The advertisement done today is far more different then the old era. Now, the emergence of new technology, the growth in the internet usage, rapidly changing environment, changing way of communications, fragmentation of mass markets, growing economies, and globalization has changed the overall marketing to use different other communication mediums and techniques with the old ones (newspapers, TV and Radio).
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Every day we are bombarded with different advertising messages whether it is on the radio while we’re driving to work, on television during our favorite programs, or in magazines and newspapers. Advertising has entered every area of our lives, and many of us choose to ignore it on many occasions. This might cause one to ask, can advertising and promotional efforts still are effective if people are so saturated with information?
The answer is yes, advertising and promotions can be effective if used properly for targeting the right consumer. One of the main rules in advertising has always been to keep message simple and consistent and repeat it often. It has been shown that people remember advertising if they see it with great frequency, which explains why while watching hours of television one may see the same advertisement two or even three times even more. That way the message will positioned in one’s mind.
Integrated Marketing Communication
One of the most important aspects of advertising and promoting a product or service is consistency. Companies ensure the consistency of their message by coordinating all of their promotional activities. This coordination of activities into a system or strategic plan is referred
as integrated marketing communications (IMC). IMC creates a unified message and enhances the effectiveness of reaching the target consumer. Firms will create one message that will be used consistently throughout a marketing campaign. It is important that the promotional strategy also be in alignment with the organizational goals.
There are three major aspects of an IMC plan:-
Research
Creative Aspects
Implementation.
Research and analysis are used to find the best way to design the product or service the most effective message and media to use and the best means to distribute the product or service at the optimal price. The creative aspect is the actual advertising, copywriting and designing of promotional materials. Implementation is the act of putting the plan together, creating a strategy and seeing it through. Planning an integrated marketing communications plan also means finding target market determining what is unique about the product offering or service providing constructing a positioning strategy for product or service deciding what the best message would be for product and choosing the optimal marketing mix in relation to allowed marketing budget.
Ideally an effective IMC campaign will differentiate the product or service from a competitor’s generate a flow of leads be consistent with and support the overall branding strategy cause the company to have a more prominent place in the market. Communicate the company’s experience and knowledge and help to retain existing customers.
The Promotional Mix
The promotional mix is the use of different advertising and communication channels in a coordinated way to run an effective marketing campaign. These coordinated campaigns are part of an effective integrated marketing communications plan. The four main methods of promotion within the mix are:-
Advertising
Sales Promotion
Personal Selling
Public Relations
The most important factor in determining the optimal mix is identifying the target market. This can be determined through extensive market research. Once a company knows its target market it can then research its use of various media outlets in order to come up with the best combination of marketing materials to reach the defined target. For example if the target market is stay-at-home moms, an organization might find that television advertisements during certain daytime television shows are most effective for reaching them. If the target market is a young professional, the marketer might find that using billboards in a downtown commercial district and morning drive time radio advertisements are effective for getting the message to this target market. The size of the promotional budget will greatly influence the chosen mix as well. Television advertising can be very costly and therefore may not be a feasible option for a company with a smaller marketing budget at least not during prime viewing hours on major networks. Often the amount of money a firm spends on promotional activities will be affected by the product life cycle general economic conditions and the competition. The promotional mix may involve a company coordinating its loyalty program with advertising campaigns and a promotional deal.
Advertising
Advertising is paid communication brought to audiences through different forms of media such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines and billboards. A company uses advertising to inform, persuade or remind its target market of its products or services. Comparative advertising is used to differentiate a company’s products in the marketplace from other similar products. For example The “Pepsi Challenge” campaign was a form of comparative advertising in which consumers were asked to take blind taste tests to see if they could tell the difference between the products. Coca-Cola uses reminder ads to show us how refreshing the beverage can be on a hot day.
1.4. Different Medium of Advertising and Sales Promotion
Advertising Mediums
There are advantages and disadvantages to each media type and when selecting the advertising mediums to use companies must understand who their target audience is and which the most effective method for reaching them is. Marketers must be able to divide their budgets among the various media resources in order to stretch them the farthest to reach the most customers.
