, as the number of product placements continues to increase, the inclusion of these placements will leave the domain of a natural setting and become intrusive. As more and more placements become blatantly placements, the viewer will become more irritated and the effectiveness of this strategy will decline. IMC Exercise Stage a contest in which students bring their best example of a support ad to class (or a description of the same). The contest should be judged on the novelty as well as the potential effectiveness (as explained by the student) of the ad. IMC Comprehensive Project Include a variety of support media in your media plan. The absolute and relative costs of these should be shown and a rationale for their inclusion should be provided. Chapter 14 Sales promotion Answers to Review Questions 1. What are the differences between consumer and trade sales promotions? Discuss the role of each firm’s IMC program. Consumer sale promotions are directed at the consumers who purchase various goods and services and are designed to provide them with an extra incentive or inducement to buy the marketer’s brand. They are part of a promotional “pull strategy” and designed to help create demand for a brand at the end-consumer level. Trade promotions are targeted to the wholesalers, distributors and retailers in the channel of distribution and are designed to encourage channel members to stock and promote the marketer’s products. Trade promotions are part of a promotional “push” strategy. Both consumer and trade promotions are a key part of a firm’s integrated marketing communications program. In a very competitive market, consumers must often be provided with an extra incentive such as a coupon, bonus pack, premium, or price reduction to encourage them to choose one brand over another. Consumer promotions, along with advertising, are a very important part of marketers’ “pull strategy” which creates demand for their brands. With the increasing amount of advertising clutter and many purchase decisions being made in the store, marketers must do more than just advertise to gain and hold market share. Trade promotions are also very important, as marketers must give attention to getting the channel members to stock, display and promote their brands. Much of the power in channels of distribution has shifted to the retailer and competition as limited amounts of shelf space have intensified. Thus marketers must focus attention and effort on “pushing” their products through the channels of distribution. Trade promotions are an important part of this strategy. 2. Discuss how sales promotion can be used as an acceleration tool to speed up the sales process and maximize sales volume. There are several ways sales promotion can be used as an acceleration tool to speed up the sales process and maximize sales volume. Consumer promotion tools such as premiums, bonus packs, and price-off deals provide an extra incentive that may motivate consumers to take more immediate action. Coupons usually have expiration dates that require consumers to use them during a specific time period, which is another way of accelerating the purchase process. Marketers often use techniques such as in-store sampling programs that may be accompanied by a discount coupon and thus encourage immediate purchase. Trade promotions can also accelerate the selling process with retailers. For example, retailers who take advantage of an off-invoice allowance often pass the savings on to consumers in the form of a price reduction, which encourages them to purchase the brand. Promotional allowances are given to retailers for performing certain promotional or merchandising activities such as providing special displays, running in-store promotional programs or including the marketer’s brand in an ad. These activities will help generate sales volume and encourage immediate purchases by consumers. 3. Post-secondary educational institutions do not usually use sales promotions. Consider which ones could be use and identify the target audience in which they could be effectives. The Canadian author offers a bonus pack to students during night classes, students can receive a free hour of education after the 7:00 to 10:00 class. Surprisingly, no student, including very loyal ones, has accepted this promotional offer despite economic theory saying more is better! Another sales promotion could be discounts on tuition for low enrollment courses or for summer courses when there is less demand which would even out demand over the twelve month period. Of course the implementation of discounts could be quite problematic for universities to justify, but an interesting consideration nonetheless for price sensitive students. Universities could offer more promotional products perhaps to reinforce the brand image, why not give every student a binder and pen with the university logo upon graduation to remind them to donate Instructors could have some fun with this exercise brainstorming what the effects would be how promotional incentives could work. 4. Explain how trade promotions are similar and dissimilar to consumer promotions (note typo in book). Trade promotions are very similar in that they attempt to influence behaviour (trial, repeat buying, or action) via an incentive. The incentives are very similar with an emphasis on financials, assistance or experiences. Since in both cases the audience makes a final decision by evaluating the pros and cons of the offer, it is not too surprising to see that there is a strong degree of similarity. The communication effect from the presentation are also relevant in terms of awareness and attitude, so all in all the over strategy and tactics of the decisions have more in common that something dissimilar. 5. Explain why it is important for sales promotion to contribute to brand equity. In what circumstances will brand equity enhancement not be a priority? Brand awareness and brand attitude play a key role in brand equity, and the opportunity for communication beyond the promotion offer is recent trend in the development and implementation of sales promotions. For example, the Bring Home the Cup promotion is enhanced with extensive television commercials contributing to the equity of for Pepsi, Lays’s and Gatorade. Many coupons offers include a regular print ad. In fact, so many promotional offers are combined with advertising or some other IMC tool, it is difficult to find a promotional offer that does not provide enhanced communication that builds brand equity. In another direction, as the Bring Home the Cup promotion illustrates, the activity or type of behaviour associated with the promotion is often now designed to contribute to the brand experience. Given these points, it is hard to imagine very many circumstances where brand equity enhancement would not be a priority, especially given the importance of word-of-mouth