Introduction to Marketing Communications:
January 9, 2014
Chapter 1: Integrated Marketing Communications
Communication Process: A linear model
 Sender > Encoding > Channel > Decoding > Receiver > > >Feedback > Sender
Communication and IMC Programs:
 Communication is defined as transmitting, receiving, and processing information
 Encoding is the second step in the communication process, and involves taking the central
message and turing it into some form of communication.
 Messages travel through transmission devices, like television or a company blog.
 Decoding occurs when the message reaches one or more of the receivers senses- for example
seeing an ad, or a perfume insert in a magazine that a consumer smells
 Noise is anything that distorts or disrupts the message in the communication process.
Advertising Clutter:
 The most common form of noise is advertising clutter
 As consumers we are exposed to hundreds of marketing messages each day
 Some of these messages we pay attention to, many we ignore or forget
Marketing Communications Defined:
 The coordination ad integration of all promotion tools and sources within an organization to
maximize the impact on consumers and other end-users at minimal costs.
 Promotional Tools:
 advertising
 sales promotion
 personal selling
 direct marketing
 public relations
 digital marketing/media
 social media
 sponsorships(individual, group, real property)
Integrated Marketing Communications:
 The Marketing Mix is the starting point
 Promotion/Communication can include but not limited to:
 Advertising
 Digital Marketing
 Direct Marketing
 Sales Promotion
 Public Relations
Factors Contributing to the Growth of IMC:
 Increased accountability
 Audience adoption of new forms of media
 Information Technology
 Increased competition
Increased Accountability:
 Economic pressures
 Want results from marketing budgets
 Efforts are led by CEOs, CFOs, and CMOs
 Advertising agencies expected to deliver results
Audience Adoption of New Media:
Emergence of:
 Interactive web sites, blogs, and social networks
 Smartphones
 Companies shifting expenditures from traditional to new, alternative media
 Younger consumers
 Less likely to watch TV
 Engaged in technology-based interactions
Information Technologies:
 Instant communications
 Consumers have access to unlimited information
 Consumer communication has increased
Increased Competition
 Information technology and communication has changed the marketplace
 products can be purchased from multiple locations and countries
 customers want both low prices and high quality
 Manufacturers and retailers must work together

January 14, 2014
Chapter 2: Branding and Positioning
What is branding?
 Assigning a name, phrase, design, symbol or a combination of these to a product, service, or a
group of complimentary goods.
Brand Value - Customer Perspective
 Provides quality assurance in purchase decisions
 Reduces search time in purchase decisions
 Provides psychological reinforcement and social acceptance or purchases.
Company Perspective:
 A strong brand can generate many benefits including:
 Positive feelings to new products and services
 Allows a company to charge more (if the brand is recognized and respected)
 Customer loyalty which may lead to more purchases
 Positive word of mouth endorsements
 Higher level of channel power
 The ability to attract quality employees
 More favorable ratings by financial observers and analysts.
Developing Brand Value:
 From introduction to post-purchase behavior
 Five Dimensions:
 Brand awareness
 Associations customers make with brands
 Attitudes customers have about the brand performance
 Brand attachment by the customer
 Brand activity - how do customers use the brand?
Successful Brand Development:
 Commitment to the brand
 Market penetration
 Research and understanding the brand’s target market
 Building effective expansion programs and fending off competitors
January 16, 2014
Discussion Exercise:
 List the names of fives brands that you have a negative impression of?
 Blackberry
 Abercrombie and fitch
 Tommy Hilfiger
 Why is the brand(s) conceived negatively?
 Environment
 Quality perceptions
 Public relations issues
 Design, pricing issues
 Communication
 Customer reviews/ testimonials
 Perception
Building Brand Equity:
 Brand Equity: The value that stakeholders assign to a brand over and above the value of an
equal but unbranded product.
 Research current brand image
 Decide what makes the brand unique
 Communicate brand’s uniqueness
 Spend on advertising/communication
 Deliver on uniqueness
 Companies often create product icons to develop and identity for their products, and increase
brand equity
Benefits of Brand Equity:
 Higher prices
 Higher gross margins
 Reduces customer switching
 Great demand for the product
 Prevents erosion of market share
Types of Brands:
 Family Brands:
 Multiple products under one brand
 Transfer associations
 Brand extension:
 New good or service, usually related to the existing brand
 Flanker Brands
 New brand within current category
 Co-Branding
 Private Label Brands
Flanker Brands Sold by Proctor & Gamble:
 Cosmetics: Cover Girl and Max Factor
 Dish Washing: Cascade, Dawn, Ivory, Joy

