THE COMMUNICATIONS PROCESS AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR Chapter Objectives 1. Appreciate elements of the communications process. 2. Understand the nature of meaning and semiotics in marketing communications, and how that meaning is a constructive process involving the use of signs and symbols. 3. Describe marketing communicators’ usage of three forms of figurative language: simile, metaphor, and allegory. 4. Discuss the two perspectives that characterize how consumers process information: the consumer processing model (CPM) and the hedonic, experiential model (HEM). 5. Explain the eight stages of consumer information processing. Chapter Overview Communication is the process of establishing a commonness or oneness of thought between sender and receiver. The process consists of the following elements: a source that encodes a message to achieve a communication objective; a channel that transmits the message; a receiver who decodes the message and experiences a communication outcome; noise, which interferes with or disrupts effective communication at any of the previous stages; and a feedback mechanism that affords the source a way of monitoring how accurately the intended message is being received and whether it is accomplishing its objective. Signs are used to share meaning, but signs and meaning are not synonymous. Meaning represents people’s internal responses toward signs. Meaning is acquired through a process whereby stimuli (signs in the form of words, symbols, etc.) become associated with physical objects and evoke within individuals responses that are similar to those evoked by the physical objects themselves. Marketing communicators use a variety of techniques to make their brands stand for something, to embellish their value, or, in short, to give them meaning. This can be accomplished by relating the brand to a symbolic referent that has no prior intrinsic relation to the brand (forging a symbol relation). Simile, metaphor, and allegory are forms of figurative language that perform symbolic roles in marketing communications. This chapter also describes the fundamentals of consumer choice behavior. Two relatively distinct perspectives on choice behavior are presented: the consumer processing model (CPM) and the hedonic, experiential model (HEM). The CPM approach views the consumer as an analytical, systematic, and logical decision maker. According to this perspective, consumers are motivated to achieve desired goals. The CPM process involves attending to, encoding, retaining, retrieving, and integrating information so that a person can achieve a suitable choice among consumption alternatives. The HEM perspective views consumer choice behavior as resulting from the pursuit of fun, fantasy, and feelings. Thus, some consumer behavior is based predominantly on emotional considerations rather than on objective, functional, and economic factors. Chapter Outline I. The Communications Process Communication can be thought of as the process of establishing a commonness of thought between a message sender such as an advertiser, and a receiver, such as a consumer. For communications to occur there must be a commonness of thought between sender and receiver. A. Elements in the Communication Process All communication activities involve the following elements: (1) a source, who has a (2) communication objective, that is transformed into (3) a message, that is delivered via a (4) message channel, to a (5) target audience, which experiences a (6) communication outcome. That outcome represents (7) feedback to the message source, although the entire process is subject to interference, interruptions, or, in general, (8) noise. Figure 6.1 displays this process. II. Marketing Communication and Meaning Meaning is fundamental to the concept and practice of communication and positioning. Semiotics is the study of signs and the analysis of meaning-producing events. Semiotics sees meaning as a constructive process. That is meaning is determined both by the message source’s choice of elements and the receiver’s interpretation. The sign is the message delivery device in semiotics. The sign signifies meaning. Formerly, a sign is something physical and perceivable that signifies something (the referent) to somebody (the interpreter) in some context. Figure 6.2 illustrates the thumbs-up sign as an example. A. The Meaning of Meaning Although we use signs to share meaning with others, the two terms are not synonymous. Signs are simply stimuli that we used to evoke an intended meaning in another person. People have meanings for signs. Consumers interpret a sign as intended when signs are common to both the sender’s and the receiver’s field of experience, also called a perceptual field. Meaning can be thought of as the thoughts and feelings that are evoked within a person when presented with a sign in a particular context. B. The Dimensions of Meaning There are four dimensions of meaning based on different orderings and content: denotative, connotative, structural, and contextual meaning. Denotative meaning refers to exact or direct meaning, as expressed in a sign-object relationship. Connotative meaning refer to implied or interpretative meaning in sign-object relationships. Structural meaning provides understanding from simple sign-to-sign relationships. Contextual meaning provides a description of signs to aid in their interpretation. C. Meaning Transfer: From Culture to Object to Consumer Through the process of socialization, people learn cultural values, form beliefs, and become familiar with the physical cues representing values and beliefs. The artifacts of culture are charged with meaning which is transferred from generation to generation. Marketing communicators draw meaning from the culturally-constituted world and transfer meaning to their brands. Figure 6.3 shows a V8 advertisement which illustrates contextual meaning. D. The Use of Figurative Language in Marketing Communications Symbol usage is widespread in marketing communications. A symbol relation is formed when an object (such as a brand) becomes a symbol of something else (a referent) when the object and referent have no prior intrinsic relationship but rather are arbitrarily or metaphorically related. When establishing symbolic relations, marketing communicators often utilize figurative, or nonliteral, language. Figurative language involves expressing one thing (such as a brand) in terms normally used for denoting another thing (such as an idea or object) with which it may be regarded as analogous. Three forms of figurative language used by marketing communicators are simile, metaphor, and allegory. • Simile uses a comparative term such as like or as to join items from different classes of experience. Figure 6.4 illustrates a simile. • Metaphor differs from simile in that the comparative term is omitted. Metaphor applies a word or phrase to a concept or object that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a comparison and to make the abstract more concrete. Figures 6.5 and 6.6 illustrate metaphors. • Allegory is a form of extended metaphor. Allegorical presentation equates the objects in a particular text with meanings outside the text itself. A determining characteristic of allegorical presentation is personification. Through personification the abstract qualities in a brand assume positive human characteristics. Mr. Clean is an example. Figure 6.7 illustrates the Geico gecko, another allegorical presentation of a brand. III. Behavioral Foundations of Marketing Communications Marketing communicators direct their efforts toward influencing consumers’ brand-related beliefs, attitudes, emotional reactions, and choices. The objective is to encourage consumers to choose “our” brand rather than the competitor. Two main models of how consumers process and respond to marketing communications and make choices between brands: consumer processing model (CPM) and the hedonic, experiential model (HEM). The CPM sees consumer-processing behavior as rational, highly cognitive, systematic, and reasoned. The hedonic, experiential perspective (HEM) sees consumer behavior as driven by emotions in pursuit of fun, fantasies, and feelings. Of course, in reality two extreme models cannot capture consumer behavior. This is illustrated in Figure 6.10. A. The Consumer Processing Model (CPM) The CPM has eight interrelated stages that consumers go through in processing information when making a decision. 1. Stage 1: Being Exposed to Information Exposure means that consumers come in contact with the marketer’s message. Gaining exposure is a necessary, but insufficient condition for communication success. Exposure is a function of establishing a sufficient marcom budget and selecting appropriate media and vehicles in which to present a brand message. 2. Stage 2: Paying Attention Attention means to focus cognitive resources on and think about a message to which one has been exposed. Because information-processing capacity is limited, consumers selectively allocate mental energy to only messages that are relevant and of interest to current goals. Conscious attention is a deliberate, controlled form of attention. Automatic attention is relatively superficial attention that occurs when, for example, an individual reacts to a loud noise even when a message holds little personal relevance. 3. Stage 3: Comprehension of What Is Attended Communication is effective when the meaning a marketing communicator intends to convey matches what is extracted by consumers from the messages. Comprehension is used interchangeably with perception to refer to interpretation. The perceptual process of interpreting stimuli, called perceptual encoding, involves two main stages: • Feature analysis, in which the receiver examines the basic features of a stimulus and from this makes a preliminary classification and • Active synthesis, in which a stimulus is interpreted within a context and assigned meaning. a. Miscomprehension – happens primarily for three reasons: (1) messages are themselves misleading or unclear, (2) consumer are biased by their own preconceptions, and (3) processing of advertisements takes place under time pressures and noisy circumstances. 