communication. So even transactional situations where there is little expectation of a continued relationship with the brand and the customer, promotional offers should still attempt to build brand equity Answers to Appied Questions 1. Explain how the consumer sales promotions identified in Figure 14-1 can be executed with Internet media. Electronic samples and premiums can easily and obviously delivered; and physical samples and premiums can be ordered on company websites or social media locations. Coupons can be virtually disseminated essentially anywhere on the internet for printing at home. It seems like almost all contests/sweepstakes entry occur online these days as entry software is commonplace. Submitting rebate information can be possible as consumers can enter the data and email physical evidence of proof of purchase, however companies may have concerns of fraudulent claims in this regard and continue to expect mailed in evidence. Bonus packs seem to be an unlikely avenue for Internet delivery unless of course the product is actually order online and delivered via mail or courier. Price-offs are the simplest to administer online since it is information based in fact occurs with dynamic pricing systems as people search for hotels, flights etc. Event marketing is a curiosity as to whether that could be executed online, but entertainment activities that are streamed appear as a possibility. Students would likely add to this list based on their consumption experiences, especially with this final one. 2. What are the differences between consumer-franchise-building and non-franchise-building promotions? Find an example of a promotional offer you believe contributes to the equity of a brand and explain why. Consumer-franchise-building promotions are those that are designed to communicate distinctive brand attributes and contribute to the development and reinforcement of brand identity and image. They are designed to help build long-term brand loyalty or preference and help the marketer achieve the ultimate goal of full-price purchase. Non-franchise-building promotions are those that are designed to accelerate the purchase decision process and generate an immediate increase in sales. These promotions do little or nothing to communicate information about a brand’s unique features or benefits and contribute very little, if any, to the building of brand identity and image. Students should find promotional offers that they feel are examples of each type and explain why. Examples of non-franchise building promotions are not difficult to find as price-off deals, coupons and refund offers usually fall into this category. Examples of franchise-building efforts might include a contest or sweepstakes that helps develop and strengthen a brand’s image or position or promotional programs that encourage repeat purchase. 3. Phone service providers do not offer premiums all that often. Identify good ones for different brands. Bell could likely send out…. Bells! – a good symbol that has been a logo for decades previously. This could manifest in an number ways and be a fitting imagery if the brand decided to go this route. Fido could obviously send out different dogs and be a whole set of valuable collectibles. Koodo of course could send out miniature El Tubadors and Telus has in fact handed out beany baby like plush items of the famous animals. Of course all of these premiums are the imagery of the brand in the ads and would reinforce the characters shown. 4. Consider all the trade sales promotions that a major brand like Tassimo would use and explain how they would be effective or ineffective for increasing sales of the machine and the coffee discs. All three types of trade allowances would be very useful; off-invoice allowances to ensure extra inventory during key selling times, promotional allowances for display information which would critical for consumers to understand the new technology, and perhaps slotting allowances to ensure product acceptance in the stores since Kraft did not normally sell in household good locations. Additional dollars for point-of-sales displays would be useful for enhanced consumer communication in-store, especially during Christmas sales or other times. Cooperative advertising might be used with stores that have good flyers like Hudson’s Bay. Certainly sales training would useful during launch so that floor staff understood how the product worked and could offer in-store assistance to consumers. 5. Why does the Red Bull Crashed Crashed Ice event not use imagery from the advertising with the slogan “Red Bull Gives You Wings”? The RBCI event is a good example where the same look and feel is not used across all IMC tools since there is likely a much different target audience for the event versus the general advertising. The Same imagery is useful when a brand is directing it messages to a common target audience. However, the lifestyle, or perhaps a different segmentation variable, may be much more relevant for RBCI compared to the general advertising. In this case the use of the drink is more for social drinking at the event in comparison to the advertising to highlight the stimulating effects of the energy drink. This suggests a different brand positioning strategy for an alternate target audience, a key concept of the planning model of the text. Additional Discussion Questions (not discussed in text) A. Discuss the factors that have led companies shifting more of their marketing budgets to sales promotion from media advertising. Discuss the pros and cons of this reallocation of marketers advertising and promotion budgets. There are many reasons why sales promotion has become so important and is receiving a great deal of marketers’ promotional budgets. These include the growing power of retailers; decline in consumers’ brand loyalty and their increasing sensitivity to sale promotion offers; brand proliferation in the consumer market as many product categories have experienced a flurry of new brand introductions; fragmentation of the consumer market and trend toward increased market segmentation and regional marketing; pressure for increased accountability for promotional expenditures from companies and the resulting focus on short-term sales results; reliance on sales promotion as a way of gaining competitive advantage; and finally the increasing problem of advertising clutter which has led many advertisers to turn to consumer promotions as a way of attracting attention and interest to their advertisements. Some experts argue that the reallocation of marketing budgets from media advertising to sales promotion is reasonable as many companies are now using the various promotional tools in a more strategic way that contribute to brand equity. However, critics argue that this reallocation often comes at the expense of brand equity. They note that many types of sales promotion do not