Chapter 17 Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Communications 1) ________ refers to the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade, and remind consumers—directly or indirectly—about the products and brands they sell. A) Human resource development B) Marketing communications C) Financial management D) Operations management E) Planning Answer: B 2) Which of the following elements of the marketing communications mix refers to any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor via print, broadcast, network, electronic, and display media? A) advertising B) personal selling C) sales promotion D) direct marketing E) public relations Answer: A 3) Which of the following elements of the marketing communications mix involves a variety of short-term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or service? A) advertising B) direct marketing C) public relations D) personal selling E) sales promotion Answer: E 4) In this new communications environment, although ___________ is often a central element of a marketing communications program. A) advertising B) direct marketing C) public relations D) personal selling E) sales promotion Answer: A 5) Marketing communication activities contribute to ____________. A) major sales growth B) public relations C) brand equity D) awareness of competition E) economic growth Answer: C 6) ________ refer to the marketing communications element that involves company-sponsored activities and programs designed to create daily or special brand-related interactions with consumers. A) Publicity campaigns B) Trade promotions C) Advertisements D) Public relations E) Events and experiences Answer: E 7) Which of the following elements of the marketing communications mix includes a variety of programs directed internally to employees of the company or externally to consumers, other firms, the government, and media to promote or protect a company's image or its individual product communications? A) direct marketing B) public relations and publicity C) personal selling D) advertising E) sales promotion Answer: B 8) Which of the following elements of the marketing communication mix involves use of mail, telephone, fax, email, or Internet to communicate with or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers and prospects? A) advertising B) personal selling C) direct marketing D) public relations E) sales promotion Answer: C 9) ________ is an element of the marketing communications mix that involves online activities and programs designed to engage customers or prospects and directly or indirectly raise awareness, improve image, or elicit sales of products and services. A) Personal selling B) Direct marketing C) Sales promotion D) Interactive marketing E) Public relations Answer: D 10) ________ is an element of the marketing communications mix that involves people-to-people oral, written, or electronic communications that relate to the merits or experiences of purchasing or using products or services. A) Personal selling B) Sales promotion C) Word-of-mouth marketing D) Public relations E) Advertising Answer: C 11) Which of the following elements of the marketing communications mix involves face-to-face interaction with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders? A) advertising B) sales promotion C) word-of-mouth marketing D) public relations E) personal selling Answer: E 12) Which of the following is an example of an advertising platform? A) posters and leaflets B) company magazines C) fairs and trade shows D) sales presentations E) continuity programs Answer: A 13) Which of the following is an example of an events and experiences platform? A) fairs and trade shows B) continuity programs C) factory tours D) sales presentations E) community relations Answer: C 14) Which of the following is an example of a public relations and publicity communication platform? A) lobbying B) company museums C) street activities D) company blogs E) incentive programs Answer: A 15) Which of the following is an example of an direct marketing communication platform? A) product demonstrations B) factory tours C) company museums D) TV shopping E) community relations Answer: D 16) Which of the following is an example of a sales promotion communication platform? A) tie-ins B) billboards C) factory tours D) incentive programs E) trade shows Answer: A 17) Which of the following is an example of a personal selling communication platform? A) sales presentations B) company blogs C) telemarketing D) TV shopping E) press kits Answer: A 18) The starting point in planning marketing communications is a ________ that profiles all interactions customers in the target market may have with the company and all its products and services. A) marketing budget B) communications audit C) market research program D) publicity campaign E) product launch Answer: B 19) Along which of the following parameters should marketers evaluate communication options when building brand equity? A) popularity B) innovativeness C) technological sophistication D) efficiency E) novelty Answer: D 20) Which of the following factors found in the macromodel of the communications process refers to random and competing messages that may interfere with the intended communication? A) negative feedback B) noise C) attenuation D) phase lag E) selective distortion Answer: B 21) Which of the following represents one of the major tools for effective communication in the macromodel of the communications process? A) feedback B) noise C) receiver D) message E) sender Answer: D 22) Which of the following is the correct order of stages that a buyer is assumed to pass through, by the four classic response hierarchy models? A) cognitive stage-affective stage-behavioral stage B) affective stage-cognitive stage-behavioral stage C) behavioral stage-affective stage-cognitive stage D) cognitive stage-behavioral stage-affective stage E) affective stage-behavioral stage-cognitive stage Answer: A 23) LCH is a leading electronics company that produces and markets its own brand of desktop and laptop computers, for both individual consumers and businesses. Which of the following sequences of consumer responses is relevant as a marketing communications model for LCH's products? A) learn-do-feel B) feel-learn-do C) do-feel-learn D) feel-do-learn E) do-learn-feel Answer: C 24) All response hierarchy models of the communication process assume the buyer passes through cognitive, affective, and behavioral stages, in that order. Which of the following product categories lends itself most appropriately to such a “learn-feel-do” sequence? A) clothes B) dish-washers C) real estate D) personal computer E) air tickets Answer: C 25) When planning communications for a detergent brand, which of the following sequences of buyer responses should the marketer choose on which to base the communications model? A) feel-do-learn