You are to choose a modern brand (Starbucks is the brand you will be using) and use the same brand throughout this exercise. Analyze the story that your brand is telling through its adver

1

Marketing Sunil Gupta, Series Editor

READING + INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS

Marketing Communications

JILL AVERY Harvard Business School

THALES S. TEIXEIRA

8186 | Revised: December 19, 2019

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 2

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

2 Essential Reading …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4

2.1 Marketing Communications Strategy ………………………………………………………………………………..4

2.2 Strategic Intent: Mission and Market …………………………………………………………………………………5

Mission: Defining Communication Objectives …………………………………………………………………. 6

Market: Defining the Audience ……………………………………………………………………………………… 10

2.3 Strategic Execution: Message and Media………………………………………………………………………… 16

Message: Translating Strategy into Story ……………………………………………………………………… 16

Media: Navigating the Storytelling Arena ………………………………………………………………………. 22

2.4 Strategic Impact: Money and Measurement …………………………………………………………………….. 28

Money: Budgeting for Marketing Communications ………………………………………………………… 28

Measurement: Calculating Return on Investment …………………………………………………………… 32

3 Key Terms ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 40

4 For Further Reading …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 42

5 Endnotes ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 42

6 Index ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 46

This reading contains links to online interactive illustrations and video, denoted by the icons above. To access these exercises, you will need a broadband internet connection. Verify that your browser meets the minimum technical requirements by visiting http://hbsp.harvard.edu/tech-specs.

Jill Avery, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and Thales S. Teixeira developed this Core Reading with the assistance of writer Jennifer LaVin.

Copyright © 2016 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 3

1 INTRODUCTION

ompanies develop a marketing communications strategy by crafting and communicating the voice and story of their brands to consumers in a way that, ideally, will achieve marketing objectives. When managers craft the story line

for a particular brand, they are creating a communications strategy that will be put to the test in the marketplace. Marketing communications translate the company’s value proposition into compelling narratives that can establish, maintain, or modify a brand image in consumers’ minds. They can entertain consumers or educate them; they can persuade consumers to purchase something new or remind them to repurchase. Creative narratives engage audiences, prompting consumers to think or feel something about the brand that induces them to action.

These brand narratives are delivered through a variety of channels, such as advertising, sales promotions, public relations, digital marketing, personal selling, and other promotional vehicles. Moreover, consumers themselves tell stories about brands, contributing to the narratives through word of mouth and social media. Current and potential customers are exposed to these communications as part of their daily lives, absorbing them, interacting with them, and, if the messaging is effective, responding to them by making a purchase and perhaps recommending the product to friends. Though in the past marketing managers were focused primarily on what message they wanted to deliver to consumers and which media channels to use, now they must be equally concerned about the messages consumers create on their own and spread to each other through social media.a

By developing and executing marketing communications strategies, managers broadcast the value that their products or services deliver to consumers. The goal is to optimize consumer engagement—that is, the cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral investment consumers make in positively interacting with a brand. Companies secure this all-important consumer engagement by developing and disseminating relevant communications that will resonate with consumers and, ultimately, increase sales.

We begin the reading with a description of marketing communications strategy, followed by a framework for designing strategies that will optimize consumer engagement. A thorough strategy is based on decisions related to what

a We recommend pairing this reading with Core Reading: Digital Marketing (HBP No. 8224), which

covers the material complexity of digital marketing and its influence on marketing communications in greater depth.

C

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 4

to say, how to say it, and to whom, where, and how often. In short, the strategy defines how to communicate in the most effective and efficient way.

The framework offers managers three broad phases for developing a marketing communications plan: strategic intent, strategic execution, and strategic impact. The reading explores these stages and the work that must be done within them— namely, the decisions regarding the 6Ms: mission, market, message, media, money, and measurement. Crafting such a plan ensures that coordinated and complementary messages are delivered in an integrated marketing communications (IMC) plan across all consumer touchpoints.

2 ESSENTIAL READING

2.1 Marketing Communications Strategy

The 6M model, summarized in Exhibit 1, provides a framework for the components of a comprehensive marketing communications strategy. Decisions about mission and market define the specific objectives of the communication and its audience. These two elements form the strategic intent of the marketing communications program. Message and media are decisions that sketch the story to be told and the storytelling arenas in which it will be delivered. These two elements capture the strategic execution of the marketing communications program. Money and measurement delineate the financial implications of the communication and how its return on investment will be assessed. These two elements define how much money will be spent and how the company will determine whether the spending is paying off. They embody the strategic impact that the campaign has in the marketplace.

