Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Approach Chris Hackley Chapter 1 Introduction

Indicative content for Chapter 1 Introduction to the second edition The changing global advertising environment The challenges facing advertising agencies What is advertising? The promotional mix Studying advertising: managerial, consumer and societal perspectives Brands and symbolism in Integrated Marketing Communication

Introduction to the 2nd Edition This book is the second edition to Advertising and Promotion: Communicating Brands (2005), Sage, London. Both editions have been developed from courses taught by the author for leading UK universities and are designed primarily for undergraduate and postgraduate students of business, management and social science.

NEW to this edition: A stronger focus on integrated marketing communications within the new media environment and a deeper treatment of the promotional mix.   New chapters on ‘The Brand and Integrated Marketing Communications Planning’, ‘Promotional Media in the Digital Age’, ‘Non-Advertising Promotion’ and ‘E-marketing and Advertising’. Expanded coverage of contemporary topics, including: new media, the internet, sponsorship, branding, direct marketing, e-marketing and web 2.0, ethics, and social responsibility and regulation. Focuses on the implications for advertising of the continuing changes in the media infrastructure and media consumption patterns, and the new media funding models emerging as a result. Updated references, sources and weblinks and new original cases and vignettes including Samsung and Dove, along with classic examples from Benetton and Levi’s. New companion website including a full instructors’ manual for lecturers, including PowerPoint slides and extra case studies, and access to full-text journal articles for students.

The Changing Global Advertising Environment Changes in the global advertising environment include: Web 2.0 and user-generated content New funding models for media programming Audience figures fragmenting across many new media vehicles Lower audiences for traditional media Increase of mobile access to the internet

The challenges to advertising agencies The pitching process for new business is being rendered less relevant by the use of online blogging Agencies are expected to provide integrated solutions and need to access expertise in multiple media The decline of spot advertising means that agencies, like content providers, have to look to new revenue streams

What is advertising? Advertising is traditionally known as a paid-for promotional message carried on a mass medium It is one element of the promotional mix, which in turn is part of the marketing mix (4 Ps) The promotional mix includes forms and techniques of promotional communication, for example, public relations, sales promotion, celebrity endorsement, product placement, sponsorship, personal selling, direct mail and direct marketing, exhibitions and internet marketing communication Research has suggested that consumers tend to regard all promotion generically as advertising

Advertising as entertainment Changes in the media environment and in patterns and styles of media consumption mean that advertising can be difficult to fit into a simple definition For example, advertising has become valued as entertainment in itself Consumers pay to download favourite ads TV compilation shows of the funniest ads are now common Ads made as virals and posted on social networking websites can generate huge interest, comment, sharing and even coverage in traditional news media

Entertainment as advertising Generating consumer engagement has become central to brand planning, and placing brands in entertainment is one way to achieve this. Movies, TV shows, computer and video games, novels, stage plays and popular songs all feature brands, often paid-for by brand clients. In effect, advertising has merged with mediated entertainment to some extent.

Studying advertising The Consumer Perspective Advertising is a part of our environment which we understand holistically The Managerial Perspective Advertising, seen as all promotional communication, is a key element of branding The Societal Perspective Advertising reflects and influences consumer culture with wider social implications

Brands and Symbolism in Integrated Marketing Communication Advertising, broadly conceived as all promotional communication, can be seen as the most important element of competitive advantage in consumer markets since it creates and sustains brand differentiation The brand is the central concept in integrated marketing communication (IMC) planning One aim of IMC is to present the same brand values and personality across all media

Brand functionality and symbolism Functionality refers to what a brand does Symbolism refers to what a brand means Meanings are projected onto the brand by consumers in engagement with it A brand’s meanings might be heavily influenced by advertising but they are also subject to other influences through word of mouth, blogging, networking and PR

Chapter 1 review questions 1  Make a list of all the forms of advertising and promotion that you have encountered or heard of in the last month. Does the list surprise you? Can you think of any social spaces or media that have not yet been exploited by advertisers?

2 After reading this chapter, has your view of advertising’s social role changed? Make a list of arguments in favour of advertising and contrast it with a list of arguments against advertising. Convene a study group to discuss their implications: can the opposing viewpoints be reconciled?

3 List all the communication sources you can think of that might potentially influence your perception of a brand. Can you think of ways in which your perception of three brands has been so influenced? In your view, which communications channel was most influential in forming your impression of the brand? Why was this?

4 Gather together all the promotional material you can find for two brands. What meanings do you feel are implied by the imagery, the typography and the other features of these promotions? Could the meanings be interpreted differently by different people?