4. Stage 4: Agreement with What Is Comprehended Agreement with a comprehended message depends on whether the message is credible and whether it contains information and appeals that are compatible with the values that are important to consumers. 5. Stages 5 and 6: Retention and Search and Retrieval of Stored Information From a marcom perspective, memory involves the related issues of what consumers remember (recognition and recall) about marketing stimuli and how they access and retrieve information when choosing among alternatives. a. Elements of Memory – sensory stores (SS) receive information from one or more sensory receptors and is rapidly lost unless attention is allocated to the stimulus. Short-term memory receives attended sensory information and serves as the center for current processing activity by integrating information from sensory organs with information from long-term memory. Processing capacity is limited and information is quickly lost if not rehearsed. Long-term memory is a storehouse of unlimited information. LTM receives information from STM where it is organized into coherent and associated cognitive units variously called schemata, memory organization packets, or knowledge structures. The marketing communicator’s task is to facilitate consumer learning—the changes in the content or organization of information in consumers’ long-term memory. Figure 6.12 shows a diagram of the concept of a knowledge structure. Spreading activation theory proposes that links between concepts in memory are a function of the strength or importance of each link between such concepts. Figure 6.13 depicts a person’s drive leading to a simple cue recognition to an action as an example of low involvement learning. b. Types of CPM Learning – two primary types of learning: strengthening of linkages between the brand and some feature or benefit of that brand by repeating claims, being creative in conveying a product’s features, and presenting claims in a concrete fashion and establishing entirely new linkages. Figure 6.14 is an illustration of an effort to strengthen a linkage between a brand and its benefits. c. Search and Retrieval of Information – information that is learned and stored in memory only impacts consumer choice behavior when it is searched and retrieved. Retrieval is facilitated when a new piece of information is linked, or associated, with another concept that is itself well known and easily accessed. d. The Use of Concretizing and Imagery – concretizing is the process of providing more concrete information for consumers to process. It makes brand claims more perceptible and evident. Figure 6.15 is an example of visual imagery. Dual-coding theory holds that pictures are represented in memory in verbal as well as visual form, whereas words are less likely to have visual representations. 6. Stage 7: Deciding among Alternatives How does a consumer decide? He or she simply selects the best brand, whatever that is for the consumer. Consumers may resort to simplifying strategies known as heuristics when arriving at some decisions. The simplest of all decision heuristics is called affect referral. This means selecting the most positive choice. The compensatory heuristic means to let the strength of some attribute offset the weakness of another. Noncompensatory heuristics do not allow the compensation of some attributes for others. Rather, a series of decision rules are followed. These decision rules include the conjunctive model, the disjunctive model, and the lexicographic model. The conjunctive model means that the consumer establishes minimum cutoffs on all attributes considered. The disjunctive model means that an alternative is considered only if it meets or exceeds a minimum cut off on just one of the attributes. The lexicographic model uses ranked attributes to determine the alternative that is best on the highest ranked attribute. 7. Stage 8: Acting on the Basis of the Decision It is important to remember that people do not always behave in a manner consistent with their preferences. 8. A CPM Wrap-Up The CPM perspective provides an appropriate description of consumer behavior when that behavior is deliberate, thoughtful, and highly cognitive. Since some behavior is motivated by emotion, we also study the HEM perspective. B. The Hedonic, Experiential Model (HEM) The CPM and HEM models are not mutually exclusive (e.g., a car can have terrific traction in the snow and also be very good looking). The HEM model better explains how consumers process information when they are carefree, happy, and confronted with positive outcomes. From the HEM perspective, products are more than mere objective entities and are, instead, subjective symbols that precipitate feelings, fun and fantasy. Figure 6.16 illustrates an example of the HEM approach in advertising. Chapter Features Everyday Consumer Habits Helping the World Dr. Curtis is director of the Hygiene Center at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He sought to understand how people develop good habits like washing hands with soap. Dr. Curtis discovered that although most people in Ghana claimed to use soap after restroom use, only 4 percent actually had done so. The understanding of consumer habits was used to create Global Handwashing Day. Cultural Differences in Communication: High versus Low Context Cultures Cross–cultural IMC can be challenging and it benefits marketers to know the difference between high and low context cultures. In high-context cultures, large amounts of information are provided in a non-verbal manner. In low-context cultures, meaning is explicitly provided in the message itself. “Neural Candy”: Sounds in Advertising That We Can’t Resist Most people feel they are too smart to be persuaded by advertising cues. Yet, neuromarketing research shows that certain aural and other cues can be especially appealing to consumers. Research found that the sounds with the highest enhanced recall and positive affect were that of a baby laughing, a vibrating cell phone, an ATM dispensing cash, and steak sizzling on a grill. THE ROLE OF PERSUASION IN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS Chapter Objectives 1. Understand the nature and role of attitudes in marketing communications, different hierarchy of effects models, and under what conditions that attitudes should predict behavior. 2. Appreciate the role of persuasion in marketing communications. 3. Explain the tools of influence from the marketing communicator’s perspective. 4. Discuss the five important factors of persuasion: message strength, peripheral cues, receiver involvement, receiver initial position, and communication modality. 5. Understand the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and its implications for marketing communications. 6. Understand practical marketing communications efforts that enhance consumers’ motivation, opportunity, and ability to process messages. 7. Explain the theory of reasoned action (TORA) and basic attitude, preference, and behavior change strategies. Chapter Overview Marketing communications in its various forms (advertising, social media, personal selling, direct marketing, and so on) involves efforts to persuade consumers by influencing their attitudes and ultimately their behavior. This chapter describes the role and nature of attitudes and different hierarchies by which they are formed and changed. From the marketing communicators’ perspective, attitude formation and change represent the process of persuasion. The role of measurement specificity and direct experience is discussed in trying to predict behavior from attitude measures. Persuasion efforts on the part of the persuader are next described and illustrated, including six influence tactics: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. The nature of persuasion is discussed with particular emphasis on an integrated framework called the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Two alternative persuasion mechanisms are described: a central route, which explains enduring persuasion under conditions when the receiver is motivated, able, and has the opportunity (MAO) to process the message; and a peripheral route, in which one MAO elements may be deficient, yet a peripheral cue may account for short-term persuasion. In this context, three attitude-formation processes are described: emotion-based persuasion, message-based persuasion, and classical conditioning. The first two are mechanisms for attitude change under the central route, whereas classical conditioning is a peripheral-route process. A treatment is then given to practical efforts to enhance consumers’ motivation, opportunity, and ability to process marketing messages. This section includes descriptions and illustrations of marcom efforts to heighten consumers’ motivation to attend and process messages, measures to augment consumers’ opportunity to encode information and reduce process time, and techniques used to increase consumers’ ability to access knowledge structures and create new structures. A final topic covered is the theory of reasoned action (TORA) found in persuasion research and basic attitude, preference, and behavior change strategies. Chapter Outline I. The Nature and Role of Attitudes A. What Is an Attitude? Attitudes are hypothetical constructs. A variety of perspectives attempt to describe and measure attitudes. Attitude means a general and somewhat enduring positive or negative feeling toward, or evaluative judgment of, some person, object, or issue. Brands are our primary attitude object. Attitudes are learned. Attitudes are relatively enduring. Attitudes influence behavior. Attitudes include an affective, cognitive, and behavioral component. 1. Hierarchies of Effects The high involvement hierarchy, also known as the standard learning hierarchy, shows a clear progression under high involvement from initial cognition to affect to conation. Other hierarchies include the low involvement hierarchy which moves from minimal cognition to conation and then to affect, and the dissonance-attribution and integrative models. B. Using Attitudes to Predict Behavior There are two important determinants in predicting behavior from attitudes. These are measurement specificity and having direct versus indirect experience with the object of attitude measurement. 