Chapter 1 - Summary - Belch and Belch

The fragmentation of mass markets, the explosion of new technologies that are giving consumers greater control over the communications process, the rapid growth of the Internet and electronic commerce, the emergence of global markets, and economic uncertainties are all changing the way companies approach marketing as well as advertising and promotion. Developing marketing communications programs that are responsive to these changes is critical to the success of every organization. However, advertising and other forms of promotion will continue to play an important role in the integrated marketing programs of most companies.

Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.

Effective marketing requires that managers recognize the interdependence of such activities as sales and promotion and how they can be combined to develop a marketing program.

The focus of market-driven companies is on developing and sustaining relationships with their customers. This has led to a new emphasis on relationship marketing, which involves creating, maintaining, and enhancing long-term relationships with individual customers as well as other stakeholders for mutual benefit.

The primary focus is on one element of the marketing mix: the promotional variable. However, the promotional program must be part of a viable marketing strategy and be coordinated with other marketing activities. A firm can spend large sums on advertising or sales promotion, but it stands little chance of success if the product is of poor quality, is priced improperly, or does not have adequate distribution to consumers. Marketers have long recognized the importance of combining the elements of the marketing mix into a cohesive marketing strategy.

The IMC approach to marketing communications planning and strategy is being adopted by both large and small companies and has become popular among firms marketing consumer products and services as well as business-to-business marketers. There are a number of reasons why marketers are adopting the IMC approach. A fundamental reason is that they understand the value of strategically integrating the various communications functions rather than having them operate autonomously. By coordinating their marketing communications efforts, companies can avoid duplication, take advantage of synergy among promotional tools, and develop more efficient and effective marketing communications programs. Advocates of IMC argue that it is one of the easiest ways for a company to maximize the return on its investment in marketing and promotion.

Brand identity is a combination of many factors, including the name, logo, symbols, design, packaging, and performance of a product or service as well as the image or type of associations that comes to mind when consumers think about a brand. It encompasses the entire spectrum of consumers’ awareness, knowledge, and image of the brand as well as the company behind it. It is the sum of all points of encounter or contact that consumers have with the brand, and it extends beyond the experience or outcome of using it.

Promotion has been defined as the coordination of all seller initiated efforts to set up channels of information and persuasion in order to sell goods and services or promote an idea.

The basic tools used to accomplish an organization’s communication objectives are often referred to as the promotional mix. Traditionally the promotional mix has included four elements: advertising, sales

promotion, publicity/public relations, and personal selling.

Advertising is defined as any paid form of non personal communication about an organization,

product, service, or idea by an identified sponsor.

Direct marketing is much more than direct mail and mailorder catalogs. It involves a variety of activities, including database management, direct selling, telemarketing, and direct response ads through direct mail, the Internet, and various broadcast and print media.

Interactive media allow for a back-and-forth flow of information whereby users can participate in and modify the form and content of the information they receive in real time.

Consumer-oriented sales promotion is targeted to the ultimate user of a product or service and includes couponing, sampling, premiums, rebates, contests, sweepstakes. Trade-oriented sales promotion is targeted toward marketing intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, and retailers.

Publicity refers to nonpersonal communications regarding an organization, product, service, or idea not directly paid for or run under identified sponsorship. It usually comes in the form of a news story, editorial, or announcement about an organization and/or its products and services.

Public relations is defined as “the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or organization with the public interest, and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.”

Personal selling is a form of person-to-person communication in which a seller attempts to assist and/or persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company’s product or service or to act on an idea.

Promotional management involves coordinating the promotional-mix elements to develop a controlled, integrated program of effective marketing communications.

Like the overall marketing situation analysis, the promotional program situation analysis includes both an internal and an external analysis.

The internal analysis assesses relevant areas involving the product/service offering and the firm itself. The capabilities of the firm and its ability to develop and implement a successful promotional program, the organization of the promotional department, and the successes and failures of past programs should be reviewed.

The external analysis focuses on factors such as characteristics of the firm’s customers, market segments, positioning strategies, and competitors, An important part of the external analysis is a detailed consideration of customers’ characteristics and buying patterns, their decision processes, and factors influencing their purchase decisions.

This stage of the promotional planning process examines how the company can effectively communicate with consumers in its target markets. The promotional planner must think about the process consumers will go through in responding to marketing communications.

After the communication objectives are determined, attention turns to the promotional budget.

Developing the IMC program is generally the most involved and detailed step of the promotional planning process. At this stage of the planning process, decisions have to be made regarding the role and importance of each element and their coordination with one another.

The final stage of the promotional planning process is monitoring, evaluating, and controlling the promotional program. It is important to determine how well the promotional program is meeting communications objectives and helping the firm accomplish its overall marketing goals and objectives.