Television
Television advertising is the leading medium for reaching Indian audiences. Although a very expensive form of advertising, television ads reach the largest percentage of the Indian population at once and can be very appealing due to their visual nature as well as their sound.
TV ads can be classified into national, local, and cable advertisements. The type of network chosen will depend on which audience the marketer is trying to reach. If the advertisement is for a local restaurant the company may choose to advertise only on local stations or in local ad space on cable channels or national networks. The time an advertisement is shown is also an important decision that companies must make in order to reach the target audience. Budgetary constraints will also be a factor in choosing time slots for advertisements.
Print Advertisements
Advertising in newspapers and magazines is another way of reaching customers with a company’s message. Print ads are effective because of their visual quality and can be run in many different types of publications. Marketers selling products or services to consumers may choose national publications such as India Today or local newspapers such as the Times of India and Hindustan Times. Businesses trying to sell products or services to other businesses will often advertise in trade publications of the industries they are trying to reach. Companies may also target specialized publications for example a new computer product may be advertised in PC World or another specialty technology publication. Print ads have a longer life than electronic media ads and are good for telling a story about the value of a product or service.
Radio
Although lacking the visual appeal radio can be an effective medium for reaching target consumers. The average radio listener tunes in for three hours a day and often on a regular basis. When using radio advertisements in marketing mix it is necessary to make sure that the company and product or service is clearly identified. As with television it is also necessary to find the right station for advertising to the target consumer. If your service is a bar for college students you may choose to advertise in the evenings on a college station or an alternative rock station and if your target audience is senior citizens you may advertise on news stations or a talk show.
Internet
The Internet has become an important electronic medium and its interactive quality is unique. It permits immediacy of purchase and a high level of convenience. It can be personalized and individualized. The Internet and the World Wide Web are becoming essential tools in an integrated marketing plan and effective tools in sustaining customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Direct Mail
Mailing advertisements or promotions directly to people’s homes is another commonly used method of reaching consumers. Direct mail campaigns can be expensive due to printing and postage costs but these campaigns can be effective if the mailings reach the right consumers. Often companies will purchase lists of consumers or collect data themselves to build a mailing list. The people on these lists will then be sent targeted mailings.
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Telemarketing
The utilization of telemarketing has been greatly affected in India by the recent implementation of the national “Do Not Call” registry, where millions of Indians signed up to have their telephone numbers removed from telemarketer lists. Internationally however regulations regarding telemarketing vary and it may still be a very effective method of reaching consumers. The downside of telemarketing is that most people do not like the invasiveness of being called at home though unfortunately many mass marketers find the risk of offending non receptive households is offset by the effective results and benefits from these marketing methods.
Outdoor and Out of Home
The majority of outdoor advertising rupees are spent on billboards. Billboards are a popular way of reaching commuters and consumers in a single geographic location. Other forms of outdoor advertising known as out of home include sports stadium ads, bus shelter posters, or signage on buses and taxis.
Advertising Trends
A very popular way of getting a message across is using celebrity endorsements. Advertising companies are willing to pay money in order to hire celebrities to represent their brands. Celebrities are part of an advertising message and campaign. Of course using a celebrity spokesperson can be a risk. When choosing a celebrity to endorse products, it is important to find an appropriate match with the product or service. The relationship should be believable. It is also important that the celebrities endorsing the product be credible. They should either have expertise in the field or be trustworthy characters.
Sponsorships
This is a well-used form of promotion and advertising that allows the company to buy into a sporting event or activity. The amount of investment in a sponsorship can range from an athletic company supporting a college sports team by providing them with brand-name uniforms in order to promote the brand to a company sponsoring a cricket game. For example Pepsi and Coke use to take sponsorship of cricket time to time.
Infomercials
Another trend in advertising is the infomercial. This is an extended television advertisement and usually runs at off peak hours or on lower-budget television or cable networks. Infomercials are usually at least a half hour long. Some of the most popular items that are sold through infomercials are fitness videos, skin care products and kitchenware. Often they will feature celebrity endorsements and offer products that cannot be purchased in stores. Their low-budget appearance and late-night showing often characterize infomercials. Once the consumer is convinced to purchase the product he or she will then be able to call and order the product over the telephone generating a direct response to the infomercial.