1. Measurement Specificity Involves four components critical to achieving accurate measures of attitudes. The TACT of measurement specificity includes: (1) the target of the behavior, (2) the specific action, (3) the context in which the behavior occurs, and (4) the time when it occurs. 2. The Role of Direct Experience Attitudes based on direct experiences are more reliably measured than those based on indirect experience. II. Persuasion in Marketing Communications Persuasion is the essence of marketing communication. A. The Ethics of Persuasion Persuasion does not need to be unethical. III. Tools of Influence: The Persuader’s Perspective Robert Cialdini identified six tools of influence that are useful in persuasion. These tools are reciprocation, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity. A. Reciprocation As part of the socialization process in all cultures, people acquire a norm of reciprocity. We return a gesture with an in-kind gesture. B. Commitment and consistency After people make a commitment there is a strong tendency to be true to that choice. C. Social proof People may decide how to behave based on the choices of others. D. Liking People may be persuaded by those they like. Likability is based on physical attractiveness and similarity. E. Authority People tend to be influenced by people in positions of authority. Authority may come from one’s position or by one’s credible knowledge in an area. F. Scarcity Scarcity is based on the principle that people want things more when they are in high demand but short supply. The theory of psychological reactance explains why scarcity works. The theory suggests that people react against efforts to reduce their freedom to choose. IV. The Influence Process: The Persuadee’s Perspective There are five factors fundamental to the persuasion process. These are message arguments, peripheral cues, communication modality, receiver involvement, and initial position. A. Message Arguments The strength or quality of the message arguments is often the major determinant of whether and to what extent persuasion occurs. People are more persuaded by believable messages. B. Peripheral Cues Peripheral cues include elements like background music, scenery, and graphics. C. Communication Modality Mode of communication is important, especially when considered alongside likability. D. Receiver Involvement Persuasion results from self-generated thoughts that people produce in response to persuasive efforts. Cognitive responses may be support arguments or counterarguments. Support arguments occur when the receiver agrees with the message and counterarguments occur when the receiver disagrees. Agreement was discussed in Chapter 6. Other responses include source bolstering and source derogation. E. Receiver’s Initial Position Self-persuasion is based on cognitive and emotional responses. Two forms of cognitive responses are support arguments and counterarguments. Support arguments are when a receiver agrees with a message argument. Counterarguments are when the receiver challenges a message claim. V. An Integrated Model of Persuasion The factors reviewed can be combined into a coordinated theory of persuasion. Figure 7.4 presents a model of routes by which persuasion occurs. This explanation is based on Petty and Cacioppo’s elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Elaboration deals with the mental activity in response to a message such as an advertisement. Motivation to elaborate is high when a message relates to a person’s present consumption-related goals and then consumers are more motivated to elaborate or process a message. Opportunity involves the matter of whether it is physically possible for a person to process a message. If the opportunity is restricted, elaboration may be low. Ability concerns whether the person is familiar with the message claims and has the necessary skills to comprehend the message. When ability is low, elaboration will be low and vice versa. These three factors determine each person’s elaboration likelihood. Elaboration likelihood (EL) represents the chance that a message receiver will elaborate on a message by thinking about it and reacting to it. Depending upon the EL, receivers may follow two routes to persuasion: central route or peripheral route. A. The Central Route When EL is high, receivers will focus on the message arguments more so than peripheral cues. This is shown in Figure 7.4. The consumer may accept some arguments but counterargue others. Consumers may use emotion-based persuasion or message-based persuasion in the central route depending upon how involved they are with the message. B. The Peripheral Route When MOA factors are at low levels, the peripheral route is followed. Peripheral cues involve elements unrelated to the primary selling points in the message. 1. Classical Conditioning of Attitudes Pavlov trained dogs to salivate on hearing a bell ring. In this situation, meat powder was an unconditioned stimulus (US), and salivation was an unconditioned response (UR). By repeatedly pairing the bell (a conditioned stimulus, or CS) with the meat powder, the bell by itself eventually caused the dog to salivate. The dog, in other words, had been trained to emit a conditioned response (CR) upon hearing the bell ring. The dog had learned that the bell regularly preceded meat powder, and thus the ringing bell caused the dog to predict that something desirable—the meat powder—was forthcoming. Something similar to this happens when consumers process peripheral cues. For example, brand advertisements that include adorable babies, attractive people, and majestic scenery can elicit positive emotional reactions. Think of these peripheral cues as analogous to meat powder (the US), the emotional reactions as similar to the dog’s salivation (the UR), and the advertised brand as similar to the bell in Pavlov’s experiments (the CS). The emotion contained in the cue may become associated with the brand, thereby influencing consumers to like the brand more than they did prior to viewing the commercial. Through their repeated association, the CS (advertised brand) comes to elicit a conditioned response (CR) similar to the unconditioned response (UR) evoked by the US itself (the peripheral cue). 2. Temporary versus Enduring Attitude Change According to ELM, people experience only temporary attitude changes when persuaded by peripheral cues. C. Dual Routes It is possible for both routes to work simultaneously. This is shown in Figure 7.4. VI. Enhancing Consumers’ Motivation, Opportunity, and Ability to Process Advertisements The appropriate influence strategy depends both on consumer characteristics and on brand strengths. A. Motivation to Attend to Messages Figure 7.5 shows that one of the communicator’s objectives is to increase the consumer’s motivation to attend to the message and to process brand information. Two major forms of attention, as discussed in Chapter 6, are voluntary and involuntary attention. 1. Appeals to Informational and Hedonic Needs Figure 7.6 shows an appeal to informational needs. Under high EL, consumers can be attracted to stimuli which serve information needs. 2. Use of Novel Stimuli Novel messages are unusual, distinctive, unpredictable, and somewhat unexpected. It works because it gets more attention when consumers see messages that are not familiar. This is explained by the concept of human adaptation. Psychologists call it habituation. Figure 7.7 provides an illustration. 3. Use of Intense or Prominent Cues Intense cues work by leading to involuntary attention. Figure 7.8 and 7.9 illustrate. 4. Using Motion Figure 7.10 illustrates using motivation to attract attention. B. Motivation to Process Messages Enhanced processing motivation means that the ad receiver has increased interest in reading or listening to the ad messages to determine what it has to say that might be of relevance. Marketers do this by enhancing relevance and enhancing curiosity. Methods for doing so include using fear appeals, dramatic presentations, rhetorical questions, humor, and suspense or surprise. Figure 7.11 reveals an example. C. Opportunity to Encode Information Marketing messages have no chance of effectiveness unless consumer comprehend the information and store it for later use. Therefore, marketers wish for consumers to encode the information. The secret to ensuring information is encoded is repetition, especially under low involvement situations. D. Opportunity to Reduce Processing Time Opportunity to process is enhanced if the communicator takes effort to reduce the time it takes for consumers to consume the information. This is sometimes done with images. Figure 7.12 illustrates. E. Ability to Access Knowledge Structures A brand-based knowledge structure represents the associative links in the consumer’s long-term memory between the brand and thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about the brand. Verbal framing is one way of providing context. F. Ability to Create Knowledge Structures Marketing communicators may need to create knowledge structures for information they want consumers to have about the brand. This can be accomplished using exemplar-based learning. An exemplar is a specimen or model of a particular concept or idea. Figure 7.13 illustrates the use of analogy to create a knowledge structure. 