contribute to the building of brand identify or image. The allocation trend toward sales promotion is unlikely to go too much further as many marketers recognize that they are sacrificing brand equity by spending promotional dollars on sales promotion rather than advertising. Marketers are also concerned that the large sums of money they are spending on trade promotions are not being passed through to consumers and thus they are attempting to cut back in this area. It is unlikely, however, that we will see a return to the good old days when media advertising accounted for the largest portion of the promotional budget. The sales promotion area is becoming too sophisticated and consumers have learned to expect some type of promotional deal when making a purchase. Thus marketers are likely to continue to provide them with sales promotion incentives in one form or another. B. Discuss how advertising and sales promotion can have a synergistic effect and what is required to create this effect. Advertising and sales promotion can have a synergistic effect whereby the impact of the combination of the two promotional tools is greater than the response that would be generated if they were used independently. Proper coordination of advertising and sales promotion requires coordinating decisions regarding the allocation of the budget to each area as well as advertising and sales promotion themes, the target audience reached and the timing of various sales promotion activities. For example, by using advertising in conjunction with sales promotion for a new product, marketers can make consumers aware of the brand and its benefits and increase their responsiveness to the promotional offer. Consumers are more likely to redeem a coupon or respond to a price-off deal for a brand they are familiar with or have favorable feelings toward versus a brand they know little about. Moreover, product trial created through the use of sale promotion techniques such as sampling or coupons is more likely to result in long-term usage of the brand when accompanied by advertising. C. What is a slotting allowance? Do you think retailers are justified in charging manufacturers slotting fees? Why or why not? A slotting allowance is a fee that must be paid to retailers to provide a “slot” or position to accommodate a new product in their stores. Retailers argue slotting fees are justified because there are costs associated with taking on a new product such as redesigning store shelves, entering the product into their computers, finding warehouse space, and informing store employees of the new item. They also argue that they are assuming some risk in taking on a new product since a high percentage of new product introductions fail. Manufacturers argue that slotting fees are not justified, as it really does not cost manufacturers that much money to take on a new product. They argue that these fees are excessive and end up going to the bottom line of the retailers. They argue that these fees are another way retailers are extracting money from manufacturers and really are a form of bribery or blackmail that has to be paid to get a new brand on the retailer’s shelves. An excellent discussion on the debate over slotting allowances can be found in a recent article by Paul N. Bloom, Gregory T. Gundlach and Joseph P. Cannon in the Journal of Marketing, Vol. 64 (April 2000) pp. 92-108. D. Discuss the advantages of cooperative advertising from the perspective of the manufacturer and the retailer. Cooperative advertising has many advantages for manufacturers. It gives them the capability of extending their advertising resources through the purchase of newspaper advertising at local rates. It also allows them to tailor their advertising to local market conditions and to indicate to consumers where their products can be purchased. Cooperative advertising can also enhance the manufacturer’s position with retailers and help get their product promoted at the local level (and often on sale or special). Cooperative advertising can also stretch a company’s promotional budget since the retailer also contributes to the advertising of the product. From the perspective of the retailer cooperative advertising also has many advantages. Co-op ads provide a source of funding for retailers to advertise in local markets and bring consumers to their stores. Moreover, when a co-op ad is promoting a well-known brand, it can generate store traffic that results in sales for this brand as well as other merchandise. Astute retailers take advantage of cooperative advertising as it can pay for a large amount of the advertising they do. E. Discuss how sales promotion program can be integrated with a company’s online strategy and how the Internet can be used as part of a company’s sales promotion efforts. Many companies are integrating their sales promotion efforts with their online marketing efforts and using the Internet to make various promotional offers available to consumers. Marketers promote contests and sweepstakes on their web sites and consumers can enter them online. These companies promote their contests and sweepstakes in their media advertising and encourage consumers to visit their web sites to learn more about these promotions and to enter. Many companies also include premium offers on their web sites and consumers can order merchandise online. Some companies such as airlines, car rental companies and hotel/motel chains run special offers that are only available online and provide consumers with extra incentives to make reservations or purchases through the Internet. F. Explain the process of shaping. Give an example of a marketing communications strategy that employs this technique. Shaping involves the reinforcement of successive acts that lead to a desired behaviour pattern or response. Marketers often use shaping procedures in the introduction of a new product. Using a new cookie product as an example, a company might employ shaping procedures through the following process. First, free samples of the product would be distributed. This might take place through the mail, door to door, or by sampling in grocery stores. Coupons might be given out with the samples to provide an incentive for the customer to make the initial purchase. Next, an additional coupon might be placed on or in the cookie package, encouraging the consumer to rebuy. Follow up coupon distribution through newspaper inserts, direct mailings, and/or magazines might follow—with the coupon amount being reduced. By this time, assuming the product is of good quality and is liked, the coupons might be eliminated. Occasional coupons in the future might be used to maintain loyalty. G. Find an example of an industry where brands are competing on promotional offers. What are the options for a marketer involved in such a situation? When firms are competing on a sales promotions, no one company