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 5

EXHIBIT 1 The 6M Model of Marketing Communications

Source: Adapted from Harvard Business School, “Note on Marketing Strategy,” HBS No. 598-061, by Robert J. Dolan. Copyright 1997 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College; all rights reserved.

Let’s begin with a look at strategic intent and its two components.

2.2 Strategic Intent: Mission and Market

To establish the strategic intent of a marketing communications plan, managers need to (1) set an objective for the communication (mission), and (2) define the audience for the communication (market).

The goal of marketing communications, of course, almost always is to influence someone to buy a product or service. But before consumers can make a purchase, they must be made aware of a product’s or service’s existence and persuaded that it is the best solution for their needs. The mission of marketing communications can therefore range from facilitating that awareness to actually closing the deal— driving consumers who are aware of and predisposed to buy a particular product to a retail store, website, mobile app, or other point of purchase and helping them through the sale. (Because marketing communications encompasses personal selling, a salesperson’s help in a store is considered part of a marketing communications plan.)

After a sale, communications are often used to reassure consumers that they have made the right choice. Marketing communications also can be sales-building, driving short-term sales, or brand-building, creating and sustaining the brand as a long-term asset to ensure the steady flow of future sales. Marketing communications can be proactive, working to further a company’s business goals,

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 6

or they can be reactive—responding to communications that consumers initiate about the brand.

Accordingly, Exhibit 2 offers some examples of how different types of marketing communications facilitate consumers’ move through a five-stage process in their buying decisions. Advertising often serves as a trigger in the problem-recognition stage, reminding consumers of their needs or helping them identify problems they are encountering. Websites and in-store displays offer consumers important data about features and benefits to aid them in their search for solutions. Product brochures and salespeople help them organize this information so that they can effectively compare and contrast competing brands as they evaluate their solution alternatives. Sales promotions and in-store salespeople prompt consumers into making a purchase. Social media marketing allows consumers to intensify their connection to a brand after they buy it, while email marketing is often used to remind consumers to return for the next purchase. (For another framework of the buying process, see Core Reading: Consumer Behavior and the Buying Process [HBP No. 8167].)

Mission: Defining Communication Objectives

An integrated marketing communications plan often moves fluidly through the realms of thought, emotions, and motives, using different kinds of marketing communications to encourage consumers to think, feel, or do something as they progress through the decision-making process. Sometimes, evoking a strong emotion is enough to drive a purchase; at other times, consumers need to engage in intense cognition before they buy. Impulse buys often occur in the absence of significant emotion or cognition.

Understanding what will motivate a consumer to purchase helps marketers focus the mission of an integrated marketing communications plan. Some marketing communications channels, such as personal selling (in which knowledgeable salespeople foster personal relationships with potential buyers) evoke a cognitive think response by providing information that encourages consumers to consider the differences between products. Others, such as television advertising, provoke an affective feel response by telling stories that pull at consumers’ heartstrings or appeal to their egos to stimulate emotions that draw them closer to the brand. Finally, some channels, such as search advertising and coupons, elicit a behavioral do response by motivating consumers with calls for action to find a product, purchase it, or tell others about it. These cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses prompt the movement of consumers along a series of steps in a purchase-decision journey.

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 7

EXHIBIT 2 The Role of Marketing Communications in the Decision-Making Process

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 8

Some early marketing models used a funnel analogy to represent the main stages in a selling process—consumers’ journeys through the Think-Feel-Do process. For example, the hierarchy-of-effects model in Exhibit 3 outlines six stages of marketing activities designed to incite customers to various Think-Feel- Do outcomes.1 First, the company must grab consumers’ attention to make them aware of the product, competing in a crowded advertising environment to stand out. Second, the company must deliver information about the product’s features, benefits, and values so that consumers develop a set of associations that they relate to the product and/or brand. Third, the company must encourage a positive impression about the product or service in consumers’ hearts by forging emotional connections. Fourth, the company must help consumers generate a preference for the product and/or brand by favorably comparing it to other competitive products. Finally, the company must strengthen consumers’ preference so that it yields to conviction, the point at which they are convinced that the product and/or brand is the right one for them. The feeling of conviction must then be translated into the motivation to purchase, by means of a call for action that drives consumers to a point of sale.

EXHIBIT 3 The Hierarchy of Effects

Source: Adapted from Robert J. Lavidge and Gary A. Steiner, “A Model for Predictive Measurements of Advertising Effectiveness,” Journal of Marketing 25 (October 1961): 59–62.

The mental image of a funnel that becomes progressively narrower allowed marketers to envision consumers’ linear progression through the various stages. The shape of the funnel represents the fact that only a small portion of consumers who have engaged with the brand will be moved to action. A “leaky funnel,” one

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 9

in which high numbers of prospective customers fail to progress to the next stage, is costly and inefficient.