B) do-feel-learn C) feel-learn-do D) learn-do-feel E) learn-feel-do Answer: D 26) Which of the following steps in the innovation-adoption model of marketing communications corresponds to the cognitive stage that a buyer passes through? A) interest B) evaluation C) trial D) awareness E) adoption Answer: D 27) According to the hierarchy-of-effects model, which of the following corresponds to the behavioral stage that a buyer passes through? A) awareness B) knowledge C) purchase D) preference E) conviction Answer: C 28) According to the hierarchy-of-effects model, which of the following corresponds to the affective stage that a buyer passes through? A) attention B) exposure C) reception D) adoption E) conviction Answer: E 29) Which of the following sequences accurately represents the hierarchy-of-effects model of marketing communications? A) attention-interest-desire-action B) awareness-interest-evaluation-trial-adoption C) awareness-knowledge-liking-preference-conviction-purchase D) exposure-reception-cognitive response-attitude-intention-behavior E) knowledge-persuasion-decision-implementation-confirmation Answer: C 30) Which is the first step to be performed by a marketer in developing effective marketing communications? A) identifying a target audience B) determining the objectives C) establishing the budget D) deciding on the media mix E) selecting the communication channels Answer: A 31) Marketing communication strategy can be decided by conducting an image analysis by profiling the target audience in terms of ________. A) brand knowledge B) purchase patterns C) demographic characteristics D) income levels E) psychographic characteristics Answer: A 32) Which of the following is the marketing communications objective for a new-to-the-world product, such as electric cars? A) enhancing brand awareness B) developing brand attitude C) increasing brand purchase intention D) encouraging repeat purchases E) establishing category need Answer: E 33) When Apple introduced the iPod in October, 2001, it was the first-of-its-kind product that offered sizable storage capacity for songs and a portable device that was not seen before in the market. Which of the following is most likely to have been the marketing communications objective for the iPod at the time of its introduction? A) developing brand awareness B) building customer traffic C) enhancing purchase actions D) establishing product category E) enhancing firm image Answer: D 34) One of the possible objectives of marketing communications is helping consumers evaluate a brand's perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. Which of the following is a negatively oriented relevant brand need? A) normal depletion B) sensory gratification C) social approval D) intellectual stimulation E) value enhancement Answer: A 35) One of the possible objectives of marketing communications is helping consumers evaluate a brand's perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. Which of the following is a positively oriented relevant brand need? A) problem removal B) social approval C) normal depletion D) problem avoidance E) incomplete satisfaction Answer: B 36) One of the possible objectives of marketing communications is helping consumers evaluate a brand's perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. Which of the following relevant brand needs is emphasized by an advertisement for dish-washing gloves? A) social approval B) intellectual stimulation C) problem removal D) normal depletion E) sensory gratification Answer: C 37) One of the possible objectives of marketing communications is helping consumers evaluate a brand's perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. Which of the following relevant brand needs is most likely emphasized by an advertisement for a luxury car? A) problem removal B) sensory gratification C) normal depletion D) intellectual stimulation E) problem avoidance Answer: B 38) Creative strategies refer to _______. A) the way marketers translate their messages into a specific communication B) the amount of creative content in a communications message C) the degree of innovation involved in the marketing of a product D) the novelty of a marketing communication E) the type of medium used to deliver a marketing communication Answer: A 39) A(n) ________ appeal is a creative strategy that elaborates on product or service attributes or benefits. A) aesthetic B) informational C) bandwagon D) emotional E) transformational Answer: B 40) A(n) ________ appeal is a creative strategy that elaborates on a nonproduct-related benefit or image. A) logical B) transformational C) reasonable D) informational E) rational Answer: B 41) Which of the following ads depict a transformational appeal? A) V-kool window film can withstand intense sunlight and heat B) DIRECTV offers better HD options than cable or other satellite operators C) NBA phenomenon LeBron James pitching Nike, Sprite, and McDonald's D) Pringles advertised “Once You Pop, the Fun Don't Stop” for years E) Panadol Extra stops the toughest headache pain Answer: D 42) Which of the following ads depict an informational appeal? A) V-kool window film can withstand intense sunlight and heat B) The California Milk Processor Board ran the successful “Got Milk?” ad to boost declining sales C) VW advertised to active, youthful people with its famed "Drivers Wanted" campaign D) Pringles advertised “Once You Pop, the Fun Don't Stop” for years E) KFC has marketed its fast-food products under the slogan, “Finger Lickin’ Good” Answer: A 43) ________ is one of the sources of a spokesperson's credibility that refers to the specialized knowledge that he or she possesses to claim. A) Trustworthiness B) Expertise C) Acquaintance D) Likability E) Professionalism Answer: B 44) ________ is a source of a spokesperson's credibility that describes how objective and honest the spokesperson is perceived to be. A) Likability B) Expertise C) Experience D) Trustworthiness E) Compassion Answer: D 45) Which of the following sources of a spokesperson's credibility describes his or her attractiveness? A) expertise B) trustworthiness C) likability D) integrity E) experience Answer: C 46) Which of the following marketing communications principles implies that communicators can use their good image to reduce some negative feelings toward a brand but in the process might lose some esteem with the audience? A) principle of closure B) principle of duality C) principle of delegation D) principle of congruity E) principle of neutrality Answer: D 47) Which of the following is an example of a personal communications channel? A) public relations B) events and experiences C) interactive marketing D) sales promotions E) advertising Answer: C 48) Which of the following personal communication channels consist of company salespeople contacting buyers in the target market? A) expert