1. Concretizzations Used to facilitate consumer learning and retrieval. This was covered in Chapter 6. Figure 7.14 provides an example. VII. The Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA) The message-based persuasion process described above has been fully developed in the well-known theory of reasoned action (TORA). This theory proposes that all forms of planned and reasoned behavior (versus unplanned, spontaneous, impulsive behavior) have two primary determinants: attitudes and normative influences. Attitude formation according to TORA can best be described in terms of the following equation. n ABj = bij • ei Equation 7.1 i = 1 where: ABj = attitude toward a particular brand (brand j) bij = the belief, or expectation, that owning brand j will lead to outcome i ei = the positive or negative evaluation of the ith outcome A consumer’s attitude toward a brand (or, more technically, toward the act of owning and consuming the brand) is determined by his or her “cognitive structure” (i.e., the beliefs regarding the outcomes, or consequences, of owning the brand multiplied by the evaluations of those outcomes). Outcomes (expressed in Equation 7.1 as i =1 through n, where n is typically fewer than 7) involve those aspects of product ownership (e.g., a running shoe) that the consumer either desires to obtain (e.g., getting in shape, improving one’s race time) or to avoid (e.g., knee or foot injuries, abnormal shoe wear). Consumers approach benefits and avoid detriments. Beliefs (the bij term in Equation 7.1) are the consumer’s subjective probability assessments, or expectations, regarding the likelihood that performing a certain act (e.g., buying brand j) will lead to a certain outcome. In theory, the consumer who is in the market for a product has a separate belief associated with each potential outcome for each shoe brand he or she is considering buying, and it is for this reason that the belief term in Equation 7.1 is subscripted both with an i (referring to a particular outcome) and j (referring to a specific brand). Because all outcomes are not equally important or determinant of consumer choice, we need to introduce a term that recognizes this influence differential. This term is the evaluation component, ei, in Equation 7.1. Evaluations represent the value, or importance, that consumers attach to consumption outcomes (e.g., getting into shape, improving race times, avoiding foot injury). It is important to note that outcome evaluations apply to the product category in general and are not brand specific. It is for this reason that we need only a single subscript, i, to designate evaluations and not also a j as in the case of beliefs. A. Attitude Change Strategies With Equation 7.1 in mind, we can identify three strategies that marketing communicators employ in attempting to change consumer attitudes: (1) changing beliefs, (2) altering outcome evaluations, or (3) introducing a new outcome into the evaluation process. The first attitude-change strategy attempts to bolster attitudes by influencing brand-related beliefs, which thus explains the term “belief change” to characterize this strategy. This strategy “operates” on the bij term from Equation 7.1. A second attitude-change strategy is to influence existing evaluations (the ei term in Equation 7.1). This evaluation-change strategy involves getting consumers to reassess a particular outcome associated with brand ownership and to alter their evaluations of the outcome’s value. A third strategy used by marketing communicators to change attitudes is what we might call an add-an-outcome strategy. The objective is to get consumers to judge brands in a product category in terms of a new product benefit on which “our” brand fares especially well. VIII. Changing Preferences and Behavioral Modification Strategies A preference is a behavioral tendency that exhibits itself in how a person acts toward an object. Preferences can be both cognitively and affectively based. Marketing communicators’ efforts at changing preferences by appealing to cognitions may meet with failure if the preferences have an affective basis. Furthermore, even when a preference is primarily cognitive-based, affect may become independent of the cognitive elements that were originally its basis. The only way to influence some strongly held preferences may be by using methods that have direct emotional impact (e.g., graphic visual warnings shown to smokers with entrenched beliefs). In addition to emotional conditions, marketers use a variety of other methods to change consumer preferences (and behavior) that do not require changing cognitions. These behavioral modification methods include various forms of classical and operant conditioning, modeling, and ecological modification. Shaping is one application by which marketers attempt to shape certain behaviors through a process of changing preceding conditions and behaviors. Coupons, loss leaders, special deals, and free-trial periods are all examples to help shape future consumer behavior. Vicarious learning or modeling is an attempt to change preferences and behavior “by having an individual observe the actions of others … and the consequences of those behaviors.” Chapter Features Can We Be Persuaded to Overcome Bad Habits? The Cell-Free Club Changing habits can be especially difficult when it involves overcoming bad habits such as excessive phone use. People may be persuaded by celebrities, by anti-branding, by stages of change, and other tactics. Ad Persuasion for Global Public Causes Persuasion is even more difficult across different languages and cultures. Ads of the World (http://adsoftheworld.com) provides thousands of creative ads for different categories and countries. In particular, public interest ads are included. Faster Than a Microwave Oven: Better Than a Conventional Oven The Advantium oven claimed to have the benefits of being faster and better than microwave or conventional ovens. GE had to convince consumers that the claims were true. It did so by using cooking demonstrations to credibly show the message argument. OBJECTIVE SETTING AND BUDGETING Chapter Objectives 1. Understand the process of marcom objective setting and the requirements for good objectives. 2. Appreciate the hierarchy-of-marcom effects model and its relevance for setting marcom objectives. 3. Discuss the Integrated Information Response Model and how it helps determine the integration of advertising and direct product experience under different levels of involvement. 4. Comprehend the role of sales as a marcom objective and the logic of vaguely right versus precisely wrong thinking. 5. Know the relation between a brand’s share of market (SOM) and its share of voice (SOV) and the implications for setting an advertising budget. 6. Understand the various rules of thumb, or heuristics, that guide practical budgeting. Chapter Overview This chapter covers marcom objective setting and budgeting, which are two fundamental decisions in the marcom process. Objectives provide the foundation for all remaining decisions, and it is important that they be established prior to making the implementation decisions regarding message selection, media determination, and how the various marcom elements should be mixed and maintained. The hierarchy-of-effects metaphor is discussed, with the following stages: (1) advancing consumers from unawareness to awareness, (2) creating an expectation, (3) encouraging trial purchases, (4) forming beliefs and attitudes, (5) reinforcing beliefs and attitudes, and (6) accomplishing brand loyalty. This portion of the chapter concludes with a discussion of requirements for setting suitable marcom objectives and a discussion of whether or not marcom objectives should be stated in terms of sales. The latter half of the chapter covers marcom budgeting in theory and in practice. In theory, marcom budgets should be set such that marginal revenue equals marginal cost to maximize profits. However, since it is impossible to accurately estimate the sales-to-advertising response function, more practical budgeting methods are used. The practical budgeting methods discussed are: (1) percentage-of-sales budgeting, (2) objective-and-task budgeting, (3) competitive parity method, and (4) affordability method. Chapter Outline I. Introduction Chapter 8 focuses on two of the fundamental decisions first presented in Chapter 1. II. Setting Marcom Objectives Marcom objectives are goals that the various marcom elements aspire to individually or collectively achieve during a specified period of time. Three major reasons why it is essential that objectives be established prior to making implementation decisions: • Objectives provide a formalized expression of management consensus. • Objective setting guides the budgeting, message, and media aspects of a brand’s marcom strategy. • Objectives provide standards against which results can be measured. A. The Hierarchy of Marcom Effects The hierarchy-of-effects metaphor implies that for marketing communications to be successful, the various marcom elements must advance consumers through a series of psychological stages. Figure 8.1 illustrates the hierarchy of effects. Figure 8.2 is an advertisement illustrating the hierarchy of effects. 1. Advancing Consumers from Unawareness to Awareness In general, creating awareness is essential for new or unestablished brands. Advertising generally is the most effective and efficient marcom tool for quickly creating brand awareness. 2. Creating an Expectation Marcom elements must instill in consumers an expectation of what product benefit(s) they will obtain from buying and experiencing a brand. 3. Encouraging Trial Purchases The consumer tries the brand for the first time. This is the role of the sales promotion component of marcom. 4. Forming Beliefs and Attitudes Upon trying a brand for the first time, the consumer will form beliefs about its performance. These beliefs, in turn, form the basis for developing an overall attitude toward the brand. Beliefs and attitudes are mutually reinforcing. 5. Reinforcing Beliefs and Attitudes Subsequent marketing communications serve merely to reinforce the consumers’ beliefs and attitudes that resulted from trying the product. 6. Accomplish Brand Loyalty As long as the brand continues to satisfy expectations and a superior brand is not introduced, the consumer may become a brand loyal purchaser. B. The Integrated Information Response Model The pattern in a traditional hierarchy only applies in instances of high-involvement behavior. A more comprehensive model is needed to capture fully the diversity of purchase decisions and consumer behavior in response to advertising. Figure 8.3 shows the integrated information response model. The model explains that consumers integrate information from advertising and product usage experience in forming attitudes and purchase intentions. Information acceptance ranges from low and high levels. Based on the model, there are three response patterns or routes to advertising. 