gains from the use of promotions but the sales of an individual firm may decline if it does not continue to offer the promotional incentive. For example, grocery store chains often run promotional specials to attract shoppers. The fast food industry is another example of a market where promotional battles occur as chains such as McDonald’s offer special promotions such as 59-cent hamburgers or cheeseburgers on certain days of the week. Other fast food chains in some markets match these special promotions so McDonald’s does not gain a competitive advantage. Since the fast-food chains have lowered their prices on these items they have found it difficult to raise them back to normal levels. One of the competitors is always trying to use low priced specialty items as a draw for customers and as a way to increase market share. Companies have two basic options—cut back on promotions or maintain them. As shown in the matrix in table 14-11, if the company cuts back on promotions and other firms follow, the result should be higher profits for all. However, if the company cuts back on promotions and competitors maintain them, the company risks losing sales and market share to the other firms. If the company maintains promotions and other companies cut back, it may see a gain in sales or market share (assuming the market is promotionally sensitive). If all competitors maintain their promotions, market shares should stay constant and profits may be negatively impacted by the costs all companies are incurring to offer the promotional incentive. H. Discuss the differences between a promotional push and a promotional pull strategy. What factors influence a firm’s decision to use either a push or a pull strategy? A promotional push strategy is one whereby a company has a program to encourage channel members to stock and promote its products. The goal of this strategy is to push the product through the channels of distribution by aggressively selling and promoting to resellers. A promotional pull strategy creates demand on the consumer end by spending monies on advertising and promotion directed at the ultimate consumer. The goal of this strategy is to pull the product through the channels as favorable demand from consumers will motivate the trade to stock and promote it. Decisions as to whether to emphasize a push or pull strategy depend on a number of factors including the company’s relation with the trade, the promotional budget and demand for the product. Companies with favorable channel relationships often use a promotional push strategy and work closely with channel members to encourage them to stock and promote their products. Firms with limited promotional budgets may not have the funds for advertising and promotion that are required for an effective pull strategy and may find it more feasible to target their efforts to the trade. Products with favorable demand resulting from unique benefits, superior advantages and/or popularity among consumers may use a pull strategy. IMC Exercise The chapter discusses how sales promotion can be used to contribute to the development or maintenance of brand equity by developing a promotional offer that is consistent with the image or positioning of a product or service. Find an example of a contest, sweepstakes or premium offer that a marketer is currently running and analyze the promotion with respect to how it contributes to brand equity. You can find examples of contests, sweepstakes or premium offers in magazine ads, freestanding inserts (FSIs) in the newspaper, or on the Internet. Your analysis should include a discussion of the image or positioning the marketer is using for the brand and how the promotional offer supports the advertising campaign being used for the brand. IMC Comprehensive Project After reading and discussing this chapter, students should be prepared to develop the sales promotion portion of their IMC project. The specific assignment is as follows: IMC Project Assignment for Chapter 14 Discuss how you will use sales promotion as part of the integrated marketing communications plan for your product or service. You should specify the consumer and trade sales promotion objectives for your product or service and discuss how specific sales promotion tools discussed in the chapter may be used as part of your integrated marketing communications program. You should also discuss how you will coordinate sales promotion with your advertising campaign giving attention to areas such budgeting, ad and promotional theme coordination, and media support and timing. Chapter 15 Public relations Answers to Review Questions 1. Identify the key differences between public relations and publicity. In what ways are the two interdependent? The distinction between public relations and publicity is often not clear to students. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that the public relations department typically handles problems and opportunities involving publicity. Thus the tools used in the creation of public relations programs are the same as those employed to generate or control publicity. The procedures used to measure the effectiveness of these programs are also similar. At the same time, there are distinct differences between public relations and publicity, with control being foremost. While public relations programs are designed and implemented by the organization, publicity may originate from within or outside of the organization. In the latter case, the information is not always favorable to the firm, and the scope of the actions designed to deal with these communications will differ significantly. A second difference lies in the cost of public relations and publicity. While some textbooks argue that there is no cost involved in public relations, we take a different view. Public relations programs may be very costly in and of themselves, not to mention the cost of staff, materials, etc. Likewise, public relations agencies charge firms for their work. (If public relations are free, how did these large public relations firms get in business in the first place?) Publicity is expensive for the firm since writing and issuing press releases and managing “leaks,” obviously cost money. But these costs may be much less than those involved in large PR efforts, and—when released by other sources (for example, Consumer Reports)—may be free. Finally, both PR and publicity may too often be reactive rather than proactive in design. That is, they may be employed in response to an event or communication that poses a potential threat. Formalized programs designed to be proactive are now becoming more common, though more so in the public relations area than in publicity. 