1. Chapter 10: Marketing Communications Programs

2. Role of Marketing Communications
more to marketing communications than advertising; its role is to inform, persuade and remind the customer
closely related to perception and image: everything we do communicates
one of the principal objectives is to create awareness and to communicate information
the communications process is essential for a firm to get its messages across to target segments of the market

3. Marketing Communications Issues
we communicate with customers and the public in many different ways; how do we ensure that all of those messages are coordinated?
some of the communications messages sent are unintentional or informal
think also about the informal ways that we communicate and the messages that these send to customers and others

4. Marketing Communications Methods
the marketing communications program may consist of five approaches:
personal selling: in person or via technology
advertising: paid for and in the media
sales promotion: short-term demand stimulation
public relations: contribute to positive attitudes
publicity: stimulating news stories
all must be coordinated so that consistent messages are sent concerning the company

5. Integrated Marketing Communications
IMC refers to the process of coordinated communications with customers and others
in a cluttered communications environment, all messages should be coordinated
goal is to produce a consistent and continuous flow of information tailored to the needs of the target audience
achieves a “common look and feel”

6. The Communications Process
communications requires a channel, with a sender and a receiver, to handle the message
a message is first encoded by the sender
the communications channel is then used to deliver the message to the sender
the sender decodes the message, based on his or her frame of reference and experience
may be a need for a response and feedback
the process can be interrupted by noise

7. Figure 10-1 The Communication Process in Marketing Communications

8. Determining the Mix
what combination of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, publicity, and public relations will work best?
factors considered in setting the marketing communications mix include:
characteristics of the target market
nature of the product or service
life cycle stage of the product or service
budget available to spend

9. Push or Pull Strategy
a push strategy directs promotional efforts at channel members; a pull strategy directs promotion at the end consumer
many products, such as business products, are promoted with a push strategy, involving personal selling and use of trade promotions
most consumer products would rely more heavily on a pull strategy where promotion is directed at the consumer to stimulate demand

10. Figure 10-2 Push and Pull Strategies of Marketing Communications

11. Setting the Communications Budget
it is difficult for many firms to set budgets because results are difficult to measure
consider the pros and cons of these approaches to setting promotional budgets:
spend a fixed percentage of sales
spend what we feel we can afford
spend what the competition spends
spend what it takes to achieve objectives

12. Regulating Marketing Communications
advertising and promotional efforts are closely regulated in Canada at many levels, including industry voluntary self-regulation
the federal Competition Act regulates:
false and misleading advertising
“sale price” advertising
contests and games of chance
promotional allowances
“bait and switch” advertising