Marketing Management, Millenium Edition - epiheirimatikotita.gr

Developing and Managing the Advertising Campaign 283as T-shirts, magnets, and talking dolls. Taco Bell’s sales shot up 4.3 percent in the campaign’sfirst year; the firm now spends $200 million a year on advertising and is keepingthe chihuahua in its ad campaigns. 18In developing a creative strategy, advertisers follow four steps: message generation,message evaluation and selection, message execution, and social responsibilityreview.Message GenerationThe product’s “benefit” message should be decided as part of developing the productconcept. Yet there is usually latitude for a number of possible messages. Over time, themarketer might want to change the message, especially if customers seek new or differentbenefits from the product.Creative people use several methods to generate possible advertising appeals.Many creative people proceed inductively by talking to consumers, dealers, experts, andcompetitors, while others use a deductive framework. Regardless of the process, howmany alternative ad themes should the advertiser create before choosing? The moreads that are created, the higher the probability of finding an excellent one. Yet this is abalancing act, because the more time spent on creating alternative ads, the higher thecosts, even with the use of computerized tools to create rough versions of ads.Message Evaluation and SelectionA good ad normally focuses on one core selling proposition. Twedt suggested thatmessages be rated on desirability, exclusiveness, and believability. 19 When the March ofDimes searched for an advertising theme to raise money for its fight against birthdefects, managers brainstormed several messages. They asked a group of young parentsto rate each for interest, distinctiveness, and believability, assigning up to 100points for each. For example, “Seven hundred children are born each day with a birthdefect” scored 70, 62, and 80 on interest, distinctiveness, and believability, whereas“Your next baby could be born with a birth defect” scored 58, 51, and 70. The first messageoutperformed the second on all accounts. 20 Smart advertisers conduct marketresearch to determine which appeal works best with their audiences.Message ExecutionThe message’s impact depends not only upon what is said but also on how it is said.Some ads aim for rational positioning and others for emotional positioning. U.S. ads typicallypresent an explicit feature or benefit with a rational appeal, such as “gets clothescleaner,” while Japanese ads tend to be less direct and appeal more to the emotions.Message execution can be decisive for highly similar products, such as detergents,cigarettes, coffee, and vodka. Consider vodka. Although it is generally viewed asa commodity product, the amount of brand preference and loyalty in the vodka marketis astonishing. Most of it is based on selling an image. The Swedish brand Absolutbecame the largest selling imported vodka in the United States by mounting a wellintegratedtargeting, packaging, and advertising strategy geared toward sophisticated,upwardly mobile, affluent drinkers. The distinctively shaped bottle, suggestive ofSwedish austerity, has become an icon—and is used as the centerpiece of every ad,accompanied by puns such as “Absolut Magic.” The firm also runs short stories aboutthe brand written by distinguished authors in ads designed to appeal to readers ofsuch magazines as The New Yorker. 21In preparing an ad campaign, the advertiser usually prepares a copy strategy statementdescribing the objective, content, support, and tone of the desired ad. Creativespecialists must also find a cohesive blend of style, tone, words, and format for executing