1. Pattern 1: Cognition Affect Commitment 2. Pattern 2: Cognition Trial Affect Commitment 3. Pattern 3: Cognition Trial Trial Trial …. The objective for any brand’s marcom program at any point in time depends upon where in the hierarchy consumers are located. C. Requirements for Setting Suitable Marcom Objectives A marcom objective is a specific statement about a planned execution in terms of what a marcom program is intended to accomplish at a point in time. Figure 8.4 presents the criteria for objectives. 1. Objectives Must Include a Precise Statement of Who, What, and When 2. Objectives Must Be Quantitative and Measurable 3. Objectives Must Specify the Amount of Change 4. Objectives Must Be Realistic 5. Objectives Must Be Internally Consistent 6. Objectives Must Be Clear and in Writing D. Should Marcom Objectives Be Stated in Terms of Sales? We can broadly distinguish two types of marcom objectives: sales versus presales objectives. Pre-sales objectives are commonly referred to as communication objectives (i.e., based on communication outcomes such as awareness, attitudes, preference). Using sales as the goal means that the marcom objective literally is to increase sales by a specified amount. 1. The Traditional View This view asserts that using sales as the objective for a branded product’s marcom effort is unsuitable for two major reasons: (1) a brand’s sales volume is the consequence of a host of factors in addition to marcom elements of the program, and (2) marcom’s effect on sales is typically delayed, or lagged. 2. The Heretical (Opposite)View This view holds that since ultimately marcom’s purpose is to generate sales, it should always be possible to measure, if only vaguely and imprecisely, marcom’s effect on sales. 3. An Accountability Perspective (A Synthesis) The assessment of effectiveness should include, but not be restricted to, presales goals. Setting sales as the objective of a marcom campaign ensures that this ultimate goal will not be neglected. III. Marcom Budgeting Budgeting is, in many respects, the most important marcom decision, but it is also one of the most complicated. A. Budgeting in Theory Of one accepts the premise that the best (optimal) level of any investment is the level that maximizes profits, then the rule for establishing advertising budgets is simple: Continue to invest in advertising as long as the marginal revenue (MR) from that investment exceeds the marginal cost (MC). Based on economic theory, marginal revenue (MR) and marginal cost (MC) are the changes in the total revenue and total cost curves, respectively, that result from a change in a business factor (i.e., advertising) that affects the levels of total revenue and cost. Profits are maximized when MR = MC. To employ the profit-maximization rule for budget setting, the decision maker must know the advertising-to-sales response function for every brand for which a budgeting decision will be made. Because such knowledge is rarely available, theoretical budget setting is an ideal that is generally impractical in the real world. The sales-to-advertising response function refers to the relationship between money invested in advertising and the response, or output, of that investment in terms of revenue generated. Table 8.1 demonstrates a hypothetical S-to-A response function by listing a series of advertising expenditures and the corresponding revenue yielded at each ad-expenditure level. B. Budgeting in Practice Companies typically set budgets by using heuristics. The main methods are explained below. 1. Percentage-of-Sales Budgeting The advertising budget for a particular brand is a fixed percentage of past or anticipated sales. a. Criticism of Percentage-of-Sales Budgeting – the percentage-of-sales method is criticized as reversing the logical relationship between sales and advertising. This method causes the paradoxical practice of reducing advertising when sales go down. Sales should be a function of advertising and not advertising a function of sales. 2. The Objective-and-Task Budgeting Method Decision makers set objectives and then set the budgets accordingly. Generally regarded as the most sensible and defendable budgeting method. Used most frequently by both consumer and industrial companies, the objective-and-task method involves the following steps: • Establish specific marketing objectives that need to be accomplished (i.e., sales volume, market share, and profit contribution). • Assess the communications functions that must be performed to accomplish the overall marketing objectives. • Determine advertising’s role in the total communication mix. • Establish specific advertising goals in terms of the levels of measurable communication response required to achieve marketing objectives. • Establish the budget based on estimates of expenditures required to accomplish the advertising goals. The result of this approach is a defendable budget based on a systematic process. 3. Budgeting via the Competitive Parity Method Competitive parity method (a.k.a. the match-competitors method) sets the ad budget by examining what competitors are doing. It is necessary to understand the concepts of share of market (SOM) and share of voice (SOV) and their relationship. SOM is the ratio of one brand’s revenue to total category revenue. SOV is the ratio of a brand’s advertising expenditures (its “ad spend”) to total category advertising expenditures. Tables 8.2 and 8.3 list the advertising expenditures, the SOVs, and SOMs for the top-5 wireless phone brands and beer brands. a. Four General SOM/SOJ Situations – Figure 8.6 provides a framework for evaluating whether a brand should increase or decrease its advertising expenditures in view of both its share of market and the competitor’s share of voice. Four general situations are: • Cell A: Your brand’s SOM is relatively low and your competitor’s SOV is relatively high. Recommendation is to consider decreasing ad expenditures and find a niche that can be defended against other small-share brands. • Cell B: Your SOM is relatively high and your competitor has a high SOV. Recommendation is to probably increase advertising expenditures to defend present market share position. • Cell C: Your SOM is low and your competitor’s SOV also is low. Recommendation is to aggressively attack the low-SOV competitor with a large SOV premium. • Cell D: You hold a high SOM, but your competitor is non-aggressive and has a relatively low SOV. It is possible for you to retain your present large share by maintaining only a modest advertising spending premium over your competitor. b. The Role of Competitive Interference – a brand’s advertising must compete for the consumer’s recall with the advertising from competitive brands, a situation of potential competitive interference. Overcoming competitive interference is not just a matter of spending more but rather one of spending more wisely. The encoding variability hypothesis contends that people’s memories for information are enhanced when multiple pathways, or connections, are created between the object to be remembered and the information about the object that is to be remembered. 4. Budgeting via the Affordability Method A firm spends on advertising only those funds that remain after budgeting for everything else. Advertising and other marcom elements are relegated to a position of comparative insignificance (vis-à-vis other investment options) and are implicitly considered relatively unimportant to a brand’s success and future growth. Chapter Features Cavemen, Geckos, Flo, Mayhem, Magic Jingles, and the Insurance Industry Ad Brawl You’ve likely seen commercials for Geico, State Farm, Allstate, and Progressive. These insurance brands compete in a highly aggressive environment. Geico has the third-largest market share but is the leading advertiser among these four, spending more than $827 million in advertising. The payoff is a high level of awareness among the buying public with 97 percent indicating they have heard of the Geico brand. This is an example of how share of voice can help brands meet marcom objectives. This Cat(fight) Is a Dog Miller Brewing Company ran an advertising campaign for Miller Lite that was a blatant sex appeal. The campaign’s (called “Catfight”) initial spot included two scantily clad women who fought and shed clothing over whether Miller Lite tastes great or is less filling. The campaign generated considerable buzz as well as controversy for its treatment of women as sex objects. Although brand awareness of Miller Lite increased during this campaign, actual sales declined by 3 percent, leading the president of the corporation to point out that awareness was not the problem, but rather actual purchase consideration was. The Top-20 Global Marketers’ Advertising Spending The top 20 global marketers spent over $53 billion on advertising in a recent year. A table reveals the spending for the top 20, with Procter & Gamble in the top spot. OVERVIEW OF ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT Chapter Objectives 1. Understand the magnitude of advertising and the percentage of sales revenue companies invest in this marcom tool. 2. Appreciate that advertising can be extraordinarily effective but that there is risk and uncertainty when investing in this practice. 3. Discuss advertising’s effect on the economy including resolving the advertising = market power and advertising = information viewpoints. 4. Recognize the various functions that advertising performs. 5. Explore the advertising management process from the perspective of clients and their agencies. 6. Understand the functions agencies perform and how they are compensated. 7. Explore the issue of when investing in advertising is warranted and when disinvesting is justified. 