channels B) social channels C) advocate channels D) independent channels E) informal channels Answer: C 49) Which of the following personal communications channels consist of family members, neighbors, friends, and associates talking to target buyers? A) expert channels B) advocate channels C) social channels D) formal channels E) sponsored channels Answer: C 50) Top Gear is an award-winning British television series about motor vehicles, mainly cars. It is presented by a set of hosts who test drive new cars and provide reviews on the cars’ performance, their prices, and other factors. Which of the following personal communications channels is Top Gear closest to in description? A) expert channel B) formal channel C) social channel D) sponsored channel E) advocate channel Answer: A 51) ______________ consist of independent experts making statements to target buyers. A) Expert channels B) Formal channels C) Social channels D) Sponsored channels E) Advocate channels Answer: C 52) Personal influence in marketing communications carries great weight when ________. A) the product being marketed is a convenience item B) the purchase of the product is considered to be safe and risk-free C) the product suggests something about the user's status or taste D) the product being marketed is purchased on a frequent basis E) the product or service in questions is used without being recommended by others Answer: C 53) Which of the following is a form of mass communications channel? A) interactive marketing B) personal selling C) public relations D) word-of-mouth marketing E) sales presentations Answer: C 54) Which of the following statements is true of the two-step approach to mass communications? A) The influence of mass media on public opinion is more direct, powerful, and automatic than marketers have supposed. B) Communications through mass media bypasses opinion leaders and reaches the individual buyers. C) The two-step flow supports the notion that consumption styles are primarily influenced by a “trickle-down” or “trickle-up” effect from mass media. D) According to the two-step flow, people interact primarily within their own social groups and acquire ideas from opinion leaders in their groups. E) Two-step communication suggests that mass communicators should direct messages to groups of buyers who interpret the message and act accordingly. Answer: D 55) Which of the following is a characteristic of the affordable method of establishing a marketing communications budget? A) fixed annual budget B) suitable for long-range planning C) priority given to role of promotion as an investment D) calculated to reflect what the company can spare for marketing communications E) based on the immediate impact of promotion on sales volume Answer: D 56) Kelly is the chief marketing officer of Boyd Pharmaceuticals. She is meeting with Terence, the chief financial officer to decide on the company's marketing communications budget. After extensive discussions, they decide that the size of the budget will be calculated as a fraction of the overall turnover. What method did Kelly and Terence use to arrive at the marketing communications budget? A) affordable method B) objective-and-task method C) competitive-parity method D) activity-based method E) percentage-of-sales method Answer: E 57) Which of the following is an advantage of using the percentage-of-sales method to determine the marketing communications budget? A) The percentage-of-sales method encourages stability when competing firms spend approximately the same portion of their sales on communications. B) The percentage-of-sales method views sales as the determiner of communications rather than as the result. C) The percentage-of-sales method leads to a budget set by market opportunities rather than the availability of funds. D) The percentage-of-sales method encourages experimentation with countercyclical communication or aggressive spending. E) The percentage-of-sales method encourages building the communication budget by determining what each product and territory deserves. Answer: A 58) Which of the following is a disadvantage of using a percentage-of-sales method to determine the marketing communications budget? A) It discourages stability when competing firms spend approximately the same percentage of their sales on communications. B) By using a percentage-of-sales method, communication expenditures tend to be extremely high irrespective of what a company can afford. C) It discourages management from thinking of the relationship among communication cost, selling price, and profit per unit. D) Dependence of the percentage-of-sales method on year-to-year sales fluctuations interferes with long-range planning. E) The percentage-of-sales method views sales as the result in itself rather than the determiner of communications. Answer: D 59) Kelly is the chief marketing officer of Boyd Pharmaceuticals. She is meeting with Terence, the chief financial officer to decide on the company's marketing communications budget. They pore over the sales reports and other financial records and determine the amount of resources they can spare for marketing communications, after resources have been allocated to other functions, such as R&D, logistics, etc. What method did Kelly and Terence use to arrive at the marketing communications budget? A) objective-and-task method B) affordable method C) competitive-parity method D) activity-based method E) percentage-of-sales method Answer: B 60) Kelly is the chief marketing officer of Boyd Pharmaceuticals. She is meeting with Terence, the chief financial officer to decide on the company's marketing communications budget. They decide to trust in the prevailing collective wisdom of the industry as a whole, and not wanting to instigate a communications war, settle on spending only as much as their nearest market rival does on marketing communications. What method did Kelly and Terence use to arrive at the marketing communications budget? A) objective-and-task method B) affordable method C) competitive-parity method D) activity-based method E) percentage-of-sales method Answer: C 61) The ________________ calls on marketers to develop promotion budgets by defining specific objectives, determining the tasks that must be performed to achieve these objectives, and estimating the costs of performing these tasks. A) objective-and-task method B) affordable method C) competitive-parity method D) activity-based method E) percentage-of-sales method Answer: A 62) Which of the following benefits is offered by sales promotion tools? A) Sales promotion tools are more authentic and credible to buyers than others such as advertising, public relations, and personal selling. B) Sales promotion tools can reach prospects who prefer to avoid mass media and targeted promotions. C) Sales promotion tools are typically an indirect form of "soft-sell" and