Contemporary models, on the other hand, reconceptualize the funnel analogy and relax its strict progression from awareness to purchase and its reliance on a Think-Feel-Do progression. Instead, they allow for variation in purchase journeys, depending on the type of consumer, product or service category, and purchase occasion. The stages are flexible and not necessarily sequential—sometimes, consumers purchase after a progression of thinking-feeling-doing activities, but sometimes they skip some of these steps or reorganize them into different patterns. 2 For example, when purchasing a computer, a Think-Feel-Do progression may dominate, but when purchasing perfume, some consumers may rely on their emotions as they respond to the perfume’s scent and then decide to purchase it (Feel-Do). Or consumers may experience a product such as a new snack food through a free trial and then think about whether it is right for them, forming an emotional attachment to the product only after they have begun to use it on a daily basis (Do-Think-Feel). Impulse purchases, such as picking up a pack of gum at the supermarket checkout line, are often made without much thinking or feeling; here, the “Doing” dominates the journey.

Establishing the specific mission of any marketing communications, then, requires an understanding of consumers’ position in the purchase journey. The marketer gains this understanding by identifying the stages that have already been completed and then determining what work is left to be done to move consumers through the remaining stages.

For example, the communication objectives for new products in new categories generally focus on creating awareness and suggesting situations where the product might be used. Consumers are often very good at avoiding marketing communications, especially in their initial consideration of product choices. To capture attention, therefore, marketing communications need to deliver engaging and useful content to consumers in convenient places at appropriate times. For example, Super Bowl ads often use humor to entertain a television audience prone to tuning out when the commercial block begins. Search engine marketing, serving up ads as a consumer browses for information online, is often the most effective place to capture consumers’ attention with useful information just before the moment of purchase.

The objectives of marketing communications for established products that face powerful competitors might focus on communicating the differentiating features or benefits of a product, aiming to build knowledge or preference. Consumers are often aware of many brands in a product category, but they don’t seriously consider all brands for purchase. Marketers need to understand, therefore, what makes consumers consider specific brands and what persuades them to buy those

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 10

brands. A deep understanding of consumer behavior is essential to recognizing the product features that customers most value or the benefits they most hope to obtain. These can then be highlighted in the communications narratives.

Setting the mission of a marketing communications plan outlines the job that needs to be accomplished. Some consumers, for example, may need to be made aware that they have a problem for which the market offers a solution. Other consumers may benefit from considering a new brand instead of defaulting to the brand that they have used for years. Others might need persuading through comparative information to choose one product over another, while other consumers might just need prompting to take the first step toward purchase.

Take, for example, Propecia’s marketing communications challenge. Propecia, a drug therapy that hindered the development of hormones that deteriorated men’s hair follicles, offered a solution for men’s hair loss. At the time of its launch, Propecia’s management team needed to achieve many marketing communications jobs. One was to convince men that male-pattern baldness was not inevitable and that a solution existed that could help them—hitting men at the top of the funnel. A second was to introduce men to the new product and brand and provide them with detailed information to explain how it addressed male- pattern baldness—assisting them with their information search. A third was to compare Propecia to Rogaine, the leading topical hair loss treatment on the market—helping men evaluate their marketplace options. A fourth was to call on primary-care doctors to introduce them to Propecia and encourage them to speak to their patients about hair loss—enlisting doctors as partners in the drive toward purchase. And a fifth was to encourage men experiencing hair loss to visit their doctors’ offices to talk about their condition—moving them to action. All these jobs required different narratives working together in an integrated marketing communications plan. Public relations helped complete the first job. Direct-to- consumer advertising addressed the second and third. “Detailing” by a dedicated sales force (i.e., educating physicians about products so that they would want to prescribe the product) achieved the fourth, and direct marketing assisted with the fifth. The company used a blend of cognitive, emotional, and motivational appeals delivered across different promotional vehicles to move men to purchase.

We next examine the other half of strategic intent: for whom, exactly, is the marketing communications intended?

Market: Defining the Audience

Marketing communications should be designed with a particular audience—the target market—in mind. Defining that audience well is a critical step in designing communications that will speak in ways that are resonant and relevant and to which potential customers will be receptive. The more precisely the audience is

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 11

defined, the better able managers are to choose the best story to tell and the right place in which to tell it.

Defining an audience well goes beyond identifying the demographic characteristics such as the age, gender, income, education level, or geography of its members. Psychographic information can help flesh out the day-to-day lives of consumers to aid with storytelling (the who). Understanding what the target market currently knows, believes, and feels about the brand and/or its competitors can illuminate attitudes that need to be changed, and details about the target market’s category-relevant behavioral characteristics can define strategic objectives that outline the job to be accomplished (the what). Information about the audience’s needs, preferences, and decision-making processes can provide insight into where and how marketing communications can most make an impact, clarifying both the triggers to and barriers against purchase (the why and how). Finally, data on shopping and media habits (the where and when) are essential for choosing promotional tactics and maximizing message placement.