8. Examine advertising elasticity as a means for understanding the contention that “strong advertising is an investment in the brand-equity bank.” Chapter Overview This chapter presents an introduction to the fundamentals of advertising management. The first section looks at the magnitude of advertising in the United States and elsewhere and discusses the concept of advertising-to-sales ratios. Five functions of advertising are discussed: (1) informing, (2) influencing, (3) reminding and increasing salience, (4) adding value, and (5) assisting other company efforts. The next section covers the advertising management process from the client perspective and the role of advertising agencies. Advertising strategy formulation involves setting objectives, devising budgets, message creation, and media strategy. Message strategies and decisions most often are the joint enterprise of the companies that advertise and their advertising agencies, and advertisers have three alternatives: (1) in-house advertising operation, (2) purchase advertising services a la carte, or (3) use a full-service advertising agency. Each alternative has its own advantages and disadvantages. Functions of full-services agencies include creative services, media services, research services, and account management. Agencies are compensation through three basic methods: (1) commissions from media, (2) labor-based fee system, or (3) outcome- or performance-based programs. The final section of the chapter discusses ad-investment considerations and presents the case for investing in advertising and the case for disinvesting. A discussion of advertising versus pricing elasticity follows with four situations based on the possible combinations of both with suggestions for either reducing price, increasing advertising, doing both, or doing neither. Finally, the relationship between ad spending, advertising elasticity, and share of market is briefly covered. Chapter Outline I. Introduction This chapter introduces the first major IMC tool, advertising, and presents the fundamentals of advertising management. Advertising is a paid, mediated form of communication from an identifiable source, designed to persuade the receiver to take some action, now or in the future. Figure 9.1 shows examples of the use of humor in B2B advertising. II. The Magnitude of Advertising Total U.S. advertising expenditures exceed $300 billion per year. Table 9.1 shows the top 25 spenders in U.S. advertising. A. Advertising-to-Sales Ratios Table 9.2 presents advertising-to-sales ratios for various companies in select product categories. For most companies, the ad-to-sales ratio is in the range of 2 to 10 percent. B. Advertising Effects Are Uncertain Many companies are aware that consistent investment spending is the key factor underlying successful advertising. III. Advertising’s Effect on the Economy There are two divergent thoughts on advertising’s economic role. One is that advertising equals market power and the other is that advertising equals information. Table 9.3 summarizes these two perspectives. A. Advertising = Market Power This perspective stats that advertising yields market power in being able to differentiate physically homogenous products. B. Advertising = Information This perspective is more positive and argues that by informing consumers about product benefits, advertising increases consumer price sensitivity and their ability to obtain the best value. C. Synthesis Neither view is correct by itself. IV. Advertising Functions A. Informing Advertising makes consumers aware of new brands, educates them about a brand’s distinct features and benefits, and facilitates the creation of positive brand images. B. Influencing Advertising influences prospective customers to try advertised products by stimulating primary demand—demand for the entire product category, or secondary demand—demand for a specific company’s brand. C. Reminding and Increasing Salience Advertising keeps a company’s brand fresh in the consumer’s memory. Effective advertising also increases the consumer’s interest in mature brands and thus the likelihood of purchasing brands that otherwise might not be chosen. D. Adding Value There are three basic ways by which companies can add value to their offerings: innovating, improving quality, and altering consumer perceptions. Advertising adds value by influencing perceptions. By making a brand more valuable, advertising generates incremental discounted cash flow (DCF). E. Assisting Other Company Efforts Advertising’s primary role is at times to facilitate other marcom efforts (e.g., used as a vehicle to deliver coupons and sweepstakes or assist sales representatives). V. The Advertising Management Process Advertising management can be thought of as the process of creating ad messages, selecting media in which to place the ads, and measuring the effects of the advertising efforts: Messages, Media, and Measurement. A. Managing the Advertising Process: The Client Perspective Figure 9.2 illustrates the advertising management process, which consists of three sets of interrelated activities: advertising strategy, strategy implementation, and assessing ad effectiveness. 1. Formulating and Implementing Advertising Strategy Advertising strategy involves four major activities which are setting objectives, devising budgets, creating messages, and devising media strategy. 2. Implementing Advertising Strategy Strategy implementation deals with the tactical, day-to-day activities of an ad campaign. 3. Measuring Advertising Effectiveness Only by evaluating results is it possible to determine whether objectives are being accomplished. B. The Role of Advertising Agencies Table 9.4 lists the top 25 advertising agencies in the U.S. according to revenue. Brands can manage advertising by doing it in-house, hiring services a la carte from an agency, or working full-service with an agency. 1. Creative Services Agencies have staffs of copywriters, graphic artists, and creative directors who create advertising copy and visualizations. 2. Media Services Media services includes developing the best media plan for reach, frequency, and budget objectives. Media buyers then procure specific vehicles within particular media that have been selected by media planners and approved by clients. 3. Research Services In full-service agencies, research specialists study customer buying habits, purchase preferences, and test ad concepts. They use a variety of research methods. These specialists are often times referred to as account planners. 4. Account Management Account managers provide the mechanism to link the agency with the client. C. Agency Compensation There are three basic methods of compensation: (1) receiving commissions from media, (2) being compensated based on a fee system, and (3) earning compensation based on outcomes. Commissions from media for advertisements aired or printed on behalf of the agency’s clients. Historically, U.S. agencies charged a standard commission of 15 percent of the gross amount of the billings. Labor based fee system is similar to the method used by lawyers and consultants. Advertising agencies monitor time and bill on an hourly basis. This method currently is the most common. Outcome- or performance-based programs represent the newest approach to agency compensation and are tied to brand performance goals. This system encourages, indeed demands, agencies to use whatever IMC programs are needed to build brand sales. VI. Ad-Investment Considerations When is it justifiable to invest in advertising and when is it appropriate to disinvest? Tying advertising expense and basic accounting: • Profit = Revenue Expenses • Revenue = Price Volume • Volume = Trial + Repeat Whether one chooses to invest or disinvest in advertising a brand depends largely on expectations about how advertising will influence a brand’s sales volume and revenue. A. The Case for Investing in Advertising In terms of profitability, investing in advertising is justified only if the incremental revenue generated from the advertising exceeds the advertising expense. B. The Case for Disinvesting The implicit assumption is that revenue will not be affected adversely when ad budgets are diminished. C. Which Position Is More Acceptable? The profit effect of reducing advertising expenses is relatively certain—for every dollar not invested in advertising, there is a dollar increase in short-term profit (assuming that reduction in advertising does not adversely affect revenue). 1. A Deposit in the Brand Equity Bank The reason marketers continue to invest in advertising, even during economic downturns, is because they believe that advertising will enhance a brand’s equity and increase sales. However, it must be strong advertising that is different, unique, clever, and memorable. 2. Advertising versus Pricing Elasticity Two alternative ways brand managers can grow a brand’s sales: (1) increasing advertising or (2) reducing price. Elasticity is a measure of how responsive quantity demanded is to changes in marketing variables such as price and advertising. • EP = Percent change in quantity Percent change in price • EA = Percent change in quantity Percent change in advertising The “law” of inverse demand says that sales volume, or quantity, typically increases when prices are reduced, and vice versa. Average Price and Advertising Elasticities – an interesting question is whether increases in advertising can be justified. What’s a Manager to Do? – in general, we can consider four combinations of advertising and price elasticities dictating whether prices should be lowered or advertising increased: • Maintain the status quo—situation where consumers have well-established brand preferences such as during the decline stage of a product’s life cycle or in established niches. Since the market would not be very price elastic or advertising elastic, profits would be maximized by maintaining the present price and advertising levels. • Build image via increased advertising—market is more advertising-elastic than price elastic, then increase advertising to build brand image (likely for new products, status products, and symbolic imagery products). • Grow volume via price discounting—market is price sensitive, brand knowledgeable and brands are seen as commodities. • Increase advertising and/or discount prices—market is both price and advertising sensitive such as with brands that can be differentiated or that are seasonal (customers may need to be reminded to fertilize in the spring, and may use price comparisons when shopping). 