hence, better received by customers. D) Sales promotion tools incorporate some concession, inducement, or contribution that gives value to the consumer. E) Sales promotion tools allow buyers personal choices and encourage them to respond directly. Answer: D 63) Which of the following statements correctly reflects a characteristic of public relations as a marketing communications tool? A) Public relations can reach prospects who prefer to avoid salespeople and advertisements. B) They incorporate some concession, inducement, or contribution that gives value to the consumer. C) Given their live, real-time quality, public relations tools are more actively engaging for consumers. D) Public relations communications can be prepared to appeal to the addressed individual. E) Public relations tools create an immediate and interactive episode between two or more persons. Answer: A 64) Janet is a marketing manager with Injoos, a company that manufactures packaged fruit juices. Knowing that there exist several other companies in the market that offer similar products, Janet decides to build a customer base from among those who prefer to avoid mass media and other targeted promotions. Which of the following marketing communications tools would be her best option to build a favorable impression among the prospective customers? A) advertising B) personal selling C) sales promotions D) direct marketing E) public relations Answer: E 65) Which of the following marketing communications tools is most effective at the later stages of the buying process? A) personal selling B) public relations C) advertising D) sales promotions E) direct marketing Answer: A 66) Which of the following statements is true of the role of advertising in business markets? A) Advertising is unsuitable for explaining any new features that a product might have. B) Sales calls are more economical than reminder advertisements. C) Sales calls are more effective than advertisements at reminding customers how to use a product and reassure them about their purchase. D) Sales representatives can use copies of the company's ads to legitimize their company and products. E) Advertisements are the least preferred tools when intended to generate leads for sales representatives. Answer: D 67) Which of the following circumstances are best suited for the use of personal selling? A) when the products used are simple and easy-to-use B) when there is minimal risk involved in buying or using the products C) when the market has fewer and larger sellers D) when the products being marketed are inexpensive and easily available E) when prospective customers are spread across a wide geographic area Answer: C 68) Which of the following marketing communications tools is most effective at influencing customers at the conviction stage of buyer readiness? A) advertising B) publicity C) sales promotion D) personal selling E) events and experiences Answer: D 69) Advertising and publicity tools play the most important roles in influencing buying decisions at the ________ stage of buyer readiness. A) comprehension B) conviction C) ordering D) reordering E) awareness-building Answer: E 70) Which of the following tools or combinations of tools is most influential at the comprehension stage of buyer readiness? A) sales promotion and advertising B) advertising and personal selling C) publicity and personal selling D) reminder advertising and publicity E) sales promotion and personal selling Answer: B 71) Which of the following marketing communications tools has the highest cost-effectiveness in the introduction stage of the product life cycle? A) personal selling B) sales promotion C) interactive marketing D) direct marketing E) advertising and publicity Answer: E 72) Which of the following marketing communications tools is most influential at the maturity stage of a product's life cycle? A) events B) direct marketing C) advertising D) publicity E) interactive marketing Answer: C 73) Luke is considering the various options available to him to promote an energy-drink, Turbozade, that is seeing decreasing sales volumes after having peaked some time back. Which of the following marketing communications tools should Luke focus marketing efforts on to keep the sales volume up? A) advertising B) direct marketing C) events and experiences D) sales promotions E) publicity Answer: D 74) Which of the following marketing communications tools is most influential at the reordering stage of buyer readiness? A) events and experiences B) publicity C) direct marketing D) sales promotion E) interactive marketing Answer: D 75) In the decline stage, _______________ continues strong, advertising and publicity are reduced, and salespeople give the product only minimal attention. A) events B) experiences C) direct marketing D) sales promotion E) interactive marketing Answer: D 76) ________ refers to a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time. A) Brand engagement B) Integrated marketing communications C) Market research D) Customerization E) Marketing research Answer: B 77) Marketing communications allow companies to link their brands to other people, places, events, brands, experiences, feelings, and things. Answer: True 78) Technology and other factors have profoundly changed the way consumers process communications, and even whether they choose to process them. Answer: True 79) The pervasive nature of advanced communications technologies, such as the Internet, has resulted in greater exposure of customers to advertising content than it was in the 1960s. Answer: False 80) Marketing communications in almost every medium and form have been on the rise, and some consumers feel they are increasingly invasive. Answer: True 81) In this new communication environment, advertising is often the single-most important element of a marketing communications program for sales and building brand and customer equity. Answer: False 82) Personal selling refers to people-to-people oral, written, or electronic communications that relate to the merits or experiences of purchasing or using products or services. Answer: False 83) In building brand equity, marketers should be "media neutral" and evaluate all communication options on effectiveness and efficiency. Answer: True 84) The less the sender's field of experience overlaps that of the receiver, the more effective the message is likely to be. Answer: False 85) All the response hierarchy models assume that a buyer passes through affective, cognitive, and behavioral stages, in that order. Answer: False 86) A “do-feel-learn” response sequence is considered appropriate when the audience has high involvement but perceives little or no differentiation within the product category. Answer: True 87) Though the target audience can be profiled in terms of demographic, psychographic, or behavioral segments, it is often useful to do so in