Marketing_Management_14th_Edition-min

512 PART 7 COMMUNICATING VALUE
GEICO Have the hundreds of millions of dollars GEICO has spent on TV advertising
been worth it? Warren Buffet, chairman and CEO of GEICO’s parent company Berkshire
Hathaway, sure thinks so. He told shareholders he would spend millions on GEICO advertising!
GEICO has more than quadrupled its revenue over the last decade, from slightly under
$3 billion in 1998 to more than $13 billion in 2009—
making it the fastest-growing auto insurance company
in the United States. The company eschews agents to
sell directly to consumers with a basic message, “15
Minutes Could Save You 15% or More on Your Car
Insurance.” Partnering with The Martin Agency, GEICO
has run different award-winning TV campaigns to emphasize
different benefits of the brand. Popular TV
spots advertising GEICO’s claim that its Web site is “So
Easy, a Caveman Can Use It” featured offended
Neanderthals expressing indignation at the prejudice
they face. TV ads featuring the Cockney-speaking
Gecko lizard spokes-character reinforce GEICO’s brand
image as credible and accomplished. A third campaign,
themed “Rhetorical Questions,” uses cultural
icons and touch points to make it seem obvious that
GEICO saves customers money by asking self-evident
questions such as, “Does Elmer Fudd have trouble
with the letter R?” and “Did the Waltons take way too
long to say goodnight?” The multiple campaigns complement
each other and build on each other’s success;
the company dominates the TV airwaves with so
many varied car insurance messages that any competitors’
ads are lost. 27
One of the most active advertisers
around, GEICO employs multiple
ad campaigns, including a series
featuring the gecko lizard.
Choosing Among Major
Media Types
The media planner must know the capacity of the
major advertising media types to deliver reach, frequency,
and impact. The major advertising media
along with their costs, advantages, and limitations
are profiled in Table 18.1. Media planners make
their choices by considering factors such as target
audience media habits, product characteristics, message
requirements, and cost.
Alternate Advertising Options
In recent years, reduced effectiveness of traditional mass media has led advertisers to increase their
emphasis on alternate advertising media.
PLACE ADVERTISING Place advertising, or out-of-home advertising, is a broad category
including many creative and unexpected forms to grab consumers’ attention. The rationale is that
marketers are better off reaching people where they work, play, and, of course, shop. Popular
options include billboards, public spaces, product placement, and point of purchase.
Billboards Billboards have been transformed and now use colorful, digitally produced graphics,
backlighting, sounds, movement, and unusual—even 3D—images. 28 In New York, manhole covers