3. Ad Spending, Advertising Elasticity, and Share of Market The effect of advertising for a brand on its sales volume, revenue, and market share is determined by how much it spends relative to other brands in the category (i.e., its share of voice, or SOV) and the effectiveness of its advertising (i.e., how strong the advertising is). Advertising elasticity is a measure of advertising strength. A brand’s predicted market share (SOM) depends on its level of advertising raised to the power of its advertising elasticity in comparison to the total level of advertising for all brands in the category raised to the power of their elasticity coefficients. Table 9.5 presents real data for the top 10 U.S. beer brands as a basis for illustrating advertising elasticity and the concept of strength. Chapter Features The Story of “Mad Man,” the “Elvis of Advertising” Alex Bogusky is known as the Mad Man and Elvis of Advertising. He was a creative director and principal of the ad agency Crispin, Porter, + Bogusky. CP+B’s success was in part attributed to its four non-traditional principles: (1) get close to client’s customers, (2) fire clients if the match isn’t good, (3) be media neutral, and (4) risky is good. Bogusky left CP+B and now works on a project called the Fearless Revolution. In 2010, he launched COMMON, a social network for social ventures. Which Source of Product Information Do Consumers Most Trust? The Nielsen marketing research firm found in a recent online survey the media that consumers in 13 countries trust most for product and service information. The percentages of respondents indicating that they somewhat trusted or completely trusted each source of information are as follows: Recommendations from consumers 90%; Consumer opinions posted online 70%; Brand websites 70%; Editorial content 69%; Brand sponsorships 64%; Television 62%; Newspapers 61%; Magazines 59%; Billboards/outdoor advertising 55%; Radio 55%; Email I signed up for 54%; Ads before movies 52%; Search engine ads 41%; Online banner ads 33%; and Text ads on mobile phones 24%. A National Advertising Effort for Starbucks Starbucks, founded in Seattle in 1971, has grown to more than 11,000 U.S. locations and 6,000 more in other countries. In the U.S., new store additions exceed 1,500/year. Historically, Starbucks’ growth was achieved with low levels of advertising and mostly via the power of word of mouth. In 2007 Starbucks determined that they would have to increase the level of advertising, launching its first national television advertising campaign in November 2007. Starbucks’ entered into national TV advertising to sustain store growth and reach out to a broader audience. EFFECTIVE AND CREATIVE AD MESSAGES Chapter Objectives 1. Appreciate the factors that promote effective, creative, and “sticky” advertising. 2. Describe the features of a creative brief. 3. Explain alternative creative styles of advertising messages. 4. Understand the concept of means-ends chains and their role in advertising strategy. 5. Appreciate the MECCAS model and its role in guiding message formulation. 6. Recognize the role of corporate image and issue advertising. Chapter Overview This chapter examines creative advertising and presented a number of illustrations of creative advertising campaigns. Effective advertising must (1) extend from sound marketing strategy, (2) take the consumer’s view, (3) break through the competitive clutter, (4) never promise more than can be delivered, and (5) prevent the creative idea from overwhelming the strategy. The successive levels of ad impressions (brand name, “generics,” feelings, commercial specifics, and specific sales message) are presented. Next, the steps in advertising strategy and creative brief elements are discussed. The chapter explains the concept of means-end chains and the MECCAS framework (means-end conceptualization of components for advertising strategy) that can be used in developing advertising and campaigns. Means-end chains and MECCAS models provide bridges between product attributes and the consequences to the consumer of realizing product attributes (the means) and the ability of these consequences to satisfy consumption-related values (the end). MECCAS models provide an organizing framework for developing creative ads that simultaneously consider attributes, consequences, and values. Six specific creative styles—generic, preemptive, unique selling proposition, brand image, resonance, and emotional—are described and examples given. Finally, the forms of corporate advertising, image and issue (advocacy) advertising, are described. Chapter Outline I. Introduction Advertising operates in a context fraught with clutter. This means it is even more important for advertising to be creative in order to gain attention and accomplish its goals. II. Suggestions for Creating Effective Advertising Effective advertising is easy to define from an outside or outcome perspective—does it accomplish the advertiser’s objectives? At a minimum, good (or effective) advertising satisfies the following considerations: • It must extend from sound marketing strategy. • Effective advertising must take the consumer’s view. • It finds a unique way to break through the clutter. • Effective advertising never promises more than it can deliver. • It prevents the creative idea from overwhelming the strategy. Effective advertising is creative with a purpose. It must connect with the target audience, cut through the clutter, and position the brand optimally relative to competitive brands. III. Qualities of Successful Advertising Ingredients of successful advertising include the information, rational stimulus or reasons why, and emphasis IV. What Exactly Does Being “Creative” and “Effective” Mean? Effective advertising is being creative with a purpose. A. Creativity: The CAN Elements Creative ads share three features: 1. Connectedness Addresses whether an advertisement reflects an understanding of target audience members’ motivations. 2. Appropriateness The an advertisement must offer a useful solution to a marketing problem or provide information that is pertinent. 3. Novelty An advertisement should be unique, fresh, and unexpected. B. Getting Messages to “Stick” Sticky ads are those for which the audience comprehends the intended message; they are remembered; and they change opinions and/or behavior. These ads have a lasting impact. The six common features of sticky messages are: 1. Simplicity 2. Unexpectedness 3. Concreteness 4. Credibility 5. Emotionality 6. Storytelling or SUCCESs. C. Illustrations of Creative and Sticky Advertising Executions 1. Miss Clairol: “Does She . . . or Doesn’t She?” Advertising line; “Hair color so natural only her hairdresser knows for sure!” tagline. In terms of the six stickiness elements, this campaign performs extremely well with respect to at least five of these features: simplicity, concreteness, credibility, emotionality, and storytelling. 2. Absolut Vodka A new brand in the U.S. in 1980. It had a great name and a unique bottle. TBWA built brand awareness—simply strategy: The first word would always be the brand name, Absolut, used as an adjective to modify a second word that described the brand (e.g., Absolut Perfection); characterized its consumer (e.g., Absolut Sophisticate); or associated the brand with positive places, people, or events (e.g., Absolut Barcelona). In terms of the six stickiness elements, this campaign performs extremely well with respect to the simplicity feature. 3. The Aflac Duck Created when the Aflac brand needed to find a way to generate awareness. The idea came when a team member said the name again and again and realized it sounded like a duck. The idea became the creative strategy of a spokesduck. This campaign performs extremely well with respect to creativity, and in terms of the six stickiness elements with at least two of the elements: simplicity and concreteness. Figure 10.1 illustrates the Aflac campaign. 4. Nike Shoes Developed a campaign based on professional athletes. Professional athletes were shown in various executions playing hockey, volleyball, baseball, bowling, boxing, and so on. These ads juxtapose famous athletes with sports other than those for which they are known. In terms of the six stickiness elements, this campaign performs extremely well with respect to simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, and emotionality. V. Making an Impression In making an impression with advertising, five things stand out. These include the brand name, major generic selling claims, the generation of an attitudinal response, elements of the specific commercial execution, and the specific sales message. VI. Advertising Plans and Strategy Advertising plans provide the framework for the systematic execution of advertising strategies. A plan evaluates the brand’s history, proposes where the next period of advertising should head, and justifies the proposed strategy for maintaining or improving the brand’s competitive situation. It should be tied closely to the brand’s marketing plan. The advertising strategy is what the advertiser says about the brand being advertise. It is the development of an advertising message. There is a five step program for developing an advertising strategy. A. A Five Step Program These steps are exemplified in the chapter using the E*Trade campaign. The steps are as follows: 1. Specify the Key Fact 2. State the Primary Problem 3. State the Communications Objective 4. Implement the Creative Message Strategy a. Define the Target Market b. Identify the Primary Competition c. Offer Reasons Why 5. Mandatory Requirements VII. Constructing a Creative Brief The creative brief is a framework designed to help inspire copywriters and other creatives to achieve the advertising objectives. Most briefs include key information explained below. A. Advertising Objectives B. Target Audience C. Motivations, Thoughts, and Feelings D. Brand Positioning and Personality E. Primary Outcomes or “Take Away” F. Other Details and Mandatories VIII. Means-End Chaining and Laddering A means-end chain represents the linkages among brand attributes, the consequences obtained from using the brand, and the personal values that the consequences reinforce. These linkages represent a means-end chain because the consumer sees the brand and its attributes as a means for achieving a desired end, namely, the acquisition of desirable consequences (or avoidance of undesirable consequences) and the valued end state resulting from these