terms of usage and loyalty. Answer: True 88) Marketers can set communications objectives at any level of the hierarchy-of-effects model. Answer: True 89) The marketing communications objective of “brand attitude” refers to helping consumers evaluate the brand's perceived ability to meet a currently relevant need. Answer: True 90) Problem removal and normal depletion are examples of positively oriented relevant brand needs. Answer: False 91) Communications effectiveness depends solely on the content of a message, irrespective of how it is expressed. Answer: False 92) Volkswagen's famed “Drivers Wanted” advertising campaign aimed at attracting active, youthful people uses a transformational appeal as its creative strategy. Answer: True 93) One-sided presentations that praise a product are found to be more effective than two-sided arguments that also mention shortcomings. Answer: False 94) Two-sided messages are more effective with more educated audiences and those who are initially opposed. Answer: True 95) In a one-sided message, presenting the strongest argument first arouses attention and interest, important in media where the audience often does not attend to the whole message. Answer: True 96) Fear appeals work best when they are rather strong and reinforce what the audience already believes. Answer: False 97) If the messages are too discrepant, audiences will counter argue and disbelieve them. Answer: True 98) Motivational or “borrowed interest” devices—such as the presence of cute babies, frisky puppies, popular music, or provocative sex appeals—are often employed to attract attention and raise involvement with an ad. Answer: True 99) Celebrities are likely to be effective when they are credible or personify a key product attribute. Answer: True 100) Trustworthiness is that source of a spokesperson's credibility that describes his or her attractiveness. Answer: False 101) The most highly credible source would score high on at least two of the three dimensions—expertise, trustworthiness, and likability. Answer: False 102) The principle of congruity implies that communicators can use their good image to reduce some negative feelings toward a brand but in the process might lose some esteem with the audience. Answer: True 103) Personal communications channels derive their effectiveness from individualized presentation and feedback and include direct and interactive marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, and personal selling. Answer: True 104) Personal influence carries especially great weight when products are inexpensive, risk-free, or purchased frequently. Answer: False 105) Although personal communication is often more effective than mass communication, mass media might be the major means of stimulating personal communication. Answer: True 106) The two-step flow supports the notion that consumption styles are primarily influenced by a “trickle-down” or “trickle-up” effect from mass media. Answer: False 107) Two-step communication suggests that mass communicators should direct messages specifically to opinion leaders and let them carry the message to others. Answer: True 108) The affordable method accounts for the role of promotion as an investment and the immediate impact of promotion on sales volume. Answer: False 109) The percentage-of-sales budgeting method encourages management to think of the relationship among communication cost, selling price, and profit per unit. Answer: True 110) The percentage-of-sales method leads to a budget set by market opportunities rather than by the availability of funds. Answer: False 111) There is no evidence that budgets based on competitive parity discourage promotional wars. Answer: True 112) Advertising allows the buyer to receive and compare the messages of various competitors. Answer: True 113) Public relations is incapable of reaching prospects who prefer to avoid salespeople and advertisements. Answer: False 114) Personal selling permits all kinds of relationships to spring up, ranging from a matter-of-fact selling relationship to a deep personal friendship. Answer: True 115) Advertising and publicity play the most important roles in the conviction stage of buyer readiness. Answer: False 116) In the growth stage of a product's life cycle, demand has its own momentum through word of mouth and interactive marketing. Answer: True 117) Media coordination can occur across and within media types, but marketers should combine communications channels through multiple-vehicle, multiple-stage campaigns to achieve maximum impact and increase message reach and impact. Answer: True 118) Many companies are coordinating their online and off-line communication activities. Answer: True 119) Briefly describe the current marketing communications environment. Answer: Technology and other factors have profoundly changed the way consumers processed communications, and even whether they choose to process them. The rapid diffusion of powerful broadband Internet connections and ad-skipping digital video recorders have eroded the effectiveness of the mass media.3 Consumers not only have more choices of media, they can also decide whether and how they want to receive commercial content. 120) What are the elements of the marketing communications mix? Answer: The marketing communications mix consists of eight major modes of communication: 1. Advertising—Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor via print, broadcast, network, electronic, and display media. 2. Sales promotion—A variety of short-term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or service including consumer promotions, trade promotions, and business and sales force promotions. 3. Events and experiences—Company-sponsored activities and programs designed to create daily or special brand-related interactions with consumers, including sports, arts, entertainment, and cause events as well as less formal activities. 4. Public relations and publicity—A variety of programs directed internally to employees of the company or externally to consumers, other firms, the government, and media to promote or protect a company's image or its individual product communications. 5. Direct marketing—Use of mail, telephone, fax, e-mail, or Internet to communicate directly with or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers and prospects. 6. Interactive marketing—Online activities and programs designed to engage customers or prospects and directly or indirectly raise awareness, improve image, or elicit sales of products and services. 7. Word-of-mouth marketing—People-to-people oral, written, or electronic communications that relate to the merits or experiences of purchasing or using products or services. 