In Core Reading: Segmentation and Targeting (HBP No. 8219), readers will find an outline of a process for identifying a firm’s potential customers and deciding which of those customers the firm should pursue. This process should be applied for each marketing communications program to identify the specific target audience for that particular communication.

Exhibit 4 depicts various ways marketers attempt to address different audiences through mass marketing (offering one message to lots of heterogeneous consumers), segment marketing (offering one message to a homogeneous target market), customized marketing (offering a personalized message to each individual consumer), and consumer-to-consumer marketing (generating content that encourages consumers to talk to each other about the brand).

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 12

EXHIBIT 4 Addressing Audiences in Different Ways

Take, for example, marketing communications for a car brand. Some communications programs speak to the entire target market that the firm is pursuing (mass marketing), such as a car advertisement on a highway billboard that is seen by all drivers. Other programs choose subsegments within the target market to address in a focused manner (segment marketing), such as a luxury car sponsorship of a golf event. Still other programs speak one-to-one with consumers through customized messaging (customized marketing), such as sponsored Facebook ads and Amazon’s product suggestions, both of which are based on personal preferences and previous car purchases and online browsing activity. Other promotional programs are designed to maximize conversations between consumers (consumer-to-consumer marketing or C2C); here, the company seeds a message, hoping that consumers will carry it widely to others in their social network. For example, Volkswagen’s classic “Punch Dub” campaign encouraged consumers to playfully punch each other on the arm every time they saw a Volkswagen Beetle on the street. Another common way to seed consumer conversations is to offer popular car bloggers advance test drives and free merchandise with the hope (or agreement) that they will mention it favorably.

Today’s consumers are interactive and participatory in marketing communications. They both co-create and disseminate marketing messages authored by them and by the company. They regularly provide online assessments of products and services, telling stories about their own consumer experience in chat rooms and other social media and creating consumer- generated advertising or brand parody videos that they disseminate via the internet. Brands like Doritos, with its “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign—which gave consumers a chance to make and submit a Doritos ad—took full advantage

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 13

of this trend; winning ads were aired during the Super Bowl and shared over social networks.

In defining the audience for marketing communications, managers must also consider the characteristics of that audience: whether it is passive or participatory. Many marketing communications programs are designed to be one- way and monological, or unidirectional: from firm to consumers. The company sends a prepackaged message, which it completely controls, to consumers, which they can receive only passively. A consumer’s typical daily routine is frequently interrupted by unidirectional marketing communications. For example, she drives past advertising billboards on the way to work; in the supermarket, she sees a screen of electronic advertising at the checkout line; and as she checks Facebook messages, she is bombarded with sponsored posts.

Other marketing communications programs are designed to be two-way and dialogical, or bidirectional; they provide a forum that allows for consumer response involving a give-and-take conversation between the firm and a consumer, and they expect consumer participation. In bidirectional communication, consumers play an active role, taking part in and shaping the conversation. For example, in many complex business-to-business (B2B) equipment sales, customers require detailed and specific technical information. Knowing this, companies such as Dell have created online consumer communities, where customers can ask questions, have them answered by company experts, or help each other with their specific business challenges. Dell offered its customers a highly educated and consultative sales staff, creating a bidirectional communication opportunity.

Still other programs are multidirectional, where the firm communicates with consumers, who then communicate with each other. Consumer-to-consumer communications involve a higher level of participation from the audience; in fact, “audience” becomes a misnomer, given the level of interaction and control that consumers have over the message. The audience moves from being the consumer of the communication to its coproducer, its most active role. Many types of digital marketing, including social media marketing, are designed to facilitate this type of communication. Consider the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, a marketing communications program to raise awareness of and funding for a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The ALS Association was one beneficiary of an online challenge gone viral, and then launched its own official ALS Ice Bucket Challenge after the summer of 2014 in the hopes that supporters would spread the message further.3 And 2.4 million people did just that, filming themselves dumping buckets of ice-cold water over their heads and posting the videos to social media platforms. Many people included a description of the disease for the people in their networks, as well as a call to action to donate to the

For the exclusive use of R. SINGH, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by RENU SINGH in 2022.

8186 | Core Reading: Marketing Communications 14

ALS Association, raising both awareness and funds. From 2014 to 2019, more than $115 million was raised through this campaign.4

As marketers work to define their audience, there’s yet another characteristic they m

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.