Hair Care: Aussie, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Infusion 23, Pantene
Co-Branding:
 Forms of Co-Branding
 -Ingredient Branding;
 Co-Branding: - Cooperative Branding; two or more brands, create new product
 -Complementary Branding; two separate brands joined for co-consumption; Tim
Horton’s and Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Walmart
Changes in Private Brands:
 Quality Improved
 Lower Prices
 Higher Store Loyalty
 Lower Loyalty for manufacturer brands
 Increase in advertising of private brands
 Increase in quality of private brand in-store displays
Strategies Used to Combat Private Labels(National Brands)
 Focus on core brands
 Increase advertising
 Introduce new products
 Focus on in-store selling, packaging
 Use alternative methods of marketing
January 21, 2014
Successful Brand Extensions:
 Lipton tea- lipton soup mixes
 Kodak Film- cameras and batteries
 Honda Bikes- cars, lawnmowers, generators
 Unsuccessful Brand Extensions:
 Dunkin‘ Donuts- dunkin‘ donuts cereal
 Harley Davidson Bikes- Harley Davidson
cigarettes
 Levis Jeans- Levis business wear
Repositioning a brand:
 May be necessary when a brands target market has shrunk or firm can no longer meet customers
expectations.
 Maintaining a Brands Image:
 Consistency is key
 Rejuvenating a brand:
 May be necessary if firm has encountered negative publicity
Positioning:
 The process of creating a perception in the consumer's mind regarding the nature of the company
and its products relative to competitors.
 -A product’s position is based on two elements:
 The product’s standing relative to the competition
 How the product is perceived by consumers
 Positioning is an important criteria in brand development
Positioning Strategies:
 Attributes
 Competitors




Use or application
Price-quality relationship
Product user
Product class
Chapter 4: Promotion Opportunity Analysis
Promotional Opportunity Analysis: The process marketers use to identify target audiences for an
organization’s message and the communications strategies needed to reach these audiences.
IMC Planning Process:
Must accomplish two objectives:
 Determine which promotional objectives exist for the company.
 Identify the characteristics of each target market, to better understand how to reach that target
audience.
Steps in Developing a Promotions Opportunity Analysis:
 Conduct a communication market analysis
 Establish communications objectives
 Create a communications budget
 These steps are usually studied together, rather than sequently
Step 1: Communication Market Analysis:
 Step 1:
 Conduct a communication analysis
 There are three areas in this analysis
 Competitors Analysis
 Opportunity Analysis
 Target Market Analysis
Competitor Analysis:
 Direct competitors
 Indirect competitors
 Market leaders
 Identify communication strategies and tactics of each competitor through primary and secondary
research
Sources of Information include:
 Advertisements
 Websites
 Customers
 Annual reports
Opportunity Analysis:
 Must ask a series of questions:
 Are there customers that the competition is ignoring?
 Which markets are heavily saturated?
 Are the benefits of our goods and services being clearly articulated?
 Are there opportunities to build relationships using a slightly different marketing approach?
 Are there opportunities that are not being pursued?
Target Market Analysis:
 Before we consider the larger issue of a market it is wise to consider the “customer”
 Current customers
 Former customers


Potential customers
Competitors’ customers
Things to consider include:
 What benefits does each target market want from the product?
 How can each target market be reached?
 What appeal works best for each target market?
 Music, humor, sex, emotional
 What needs of the target market are not being met by a competing firm?
- What is the demographic and psychographic makeup of each target market?
Market Segmentation:
 -The process of identifying specific purchasing groups based on their needs, attitudes and
interests.
Advantages of Segmentation:
 Identify company strengths and weaknesses
 Locate opportunities within markets
 Match firm’s expertise with most lucrative markets
 Focus budget on specific segment
Discussion:
 Make a list of five consumer products or services that are segmented on the basis of gender but
are sold to both genders. Are there any differences in the product or services attributes? Are
there differences in how they are marketed? What are those differences? Do you think that using
a different marketing approach has worked?
 Shampoo: Ads - design, features, scents, quality, packaging
 Razors: packaging, color differences (pink for women, black for men)
 Soft Drinks: diet, competitive commercials, sizes
 January 28, 2014
 Alcohol: coolers are more advertised to women, where beer is advertised towards men, calorie
considerations, flavour(fruity)
 Vehicles: style/type(minivan, truck), functionality
Methods of Segmenting Consumer Markets:
 Demographics
 Psychographics
 Generations
 Geographic
 Geodemographics
 Benefits
 Usage
Methods of Segmenting Business Markets:
 Industry
 Size of Business
 Geographic Location
 Product usage
 Customer value
Determining Viable Market Segments:
 The segment is different from the population as a whole and distinct from other market segments.
 The segment is large enough to be financially viable to target with a separate marketing
campaign.
-