8. Personal selling—Face-to-face interaction with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders. 121) Briefly describe the macro-model of the marketing communications process. Answer: The macro-model of the communications process has nine key factors in effective communication. Two represent the major parties—sender and receiver. Two represent the major tools—message and media. Four represent major communication functions—encoding, decoding, response, and feedback. The last element in the system is noise, random and competing messages that may interfere with the intended communication. Senders must know what audiences they want to reach and what responses they want to get. They must encode their messages so the target audience can decode them. They must transmit the message through media that reach the target audience and develop feedback channels to monitor the responses. The more the sender's field of experience overlaps that of the receiver, the more effective the message is likely to be. 122) Gravity is a company that markets customized T-shirts to its customers. Gravity runs an ad that seeks to attract more customers. Apply the macro-model of the communications process to describe the communication between Gravity and its target customers. Answer: The macro-model of the communications process comprises of nine key factors in effective communication. Two represent the major parties—sender (Gravity) and receiver (audience). Two represent the major tools—message (content of the ad) and media (print, TV, radio, etc). Four represent the major communications functions—encoding (creation and transmission of the ad by Gravity), decoding (the reception and comprehension of the ad by the audience), response (either ignoring the message or buying Gravity shirts), and feedback (customers providing information about the ad to measure its effectiveness). The last element is noise, random and competing messages that may interfere with the intended communication. Examples of noise in this case could be misunderstood messages from the ad, similar ads from competitors, etc. 123) Alan is an executive with an ad agency that has been entrusted with accounts for a used-car showroom, a home appliances maker, and a soap company. With reference to response hierarchy models, how does Alan plan communication strategies for the three accounts effectively? Answer: All the four classic response hierarchy models assume that the buyer passes through cognitive (learn), affective (feel), and behavioral stages (do), in that order. Since buying a car, used or new, represents a significant investment for the buyer, it can be said that the buyer has involvement in the purchase decision and perceives high differentiation with the product category. Hence a “learn-feel-do” sequence is considered appropriate for the used-car showroom account. Similarly, a buyer intending to purchase home appliances, such as a dishwasher or a refrigerator, has high involvement in the purchase decision, even though he perceives little differentiation within the product category. Hence, a “do-feel-learn” approach may be appropriate when planning communications for the home appliances account. Finally, a buyer has low involvement in purchasing soap that has very little differentiation within its category. For the soap company account, Alan should consider a “learn-do-feel” sequence for planning communications. 124) What are the key factors in effective communication according to the Macro-model? Answer: Senders must know what audiences they want to reach and what responses they want to get. They must encode their messages so that the target audience can decode them. They must transmit the message through media that reach the target audience and develop feedback channels to monitor the responses. The more the sender’s field of experience overlaps with that of the receiver, the more effective the message is likely to be. 125) Micromodels of marketing communication assume that the buyer passes through a cognitive, affective, and behavioral stage, in that order. Explain. Answer: This “learn-feel-do” sequence is appropriate when the audience has high involvement with a product category perceived to have high differentiation, as in purchasing an automobile or house. An alternative sequence, “do-feel-learn,” is relevant when the audience has high involvement but perceives little or no differentiation within the product category, as in purchasing an airline ticket or personal computer. A third sequence, “learn-do-feel,” is relevant when the audience has low involvement and perceives little differentiation within the product category, as in purchasing salt or batteries. By choosing the right sequence, the marketer can do a better job of planning communications. 126) What are the four classic response hierarchy models. Answer: AIDA, Hierarchy-of-Effects Model, Innovation-Adoption Model and Communications Model. 127) What are the features of an ideal advertising campaign? Answer: To increase the odds for a successful marketing communications campaign, marketers must attempt to increase the likelihood that each step occurs. For example, the ideal ad campaign would ensure that: 1. The right consumer is exposed to the right message at the right place and at the right time. 2. The ad causes the consumer to pay attention but does not distract from the intended message. 3. The ad properly reflects the consumer's level of understanding of and behaviors with the product and the brand. 4. The ad correctly positions the brand in terms of desirable and deliverable points-of-difference and points-of-parity. 5. The ad motivates consumers to consider purchase of the brand. 6. The ad creates strong brand associations with all these stored communications effects so they can have an impact when consumers are considering making a purchase. 128) What are the steps involved in developing effective marketing communications? Answer: 1. Identify target audience 2. Determine objectives 3. Design communications 4. Select channels 5. Establish budget 6. Decide on media mix 7. Measure results 8. Manage integrated marketing communications 129) When asked about their preferred brand of instant noodles outside a supermarket setting, customers could not remember Nissin's name, but relied on the distinct packaging to help them spot the noodles while shopping. Describe how this problem can be addressed through the objective of Nissin's marketing communications. Answer: The objective for Nissin's marketing communications objective should be to build brand awareness, i.e. fostering the consumer's ability to recognize or recall the brand within the category, in sufficient detail to make a purchase. Recognition is easier to achieve than recall—consumers asked to think of a brand of frozen entrées are more likely to recognize Stouffer's distinctive orange packages than to recall the brand. Brand recall is important outside the store; brand recognition is important inside the store. Brand awareness provides a foundation for brand equity. 