2. Describe the reasons why firms use public relations in an IMC program. Provide an example of an appropriate use of public relations in this mix. Advantages include: • Credibility—due to its perceived news intent (versus selling), PR may have higher credibility than many marketing messages • Cost—PR costs less than marketing messages, due to the lack of media costs • Avoidance of clutter—longer articles, separation from ads and new content help avoid clutter • Ability to reach specific groups—through effective targeting, and due to its news value, PR messages may get through to groups advertising cannot • Image building—corporate advertising, cause and advocacy advertising, and PR activities in general may help establish a positive image in the mind of receivers The major disadvantages of PR are the lack of control over the message and guarantee that it will appear in the media at all. Thus, the intended communication may never take place or an unintended message is delivered. Marketers can effectively employ PR activities and eliminate the disadvantages. Corporate, advocacy and cause advertising are paid for, and will get the message and media sought delivered. At the same time, they maintain many of the advantages, as there is no perceived intent to sell. Likewise, sponsorships can be effectively used to get the message delivered. Many companies now formally design-in PR programs as part of their IMC program to increase effectiveness. 3. Many companies are now trying to generate as much free publicity as they can. Cite examples, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages associated with this strategy. There is an old saying that “any publicity is better than none”. We are not sure that we subscribe to this expression. Many companies have a designed strategy to generate as much publicity as they can, assuming that most exposures are likely to help them. In many cases it does. Students should be encouraged to look for publicity in many domains beyond the entertainment industry. Instructors can certainly look at the digital manifestation of publicity and investigate whether social media exposure constitutes true publicity if the reach of the exposure is minimal. For example, a few hundred views of a YouTube video may be quite inconsequential versus newspaper headlines. Alternatively, the quick dissemination of a link to a video on YouTube can be quite damaging. 4. Companies are now taking the position that their charitable contributions should lead to something in return—for example, sales or increased visibility. Discuss the pros and cons of this position. Traditionally, public relations activities have been separate from the marketing department, primarily designed to create goodwill in the community, portraying the organization in a favorable light, etc. In some cases, the organization would attempt to insure that no profit- motive aspects were realized, (from a sales standpoint) in fear that the goodwill would be negated. The more modern role basically takes the position that “if we are doing it, why not get credit for it”? In other words, these PR activities may not need to be designed to aid the marketing process, but if they do, what is the harm? Still another perspective is to use PR activities to directly aid the organization’s marketing efforts. From a marketing standpoint, one might take the position that if the PR activity is done in good taste, and it does benefit the recipient; why not get credit for it? There is no less value to the receiver, and so long as there is no exploitation involved, everyone benefits. One can take this position too far however, in that the receiver of the benefits now are selected based on potential benefits to the organization not on need. It is this last point that upsets the PR people—especially the traditionalists. They believe that PR was never designed to be a marketing activity and that it should remain independent. In addition to their altruistic convictions, they note the fact that the whole plan could backfire, causing the firm more problems than benefits. Many companies still engage in both forms of PR. Olympic sponsors are one example. Some do so quietly, with little or no recognition. Others essentially buy the sponsorship, using the same in their advertising and promotions to benefit their products or services. 5. Explain how public relations activities and media publicity can be executed with Internet media. Even though public relations practitioners have been some of the slower adopters of this innovation, the Internet offers this field a number of advantages. Traditional PR activities involve the dissemination of press releases, articles, etc. regarding the organization. The process of delivering these is cumbersome, and can mount up when paper and mailing costs are considered—particularly when the list of contacts is large. In addition, this distribution takes time. The Internet offers the advantage of speed. Articles and/or newsworthy events can be posted on the site almost immediately after they happen. There are no limits on length, which allows the organization to provide as much detail as they wish. News organizations or others wishing to use this information can access it as needed and remain up to the minute in terms of developments. Knowing that the organization has a website providing this information also allows the user to know where to go to access the same. Rather than having to wait for the pr news, the medium can access the site, and get it themselves. They can go back for updates, additional information, etc., which makes their job much easier, and increases the likelihood of the information getting published or on the broadcast medium. Finally, the cost savings are enormous. There are no paper and printing costs. There are no distribution costs other than putting it on the site, and of course there are no mail costs. And, in the process, many trees are saved. Answers to Applied Questions 1. Some marketers and PR people believe that public relations should replace advertising as the primary means of introducing new products. Explain arguments in favor and opposed to the position. What do you conclude? Ries & Ries in their book The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, contend that PR will replace advertising in terms of importance in the marketing communications mix. Advertising—they say—will be used primarily to support existing brands, with PR assuming the primary responsibility for introducing new products. While some support this argument, many others do not. Following are reasons both supporting and opposing this position: • Supporting--because of the declining effectiveness of advertising, it is no longer effective for introducing and building new brands. The reason for this is because consumers have changed in regard to how they learn about new brands, and the communications program must change as well. Consumers now learn about products and brands through means other than advertising. Further, they contend, advertising has lost credibility. Public relations and publicity are considered more objective information. Advertising’s role in the future will be primarily to maintain the brand image. • Opposed--Many advertisers feel that it is hard to control the message disseminated through PR channels. Often the complete message does not get told, the message may not appear at all, or may appear at the wrong time. Further, publicity can be a tool for mature brands beyond the introductory stage, and there is no reason to focus on this aspect only. Finally, more money is currently being spent on advertising as PR. It is highly unlikely that this will reverse, as PR—while important—is still perceived by many as support for advertising. The most effective situation is when advertising and PR work together in an integrated program. To get the most from their individual contributions, they must work together to provide the consumer with a unified message. 