Examples: Ford; Communications for - Brand, promotions; employee pricing, specific
vehicle; car, truck etc.
The individuals or businesses within the segment are homogenous
STEP 2: Establish Communication Objectives
 Promotions Opportunity Analysis:
 Step 2:
 -Establish Communication Objectives
 Criteria for Defining Objectives:
 Specific Target audience
 Specific tasks
 Specific changes
 Specific time
 Broad categories of objectives may include:
 Develop brand awareness
 Increase good/service category demand
 Chance customer beliefs or attitudes
 Enhance purchase actions
 Encourage repeat purchases
 Build customer traffic
 Enhance firm image
 Increase market share
 Increase sales
 Reinforce purchase decisions
STEP 3: Communications budget
- Establishing a Communications Budget
 -Budgets are based on:
 -Communication objectives
- Marketing objectives
- Promotional strategies
 Budgets vary from consumer to b2b markets
 Unrealistic assumption to assume direct relationship between advertising and sales
January 30, 2014
Factors Impacting Relationship Between Promotions and Sales:
 The objective of the communication
 Threshold effects
 carryover effects
 Wear-out effects
 Decay effects
 Methods of Determining Marketing Communication Budgets:
 Percentage of sales
 meet the competition
 “what we can afford”
 objective and task
 Payout planning
Chapter 3:
Traditional Factors affecting consumer purchasing behaviours:
 Demographics (age, gender, income, etc.)
 Heredity and home environment
 Family life cycle
 life changing events

cultural environment

*MISSED CLASS (Tuesday February 4th)
Information Search:
 Internally:
- Think about brands
- Quickly reduce options
- Choice based on past experience
 Externally:
- Ability to search
- Level of motivation
- Perceived cost versus benefit
Why is this important to understand this for marketing communication planning?
Attitude Sequence:
 Cognitive > Affective > Conative
 Affective > Conative > Cognitive
 Conative > Cognitive > Affective
Trends and Factors in the Consumer Buying Environment:
 Age complexity
 Gender Complexity
 Individualism
 Active, busy lifestyles, time pressures
 Cocooning
 Pleasure binges
 Emphasis on health
 Change in family unit
February 6th, 2014
Evaluation of Alternatives:
 Evoked set method:
 Evoked set
 Inept set
 Inert set
Affect referral:
 Saves time and energy
 Consumers often develop emotional bonds with their brands
 Multi-attribute approach - used ore in B to B buying situations
 A concept that suggests consumers choose brands they like the best or ones with which they
have developed emotional connections
 Example may include product categories that are frequently purchased like toothpaste, ketchup
and beverages like soft drinks, juice and alcohol
 Other examples of strong customer ties may include Nike, Apple and Harley Davidson
Common Reasons Purchases are Made:
 Products/services provide utility
 To satisfy physical needs
 To satisfy psychological needs
 To satisfy social needs
 To satisfy emotional needs
Post-Purchase Evaluation:
 Evaluation of product performance
 Cognitive dissonance
 Impact future purchases
 Impacts word-of-mouth communications
Trends and factors in the Consumer Buying Environment:
 Age complexity
 Gender complexity
 Individualism
 Health emphasis; fitness for seniors, women only clubs (curves/goodlife)
 Active, Busy lifestyles; more convince, drive-thurs, online shopping
 Cocooning; busy lifestyles - people don’t want to leave their home after a busy day..spend more
money on things such as home entertainment systems, pools, etc.
 Change in Family unit; marrying later in life, split families, multi-families
 Pleasure pursuits; purchasing things such as expensive vacations, luxury items like RVs and
boats
 The environment; peoples care and concern for the environment - Lululemon reusable bags
Responding to New Customer Trends:
 Monitor consumer environment for change
 Create goods and services that are compatible with the changes
 Design marketing messages that reflect the changes
Chapter 9: Sales Promotions: Midterm Page 246-261**
Consumer Promotions defined:
 An incentive or an enticement that encourages a consumer or end user to either select or
purchase a product.
Types of Consumer Promotions:
 Coupons
 Premiums
 Contests and sweepstakes
 Refunds and rebates
 Sampling
 Bonus packs
 Price-offs
 Point of Purchase
 February 11,2014
Coupons:
Types of Coupons:
 Instant redemption
 Scanner-delivered
 Cross-ruffing/co-branding
 Response offer
 E-coupons
 Bounce-back/return coupon
Problems with Coupons:
 Reduced revenues:
 Used by brand preference consumer (80%)
 Counterfeiting

Misredemptions
Premiums:
 Premiums are prizes, gifts, or other special offers consumers receive when purchasing products
and services
 Fast-food chains are well known for their in-store premiums
Types of Premiums:
 Free-in-the-mail
 In or on package
 Store or manufacturer
 Self-liquidating
Keys to Successful Premiums:
 Match the premium to the target market
 Carefully select the premiums
 Pick a premium that reinforces the firm’s product and image
 Integrate the premium with other IMC tools
 Don’t use premiums to increase profits
Contests:
 Can be very effective if used correctly, for example Tim Horton’s Roll-up the Rim
Effective Contests:
 Coordinate with other marketing tactics
 Encourage customer traffic
 Have intrinsic rewards that draws customers back
 Have extrinsic rewards that are attractive to consumers
 Increase in brand awareness
Creating Successful Contests:
 Know the legal restrictions
 Must overcome clutter
 Find the right combination of prizes
 Must consider extrinsic and intrinsic value
 Look for tie0in opportunities with special events or other companies
 Must be coordinated with POP displays and other marketing tools