ADVERTISING IN THE RETAIL
COMMUNICATION MIX
Objectives of Communication Program
Long-Term
-Build Brand Image
-Create Loyalty
Short-Term
-Increase Traffic
-Increase Sales
Brands
Distinguishing name or symbol,
such as a logo, that identifies the
products or services offered by a
seller and differentiates those
products and services from
those offered by competitors
Strong Brands Provide Value to
Retailers and Their Customers
Value to Retailers
•Attract Customers
•Build Loyalty
•Higher Prices leading to Higher
Gross Margin
•Reduced Promotional Expenses
•Facilitates Entry into New Markets
Gap  GapKids
Strong Brands Provide Value to
Retailers and Their Customers
Value to Customers
•Promises Consistent Quality
•Simplifies Buying Process
•Reduces Time and Effort
Searching for Information
About Merchandise/Retailer
Building a Valuable Brand
Heighten
Brand
Awareness
Develop
Favorable
Associations
Brand
Equity
Consistent
Reinforcement
Create Emotional
Connections
Creating Brand Awareness
Memorable
Name
Repeated
Exposure
Brand
Awareness
Symbols
Event
Sponsorship
McDonald’s Brand Associations
Golden
Arches
Fast Food
Big Mac
McDonald’s
French
Fries
Ronald
McDonald
Clean
Types of Brand Association
•Merchandise Category – Office
Depot
•Price/Quality – Target, Wal-Mart
•Specific Benefit – 7-Eleven
Convenience
•Lifestyle – The Nature Company
Integrated Marketing Communications
Present a Consistent Brand Image through All
Communications with Customers
•Store Design •Web Site
•Advertising •Magalog
Retail Communication Mix
Communication Methods
Types of Sales Promotions
•Special sales
•Merchandise demonstrations
•Premiums
•Coupons
•Games, sweepstakes, and
contests
Comparison of
Communication Methods
Communication Objectives & Stages in
the Consumers Decision-Making Process
Retail and Vendor
Communication Programs
Vendor
• Long-term objectives
• Product focused
• National
• Specific product
Retailer
• Short-term objectives
• Category focused
• Local
• Assortment of
merchandise
Illustration of Objective and Task
Method for Setting a Communication Budget
Communication Objectives Furniture Store
Communication
Question
Objective
Awareness
What stores sell Asian furniture?
Knowledge
Which stores would you rate outstanding
on the following characteristics?
Attitude
On your next shopping trip for Asian
furniture, which store would you visit first?
Visit
Which of the following stores have you
been to?
Evaluation of Program
Before
6 Mon
12 Mon
46%
52%
Awareness
(% of mentioning store)
38%
Knowledge
(% outstanding rating)
9
17
24
13
15
19
8
15
19
Attitude
(% first choice)
Visit
(% of visited store)
Media Capabilities
Communication Objectives
and Effectiveness of Media
Internet Advertising Applications
• Retailers in General
– Create Awareness
– Convey Information
– Brand Building -- Build Store Loyalty
• Multi-Channel Retailers
– Build Web site Traffic
Involvement
Reach
Targeting
Information Delivery
Information Richness
Measurability
Cost
Application
TV, Radio
Internet
Push, passive
Broad
Limited
Limited
Mm, audio
Modest
$12/8 per m
Brand Image
Awareness
Pull, active
Narrow
Extensive
Extensive
Multi-Media
High
$20 per m
Product Evaluation
Brand Loyalty
Problems with
Measuring Effectiveness
• Comparison with Other Media for the
– Reach
• Counting Unique Visitors
• Use of Cookies
– Frequency
• Caching
• Prevent Cache
– Impact
– GRPs - Reach x Frequency
Internet Ad Measurement Models
• Consumer Centric
– Panels -- Nielsen TV
– Advantages -- Representative, Relate usage to
Viewer Characteristics, Comparison Across Sites
– Disadvantage - Small Numbers-Unreliable, Ignores
Business Usage
• Site-Centric
– Accurate Measures of Hits, Visits, Downloads, etc
– Problems in Measures, Can’t Relate to Viewer
Characteristics
Measuring Effectiveness
Internet Marketer Perspective
• Generating Traffic
– Hits - File Requested - Multiple Files Per Page
• Times Banner Served
–
–
–
–
–
–
Page Views - Varies with Length of Page
Visitors
Unique Visitors
Click Throughs
Pages Downloaded
Length of Stay
Generating Traffic for Site
• Domain Name/Brand
• Search Directories and Engines
– Registration, Top Listing
• External Links - Partnerships
• Publicity
• Paid Advertising
– Internet
– Other Media
Monitoring Effectiveness of
Traffic Building Approaches
• Monitor Sources of Visits
• Link Behaviors to Sources
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–
–
–
–
Registration
Time on Site
Pages Downloaded
Purchases
Amount Purchased