Marketing Management, Millenium Edition - epiheirimatikotita.gr

278 CHAPTER 15 DESIGNING AND MANAGING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONSPromotional ToolsEach promotional tool has its own unique characteristics and costs. 12➤➤➤➤➤Advertising. Advertising can be used to build up a long-term image for a product(Coca-Cola ads) or trigger quick sales (a Sears ad for a weekend sale). Advertisingcan reach geographically dispersed buyers efficiently. Certain forms of advertising(TV advertising) typically require a large budget, whereas other forms (newspaperadvertising) can be done on a small budget. We discuss advertising in more detaillater in this chapter.Sales promotion. Although sales-promotion tools—coupons, contests, premiums, andthe like—are highly diverse, they offer three distinctive benefits: (1) communication(they gain attention and usually provide information that may lead the consumer tothe product); (2) incentive (they incorporate some concession or inducement thatgives value to the consumer); and (3) invitation (they include a distinct invitation toengage in the transaction now). Sales promotion can be used for short-run effectssuch as dramatizing product offers and boosting sales. Later in this chapter wediscuss sales promotion in more detail.Public relations and publicity. The appeal of public relations and publicity is based onthree distinctive qualities: (1) high credibility (news stories and features are moreauthentic and credible than ads); (2) ability to catch buyers off guard (reach prospectswho prefer to avoid salespeople and advertisements); and (3) dramatization (thepotential for dramatizing a company or product). This underused technique isexamined later in this chapter.Personal selling. Personal selling has three distinctive qualities: (1) personalconfrontation (it involves an immediate and interactive relationship between two ormore persons); (2) cultivation (it permits all kinds of relationships to spring up,ranging from a matter-of-fact selling relationship to a deep personal friendship);and (3) response (it makes the buyer feel under some obligation for having listenedto the sales talk).Direct marketing. All forms of direct marketing—direct mail, telemarketing, Internetmarketing—share four distinctive characteristics: They are (1) nonpublic (themessage is normally addressed to a specific person); (2) customized (the message canbe prepared to appeal to the addressed individual); (3) up-to-date (a message can beprepared very quickly); and (4) interactive (the message can be changed dependingon the person’s response).Factors in Setting the Marketing Communications MixCompanies must consider several factors in developing their promotion mix:➤➤Type of product market. As Figure 5-6 shows, promotional allocations vary betweenconsumer and business markets. Although advertising is used less than sales calls inbusiness markets, it still plays a significant role in building awareness andcomprehension, serving as an efficient reminder of the product, generating leads,legitimizing the company and products, and reassuring customers about theirpurchases. Personal selling can also make a strong contribution in consumer-goodsmarketing by helping to persuade dealers to take more stock and display more ofthe product, build dealer enthusiasm, sign up more dealers, and grow sales atexisting accounts.Push-versus-pull strategy. A push strategy involves the manufacturer using sales forceand trade promotion to induce intermediaries to carry, promote, and sell theproduct to end users. This is especially appropriate where there is low brand loyalty