Sales Promotion
Sales promotion consists of many activities used to sell products. They are activities that give consumers a short-term incentive to make a purchase. Sales promotions are also activities that change the price and value relationship of a product as perceived by the target audience with the possible effect of generating immediate sales. It is possible that a sales promotion can also alter the long term value of the brand by making what might be a premium product more affordable.
Sales promotions are generally time-bound programs that require participation on the part of the consumer through either immediate purchase or some other action. The fundamental goals of sales promotion are tactical, strategic and ultimate. The tactical goals are to combat a competitor’s increase in market share to combat other competitors’ promotional efforts and to move brands that are either declining, overstocked, damaged or not selling fast enough. The strategic goals are to motivate consumers to switch from a rival brand to increase product consumption to reinforce the marketing communications efforts for the brand and to motivate
brand loyalty. The ultimate goal of a sales promotion is to increase sales, profits and market share. There are different channels for sales promotions which include consumer promotions and trade promotions.
Consumer Promotions
Consumer promotions are geared toward getting consumers to try a company’s products. Some examples of consumer promotion activities include coupons, rebates, sampling, sweepstakes, point-of-purchase displays and special packs.
Coupons
Whether we cut coupons from newspapers and magazines or getting them in the mail, coupons are a very popular form of sales promotion. They are very effective especially in economic downturns for luring people into restaurants or causing them to make repeat purchases of products. E-coupons are another popular form of sales promotion they are extremely effective for luring in customers and are redeemed by 57 percent of the people who click on them. The most popular uses of e-coupons are for sales of groceries, books and health and music products. The disadvantage of coupons is that they do not encourage brand loyalty most consumers who use coupons regularly are willing to switch brands if there is a better discount available.
Rebates
Rebates are partial refunds that are offered by the manufacturers. Often manufacturers will use mail-in rebates as incentives for purchasing. The consumer must purchase the product at full price and then fill out paperwork and mail in the receipt in order to receive some money back. Rebate programs allow marketers to promote a company’s product at a reduced poster bate price also called MRP offering a substantial savings to its customers but also requiring that a set of conditions be met to qualify.
Sampling
Companies will often send or hand out samples of products in order to attract customers who may not have purchased their products otherwise. Beverage companies may target college students and hand out soft drinks on campuses, or a food company may set up a stand in a grocery store so that consumers can sample their new chips. You may even receive a trial bottle of shampoo in the mail or you may remember receiving the India Online (IOL) CD in the mail offering 100 free hours of Internet access. These are all examples of sampling, and the intention of these promotions is to introduce a new product or service to a consumer in order to generate brand loyalty. Sampling can be a costly method of attracting customers and it often results in wasted distribution however it can be a very effective method for getting consumers to switch brands.
Sweepstakes and Contests
Sweepstakes and contests are another strategy of sales promotion. Data will be collected from consumers and they will be entered to win a prize. Companies can use the information that they collect from entrants in order to develop a mailing list for future promotional campaigns. Organizations must be sure to print all the guidelines for their sweepstakes or contests in order to avoid legal entanglements. Some of the guidelines companies should follow in order to put on a successful sweepstakes promotion include the following:-
Clarify who is eligible
Indicate states where the promotion is not valid
Declare the termination date of the promotion
Clarify random drawing procedures
Companies should also detail the prizes disclose the odds of winning declare a deadline for entry and reserve the right to use winners’ names and photographs for publicity.
Point-of-Purchase Displays
Point-of-purchase (POP) promotional materials are displays that are set up in stores in order to prominently display products. At a grocery store a POP is usually placed in front of the store, at the end of an aisle, in the aisle or on the shelf. POP displays are very successful due to the fact that many people make last-minute purchasing decisions.
Bundling
Sometimes companies bundle products together in order to promote a new product or to encourage consumers to try a complementary product such as a free small conditioner bundled with a shampoo purchase or a free disposable razor with a shaving cream purchase. A company may also offer a bonus pack or a special pack with 20 percent more in order to encourage a customer to purchase a product.
Give a ways
Another strategy used by companies is that of special promotional items to be given away. These may be hats or T-shirts advertising the company or brand. For example, many times credit card
Advertising
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