2. Who are the target audiences for Bell’s work described in the opening vignette? To some degree CSR campaigns do not target anyone group in particular and one might presume that the effort is relevant for everyone in the general population. However, from a targeting standpoint, it is likely that there are certain segmentation variables that are more relevant to suggest a degree of targeting occurred. In this example, those who have seen the consequences of mental health issues are more likely to participate in the sending of messages. The 96 million messages sent during the 2013 initiative represent 3 per capita for the entire country. Since Bell has about one-third of the market, the messages represent 9 per capita, and rises to 10 or so if one eliminates youngsters in the calculation. Clearly there would be “heavy” users and “non” users, so it would be interesting to speculate on how many Canadians were very involved to fully consider the targeting. One might also speculate that those sending messages reflect a certain personality with a high need for social approval, “to be seen as doing good” versus doing something of value to the community for altruistic reasons. Instructors should use the key segmentation variables to break-down the anlaysis. 3. How do music artists take advantage of media publicity? Which strengths do they predominantly use? How do they minimize the limitation so of media publicity? This question hopefully resonates with students who are exposed via publicity regarding the artists they follow. It may also bridge the age gap of students and instructors who may not know what is going on with student consumption. A key aspect of the bridge is for the instructor to put structure around the student responses in a class discussion so that they can see the underlying principles. Students will likely focus on social media exposure of music artists (e.g., seeing video of the artist on YouTube, following artist’s Twitter feed). Instructors can also question the use of artists using other forms such as TV and radio and observe whether students are cognizant of publicity occurring in these media. Instructors can also delve into differences with “indie” artists versus mainstream artists. Logically artists are taking advantage of the lower cost, credibility of the source, and image building. The identification limitation is taken care of with the distinctiveness of the imagery artists typically portray that can be captured with the photos and video exposure. Timing is controlled with the performance schedule and the release of new material. 4. Identify sponsors of different concerts or entertainment activities you have attended and make a conclusion as to why this type of sponsorship may be successful? This is an experiential exercise that could prove interesting and distressing if there is poor recall, however an easy search can assist in this matter. The process of not recalling and then finding out could prove quite illuminating and this addition to the assignment may be fruitful for instructors to consider. In most cities these days there are a series of music events (e.g., Rock, Blues, Jazz etc.) that the class could focus on. Of course other cultural activities might spur interesting debate. One useful part to consider is the degree of brand exposure that occurs for a sponsor. In some examples, there are dozens of sponsors and the logos are so small, the overall clutter of the exposure is so bad, one might wonder why the brand decided to participate. It is important to drive home the point of how the sponsorship contributed to the overall image and positioning of the brand when evaluating the examples. 5. Explain why a company like RBC would use the tools described in the chapter, including media publicity, corporate image advertising, cause-related advertising, and sponsorship. RBC is an example of a very large company that uses all aspects of public relations, and most instructors would likely conclude very effectively across it vast operations domestically and internationally. It published a social responsibility report documenting all of its accomplishments. Its most recent effort with respect to water is a very good example of cause-related advertising. This program is so comprehensive; the term advertising does not give it full justice, however, the average Canadian would only understand the program from the advertising of it, an important distinction to be made. RBC also has a number of other activities that it sponsors such as the Olympics. In fact the Blue Water effort is referred to as a sponsorship since it gives money to hundreds of groups who manage the waterways, which shows how the lines between these activities are blurred. However, RBC’s communication of its effort falls into the domain of cause-related advertising. No doubt these activities get covered by media which contributes to the positive media publicity RBC often receives. Additional Discussion Questions (not in text) A. Discuss some of the advantages associated with the use of marketing public relations (MPR’s). What are some of the disadvantages? Advantages include: • It is a cost effective way to reach the market—public relations activities are often less expensive than traditional marketing programs • It is highly targeted—MPR’s can be targeted to a specific audience, thus increasing the effectiveness of the program • Endorsements of third parties—MPR’s may be perceived as more credible because they receive endorsement of those who may not be connected directly with the organization. This perceived lack of a relationship is a benefit to the sponsoring organization. • Support of the IMC program—the MPR program lends support to the more profit-oriented IMC program strategies due to its credibility. • Breaking through the clutter—due to the length of the articles, and the separation from advertisements, MPR’s may break through the clutter of ads • Circumvents consumer resistance—consumers may be hesitant to respond to