130) Write a short note on “brand awareness” as an objective of marketing communications. Answer: Brand awareness refers to fostering the consumer's ability to recognize or recall the brand within the category, in sufficient detail to make a purchase. Recognition is easier to achieve than recall. Brand recall is important outside the store; brand recognition is important inside the store. Brand awareness provides a foundation for brand equity. 131) Compare and contrast the use of negative and positive appeals in advertising messages. Answer: Communicators use negative appeals such as fear, guilt, and shame to get people to do things (brush their teeth, have an annual health checkup) or stop doing things (smoking, abusing alcohol, overeating). Fear appeals work best when they are not too strong, when source credibility is high, and when the communication promises, in a believable and efficient way, to relieve the fear it arouses. Messages are most persuasive when moderately discrepant with audience beliefs. Stating only what the audience already believes at best just reinforces beliefs, and if the messages are too discrepant, audiences will counter argue and disbelieve them. Communicators also use positive emotional appeals such as humor, love, pride, and joy. Motivational or “borrowed interest” devices—such as the presence of cute babies, frisky puppies, popular music, or provocative sex appeals—are often employed to attract attention and raise involvement with an ad. These techniques are thought necessary in the tough new media environment characterized by low-involvement consumer processing and competing ad and programming clutter. Attention-getting tactics are often too effective. They may also detract from comprehension, wear out their welcome fast, and overshadow the product. 132) An ad agency has landed an account for Savola, a brand of healthy cooking oil. Describe how the ad can incorporate negative appeals in its messages effectively. Answer: Student answers may vary. Negative appeals such as fear, guilt, and shame are used by communicators to get people to do things (brush their teeth) or stop doing things (smoking). The cooking oil ad can use fear appeals to get consumers to start using its product. This can be achieved by depicting health risks associated with using cooking oils other than Savola, such as hypertension, heart attacks, etc. Guilt appeal can be used to depict a family grieving the death of someone who did not use Savola. Shame appeal could illustrate the case of a parent who cannot play catch with his kids because his fitness is compromised by not using Savola. However, the ad agency should take care to ensure that the negative appeals do not come across as too strong to the audiences, the credibility of the source in the ads is high, and the ad promises to relieve fears of health risks in a believable and efficient way. The ad is most persuasive when moderately discrepant with audience beliefs. If the ad merely says that using unhealthy oil leads to health risks, it only serves to reinforce the belief, and if the message exaggerates the health risks of not using Savola, audiences will only counter argue and disbelieve the ad. The ad can incorporate negative appeals by highlighting the dangers of unhealthy cooking oils and contrasting them with the health benefits of Savola, creating a compelling narrative that emphasizes the brand's superiority in promoting well-being. 133) Tiger Woods’ endorsement deals were terminated by a host of sponsors, including Accenture, Gillette, AT&T, and General Motors. What are the reasons for these companies dropping Woods from their promotional efforts? Answer: Celebrities are likely to be effective when they are credible or personify a key product attribute. Tiger Woods' personal problems have resulted in the erosion of his credibility as a product’s spokesperson. The three most important sources of a spokesperson's credibility are expertise, trustworthiness, and likability. Following revelations about his personal life and his past indiscretions, his trustworthiness (how objective and honest the source is perceived to be) was negatively affected and also his likability (the source’s attractiveness). The most highly credible source would score high on all three dimensions—expertise, trustworthiness, and likability. Scoring high on only one or two dimensions would still negatively affect his credibility. Also, the principle of congruity implies that communicators can use their good image to reduce some negative feelings toward a brand but in the process might lose some esteem with the audience. The converse also holds true, i.e. a product's positive brand image is likely to be hit by virtue of being associated with a communicator with a negative image. 134) Name a few products for which personal influence plays a significant role in marketing communications. Answer: Personal influence carries especially great weight (1) when products are expensive, risky, or purchased infrequently, and (2) when products suggest something about the user's status or taste. On that count, life insurance, real estate, health services, automobiles, luxury items, consultation services, etc. can be expected to be significantly influenced by word-of-mouth and endorsements by credible sources. 135) What is the objective-and-task method? Answer: The objective-and-task method calls on marketers to develop promotion budgets by defining specific objectives, determining the tasks that must be performed to achieve these objectives, and estimating the costs of performing these tasks. The sum of these costs is the proposed promotion budget. 136) What are the major characteristics of sales promotions as an element of the marketing communications mix? Answer: Companies use sales promotion tools—coupons, contests, premiums, and the like—to draw a stronger and quicker buyer response, including short-run effects such as highlighting product offers and boosting sagging sales. Sales promotion tools offer three distinctive benefits: 1. Communication—They gain attention and may lead the consumer to the product. 2. Incentive—They incorporate some concession, inducement, or contribution that gives value to the consumer. 3. Invitation—They include a distinct invitation to engage in the transaction now. 137) What are the major characteristics of advertising? Answer: Advertising can be used to build up a long-term image for a product (Coca-Cola ads) or trigger quick sales (an Isetan ad for a weekend sale). It also reaches geographically dispersed buyers. Certain forms of advertising (TV) can require a large budget, whereas other forms (radio) need less. Just the presence of advertising might have an effect on sales: Consumers might believe that a heavily advertised brand must offer “good value.” Because of the many forms and uses of advertising, it is difficult to make generalizations. Yet the following qualities can be noted: 1. Pervasiveness—Advertising permits the seller to repeat a message many times. It also allows the buyer to receive and compare the messages of various competitors. Large-scale advertising says something positive about the seller’s size, power, and success. 