consequences. Attributes are features or aspects of advertised brands. Consequences are what consumers hope to receive (benefits) or avoid (detriments) when consuming brands. Values represent those enduring beliefs people hold regarding what is important in life. From the consumer’s perspective, the ends (values) drive the means (attributes and their consequences). A. The Nature of Values Table 10.1 lists 10 basic values that are important to people in diverse cultures. • Self-Direction—includes the desire for freedom, independence, choosing one’s own goals, and creativity. • Stimulation—need for variety and achieving an exciting life. • Hedonism—enjoying life. • Achievement—enjoying success, being regarded as capable, ambitious, intelligent, and influential. • Power—attainment of social status and prestige along with dominance over people and resources. • Security—safety, harmony, and the stability of society. • Conformity—self discipline, obedience, politeness, and, in general, the restraint from harming others and violating social norms. • Tradition—respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs that one’s culture and religion impose. • Benevolence—preservation and enhancement of family and friends, and includes being honest, loyal, helpful, a true friend, and loving. • Universalism—understanding, appreciating, tolerating, and protecting the welfare of all people and nature and includes notions of world peace, social justice, equality, unity with nature, environmental protection, and wisdom. B. Which Values Are Most Relevant to Advertising? The first six values apply to many advertising and consumption situations, whereas the last four are less typical. C. Advertising Applications of Means-Ends Chains: The MECCAS Model MECCAS is an acronym for Means-Ends Conceptualization of Components for Advertising Strategy. Table 10.2 presents and defines the various levels of the MECCAS model. The components include a value orientation, brand consequences, brand attributes, creative strategy and leverage point. The chapter applies the MECCAS framework to analyze several ads. 1. Self-Direction and Rolex Watches See Figure 10.2. 2. Hedonism and Steak See Figure 10.3. 3. Achievement and Home Depot See Figure 10.4. 4. Power and the Hummer Alpha See Figure 10.5. 5. Security and Neosporin D. Identifying Means-End Chains: The Method of Laddering Laddering involves in-depth, one-on-one interviews that typically last 30 minutes to more than one hour. The interviewer refers the interviewee to a specific attribute and then through directed probes attempts to detect how the interviewee links that attribute with more abstract consequences and how the consequences are linked with even more abstract values. Probing is accomplished using questions such as “Why is that particular attribute important to you?” “How does that help you out?” “What do you get from that?” “Why do you want that?” and “What happens as a result of that?” E. Practical Issues in Identifying Means-Ends Chains MECCAS is an approach that provides a systematic procedure for linking the advertiser perspective to the consumer’s perspective. It does have criticism though including that the laddering method forces interviewees to consider values that may not have occurred naturally and that it cannot represent all consumers in a segment. IX. Alternative Styles of Creative Advertising Table 10.3 summarizes creative strategy into six styles under three categories: product category dominance, functionally oriented, and symbolically or experientially oriented. Functionally oriented advertising appeals to consumers’ needs for tangible, physical, and concrete benefits. Symbolically/experientially oriented advertising strategies are directed at psychosocial needs. Category-dominance strategies do not necessarily use any particular type of appeal to consumers but are designed to achieve an advantage over competitors in the same product category. A. Generic Creative Style A generic strategy makes a claim that could be made by any company that markets a brand in that product category. Advertiser makes no attempt to differentiate its brand from competitive offerings or to claim superiority. This strategy is most appropriate for a brand that dominates a product category—the brand using this strategy will enjoy a large share of any primary demand stimulated by advertising. B. Preemptive Creative Style A preemptive style is employed when an advertiser makes a generic-type claim but does so with an assertion of superiority. This approach is most often used in product or service categories where there are few, if any, functional differences among competitive brands. This clever strategy effectively precludes competitors from saying the same thing. C. Unique Selling-Proposition Creative Style A unique selling-proposition (USP) approach is used by an advertiser to make a claim of superiority based on a unique product attribute that represents a meaningful, distinctive consumer benefit. The translation of a unique product feature into a relevant consumer benefit provides the unique selling proposition. It is best suited for a company with a brand that possesses a relatively lasting competitive advantage. D. Brand Image Creative Style The brand image style involves psychological rather than physical differentiation. Advertising attempts to develop an image for a brand by associating the product with symbols. Advertisers draw meaning from the culturally constituted world and transfer that meaning to the brand. Brand image advertising is transformational. Transformational advertising associates the experience of using an advertised brand with a unique set of psychological characteristics that typically would not be associated with the brand experience to the same degree without exposure to the advertisement. E. Resonance Creative Style When used in an advertising context, the term resonance is analogous to the physical notion of noise resounding off an object. An advertisement resonates (patterns) the audience’s life experiences. Figure 10.6 shows an example. F. Emotional Creative Style Much contemporary advertising aims to reach the consumer at a visceral level through the use of emotional strategy. Emotional advertising works especially well for products that naturally are associated with emotions (e.g., foods, jewelry, cosmetics, fashion apparel, etc.). Figure 10.7 shows an example. G. Section Summary The approaches are not pure and mutually exclusive. The common theme is that effective advertising must convey a clear meaning of the brand and how the brand compares to competitive offerings (positioning). The choice of creative strategy is determined by three key considerations. • What are the target audience’s needs and motivations related to the product category? • What are the brand’s strengths and weaknesses relative to competitive brands in the category? • How are competitors advertising their brands? X. Corporate Image and Corporate Issue Advertising Corporate advertising focuses not on a specific brand but on a corporation’s overall image or on economic or social issues relevant to the corporation’s interests. A. Corporate Image Advertising Corporate image advertising attempts to increase a firm’s name recognition, establish goodwill, or identify itself with some meaningful and socially acceptable activity. Figure 10.8 provides an example. B. Corporate Issue (Advocacy) Advertising In issue advertising, a company takes a position on a controversial social issue of public importance with the intention of swaying public opinion. Chapter Features Perhaps the Greatest TV Commercial of All Time Though most people agree that TV commercials are generally of average quality, there are a small number of exceptionally good commercials. In 1984 when Apple Computers first launched the Macintosh, the ad agency, Chiat/Day, were instructed to create an explosive television commercial that would portray the Macintosh as a truly revolutionary. IBM was the only recognized computer company. The ad portrayed IBM as the much-despised and feared institution reminiscent of the Big Brother theme in George Orwell’s book 1984.The one-minute commercial created in this context, dubbed “1984,” was run only once, during the Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984. The ad generated incredibly word-of-mouth-producing impact and negated the need for repeat showings. This remarkable advertising is considered by some to be the greatest TV commercial ever made. It grabbed attention; it broke through the clutter of the many commercials aired during the Super Bowl; it was memorable; it was discussed by millions of people; and, ultimately, it played an instrumental role in selling truckloads of Macintosh computers. Why Dump an Extraordinarily Successful Ad Campaign? Absolut’s bottle-oriented print advertising campaign included some 1,500 print executions and extended over 25 years. The campaign was extremely effective but by the 1990’s dozens of premium vodka brands competed with Absolut. Absolut was no longer the superpremium brand. Research conducted in nine countries indicated that consumers had become less involved with the bottle campaign and were no longer inspired by it. In 2007, the new campaign “In an Absolut World” was introduced, presenting images of what it would be like to live in an ideal, Absolut world. Whereas the original bottle campaign was restricted to print advertising, this new campaign is appropriate for various media, including television and the Internet. How Well Do You Know Advertising Slogans? Slogans, or taglines have always played an important role in advertising, and effective ones encapsulate a brand’s key positioning and value proposition and provide consumers with a memory tag. While some slogans have been used with success for decades, some have not been so successful. This IMC Focus provides a matching quiz on ten of the most successful slogans and lists several others that were examined in a survey of consumers. Instructor Manual for Advertising Promotion and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications Craig J. Andrews, Terence A. Shimp 9781111580216, 9788131528242, 9781133191421, 9781337282659
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