marketing efforts they know are designed to sell, MPR’s help circumvent this problem Disadvantages include: • Lack of control—as with other PR pieces, the marketer loses control over the material • Difficulty tying in marketing efforts—it is often difficult to get one’s logo, positioning statement, etc. tied into the message • Media time and space are not guaranteed—because there is no media being paid for, there is no guarantee that the media time or space will be granted • Measuring effectiveness—the measures used to determine the effectiveness by marketing standards may be more difficult to employ. Traditional pr measures may not be as useful. B. Describe some of the criteria used by companies to measure effectiveness of the public relations program. The text discusses a number of criteria for measuring effectiveness that include: • Total number of impressions over time • Total number of impressions on the target audience • Total number of impressions on specific target audiences • Percentage of positive articles over time • Percentage of negative articles over time • Ratio of positive to negative articles • Percentage of positive/negative articles by subject • Percentage of positive/negative articles by publication or reporter • Percentage of positive/negative articles by target audience Also discussed are the means for accomplishing the evaluation process: • Personal observation and reaction-- personal observation and evaluation by one’s superiors should occur at all levels of the organization • Matching objectives and results--specific objectives designed to attain the overall communications objective should be related to actions, activities, or media coverage. For example, placing a feature story in a specific number of media is an objective, quantitative, and measurable goal. • The team approach--whereby evaluators are actually involved in the campaign. By working together the team develops and accomplishes their goals. • Management by objectives--executives and their managers act together to identify goals to be attained and the responsibilities of the managers. These goals are then used as a standard to measure accomplishments. • Public opinion and surveys--research in the form of public opinion surveys may be used to gather data to evaluate program goal attainment. • Audits--internal audits involve evaluation by superiors or peers. External audits include those that are conducted by consultants, the client, or other parties outside the organization. C. Explain what is meant by the term cause-related advertising and advocacy advertising. Cite examples of organizations that have used this strategy. Does it work? Cause-related advertising is the term used to describe the linking of companies with charities or non-profit organizations as contributing sponsors. Cause related marketing is a “hot” trend in the business community. Companies like American Express, Visa, Johnson & Johnson and many others have participated in cause related marketing for a variety of reasons. First, the goodwill and positive publicity associated with these activities are beneficial to the firm. Secondly, there is the feeling of doing something good for the community. Third, marketing activities such as coupon redemptions and sales have been shown to be positively affected. Participating in a cause-related relationship is not a guarantee of success, however. American express has suffered negative publicity, as have others when the public feels that all of the motives are not altruistic. In addition, some causes (such as AIDS) are considered by many to be too controversial to engage in, creating possible problems in the marketplace as well as within the organization. Advocacy advertising involves the propagating of ideas and elucidating controversial social issues of public importance in a manner that supports the interests of the sponsor. A quick perusal of any major daily newspaper will reveal that this form of advertising is on the increase. Such ads can also be found in magazines such as Time and Newsweek among others. The reasons for advocacy are many. One is to generate public support on an issue. Another is to elicit funds, while a third is to make people aware of an issue. Such ads may range from taking a safe stance (Mobil’s back the police campaign) to extreme depending on the goals of the sponsor. Effectiveness will also vary depending on the goals sought. D. Why is publicity so powerful? Give examples of how publicity has worked for and against companies. The power of publicity emanates directly from its high credibility. Because the source of the communication is generally perceived as being objective, or at least as not having a vested interest, the information is often treated differently than that of advertising and/or promotions. As a result this information is passed on more readily, and in general is considered more believable. A contributing factor is the way that the media handle publicity. Unfortunately for many firms, negative publicity often receives more attention than positive news. As a result, more coverage is provided, more consumers are exposed, and the information seems to convey more “news value.” E. Some people believe firms should not adopt the new marketing oriented role for public relations. Argue for and against this position. Those who would argue against the new role of public relations base their arguments on the fact that public relations are not a marketing function. They argue that public relations are designed to create goodwill, promote relations in the community, etc. They believe that those trained in public relations take a different perspective and have different skills than those trained in marketing. Those educated in public relations programs—as opposed to business schools—have been taught PR from a very different perspective. To them, public relations are designed to create goodwill for the organization through traditional PR activities. Profit motives are, at best, optional benefits. Those who support the new role of public relations contend that since public relations efforts benefit the firm they offer a marketing advantage. Corporate image has been shown to be an important factor in consumers’ evaluations of products and services, and creating a good image through public relations activities helps the marketing cause. Secondly, they argue that organizations need all the help they can get in the marketing cause. By using public relations as a marketing effort, the organization is just receiving an additional benefit. MPR’s represent marketing activities. Public relations are considered a marketing tool, designed not only to create goodwill, but to potentially generate a profit as well. This is a very different perspective than traditional public relations objectives. The difference in perspectives leads many PR practitioners and marketer to a position of