2. Amplified expressiveness—Advertising provides opportunities for dramatizing the company and its products through the artful use of print, sound, and color. 3. Impersonality—The audience does not feel obligated to pay attention or respond to advertising. Advertising is a monologue in front of, not a dialogue with, the audience. 138) How do the stages of buyer readiness affect the composition of a product's marketing communications mix? Answer: Communication tools vary in cost-effectiveness at different stages of buyer readiness. Advertising and publicity play the most important roles in the awareness-building stage. Customer comprehension is primarily affected by advertising and personal selling. Customer conviction is influenced mostly by personal selling. Closing the sale is influenced mostly by personal selling and sales promotion. Reordering is also affected mostly by personal selling and sales promotion, and somewhat by reminder advertising. 139) How do the stages in a product's life cycle influence the marketing communications mix? Answer: In the introduction stage of the product life cycle, advertising, events and experiences, and publicity have the highest cost-effectiveness, followed by personal selling to gain distribution coverage and sales promotion and direct marketing to induce trial. In the growth stage, demand has its own momentum through word of mouth and interactive marketing. Advertising, events and experiences, and personal selling all become more important in the maturity stage. In the decline stage, sales promotion continues strong, other communication tools are reduced, and salespeople give the product only minimal attention. 140) Karl Lee is marketing communications coordinator for a major electronics manufacturer. He is assigned with charting out a communications strategy for a new range of mobile phones developed by his company. How will Karl's communications strategy look like over the course of the mobile phones' life cycle? Answer: Mobile phones have relatively short life cycles. In the introduction stage of the phones’ life cycle, advertising, events and experiences, and publicity have the highest cost-effectiveness. In-store personal selling helps improve distribution coverage, while sales promotions such as discounted accessories, freebies etc., help induce trial. In the growth stage, demand has its own momentum through word of mouth and interactive marketing. Web sites are effective tools during the growth stage. As the phones reach the maturity stage, advertising, promotional events and experiences, and personal selling again become more important. As the phones enter the decline stage of their life cycle, sales promotion takes over as the most important tool in the marketing communications mix, even as other communication tools are reduced, and salespeople give the phones only minimal attention. 141) Briefly describe the process of measuring the results of marketing communications. Answer: Senior managers want to know the outcomes and revenues resulting from their communications investments. Too often, however, their communications directors supply only inputs and expenses: press clipping counts, numbers of ads placed, media costs. In fairness, communications directors try to translate inputs into intermediate outputs such as reach and frequency (the percentage of target market exposed to a communication and the number of exposures), recall and recognition scores, persuasion changes, and cost-per-thousand calculations. Ultimately, behavior-change measures capture the real payoff. After implementing the communications plan, the communications director must measure its impact. Members of the target audience are asked whether they recognize or recall the message, how many times they saw it, what points they recall, how they felt about the message, and what are their previous and current attitudes toward the product and the company. The communicator should also collect behavioral measures of audience response, such as how many people bought the product, liked it, and talked to others about it. 142) What is integrated marketing communications? What is its significance in the current marketing environment? Answer: Many companies still rely on only one or two communication tools. This practice persists in spite of the fragmenting of mass markets into a multitude of minimarkets, each requiring its own approach; the proliferation of new types of media; and the growing sophistication of consumers. The wide range of communication tools, messages, and audiences makes it imperative that companies move toward integrated marketing communications. Companies must adopt a “360-degree view” of consumers to fully understand all the different ways that communications can affect consumer behavior in their daily lives. The American Marketing Association defines integrated marketing communications (IMC) as “a planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.” This planning process evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communications disciplines—for example, general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and public relations—and skillfully combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum impact through the seamless integration of messages. 143) How is coordination of media achieved through integrated marketing communications? Answer: Media coordination can occur across and within media types, but marketers should combine personal and nonpersonal communications channels through multiple-vehicle, multiple-stage campaigns to achieve maximum impact and increase message reach and impact. Promotions can be more effective when combined with advertising, for example. The awareness and attitudes created by advertising campaigns can increase the success of more direct sales pitches. Advertising can convey the positioning of a brand and benefit from online display advertising or search engine marketing that offers a stronger call to action. Many companies are coordinating their online and offline communications activities. Web addresses in ads (especially print ads) and on packages allow people to more fully explore a company's products, find store locations, and get more product or service information. Even if consumers don't order online, marketers can use Web sites in ways that drive them into stores to buy. Test Bank for Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, Abraham Koshy, Mithileshwar Jha 9789810687977, 9780132102926
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