conflict. The PR people believe that marketers are overstepping their bounds, and are getting involved in an area in which they do not belong. They see for-profit efforts as eventually ruining the credibility of PR and eventually destroying its effectiveness. Alternatively, marketers take the position that since it is being paid for, and it benefits the firm, PR should be used to better the interests of the organization, even if it means making a profit. In addition, they want to see coordination among all efforts to bring synergy to the communications. F. What are some of the reasons for conducting public relations research activities? As with any other part of the communications program, there are reasons for conducting public relations research activities. These include, but are not limited to the following: • to determine target audiences—some members of society may provide more effective markets than will others. • to determine attitudes and perceptions—it is important to know the audiences perceptions of the organizations as well as the programs it may or may not implement • to “tune” the program—testing source, message, and media factors is important to insure the success of the pr program • to evaluate the effectiveness of the program—follow-up research designed to determine the effectiveness of the program is important. Just as we would want to conduct research as input into the design of the program, we would also need to do the same to determine how the program worked once implemented. Research activities are required throughout the program G. What are the various forms that corporate advertising might assume? Give examples of each. Corporate advertising is generally classified as either image advertising or social, business and environmental issue advertising (advocacy). The former is designed to promote the general image of the firm, while the latter takes a position on a particular issue to enhance the image of the firm. Implementation of these forms of corporate advertising may be different. Image ads may be: • General image or positioning ads. These ads are designed to create a specific image of the company in the minds of the public. Beatrice Foods has used this form of advertising to demonstrate the diversification of the company. • Sponsorships. By sponsoring special events, programs, or even television shows, companies hope to create an image of themselves. The Hallmark Hall of Fame movie specials, the sponsorship of educational television by Mobil and Gulf Oil companies are examples. • Recruiting. Companies create images through their recruiting ads. Arthur Young (an accounting firm) advertised for “free thinking” college graduates. Others have created an image of themselves as companies for those interested in “challenging careers.” • Financial ads. Companies attempt to create images of themselves for potential investors. They may run ads showing their strong stock performance, sound investments, or the security of investing in them. H. How can a manager manage publicity? What types of action can be taken in response to negative publicity? Managers have the ability to control some of the publicity that is presented. The issuing of press releases, the holding of press conferences, and “leaks” (the information somehow just seems to get out!) are ways of getting information to the media. When an organization wants to get positive information disseminated, these methods can be employed. Examples include the consumer products companies releasing of information about the signing of rock stars or movie stars to serve as product spokespersons. Perhaps the most well cited example of dealing with negative publicity is the Tylenol case. Sound marketing research, a comprehensive advertising and public relations campaign and a strong brand image were all responsible for the success in dealing with negative publicity. Essentially, to deal with negative publicity, the company must have a crisis management program in place, and must use sound marketing practices to ward off the threat. Refusing to comment, attempting to discredit the source or other negative approaches are less likely to be successful. I. A great deal of money is being spent on sponsorships. Discuss why organizations are increasing their expenditures in this area, and how they can measure the effectiveness of these investments. Sponsoring events has, in the past, been thought of as something an organization does because of the wishes or interests of the President or CEO. This is no longer the case. While some sponsorships may still take place for this reason (the CEO loves golf, for example), the vast majority have more strategic objectives in mind. Chapter 15 discusses some of these reasons, but one of the major ones is to keep the name of the company and/or brand in front of the target market. Air Canada and Bell have paid to have their names on NHL arenas to raise awareness of their brand names. A number of companies now offer methods for measuring the effectiveness of sponsorships. These companies use sales audits, exit interviews, and economic impact studies to measure impact. One company provides a measure of event sponsorships and their impact on sales. Still another clocks the amount of time a sponsors name is shown, and equates this to buying advertising space costs. While all of these measures would be useful to the sponsor, one must take a hard look at these methodologies before subscribing to them. In many cases, the measures are questionable (equating exposure to advertising), in others the impact may be overstated (economic impact). As noted in the text, a number of factors contribute to sales and/or other behaviours, and to attempt to isolate only the impact of sponsorships may not be as easy as suggested. Assuming the measures are valid, they could be used by a variety of companies. For example: • golf equipment companies—measuring exposure to their name as a result of players wearing visors, using their balls, carrying their bags, etc. • event sponsors—companies who sponsor tennis events—is their name and association being noted? • underwriters—sponsors of events like concerts, plays, etc., who pay for the cost of the programs. IMC Exercise Instruct students to gather information of various types of public relations activities engaged in by organizations. These include both traditional and nontraditional methods. Have them collect examples of sponsorships, and describe the target audiences sought, and the pros and cons of the sponsorship. IMC Comprehensive Project Develop a public relations plan as part of the overall program. Describe what the objectives of this program are, how the program will be implemented and how it will be evaluated for effectiveness. Solution Manual for Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective George E. Belch, Michael A. Belch, Michael A. Guolla 9780070891302