GLOSSARY 595arguments and find out what the information really has
to offer.
Co-branding : two or more brands are simultaneously
presented on one product.
Co-creation : soliciting input from customers for new
products.
Collaborative projects : social media type, the main idea
of which is that the joint effort of many actors leads to a
better outcome than any actor could achieve individually;
also referred to as ‘the wisdom of crowds’ (e.g. Wikipedia).
Collective advertising : when a government takes the initiative
for a campaign.
Collectivistic culture : culture in which people belong to
strong, cohesive in-groups (often extended families)
who look after and protect each other in exchange for
unquestioning loyalty.
Communications audit : all forms of internal and external
communications are studied to assess their consistency
with overall strategy, as well as their internal consistency.
Communications content research : used to help
communications creatives generate ideas about the content
of new communications stimuli.
Comparative advertising : an advertisement that directly
or indirectly compares one brand with others. A direct
comparative ad explicitly names the comparison brand
(often a well-known competitive brand) and claims that the
comparison brand is inferior to the advertised brand with
respect to a specific attribute. An indirect comparative ad
does not explicitly mention a comparison brand, but argues
to be superior on a certain attribute compared with other
brands.
Competitive parity budgeting analysis : companies look
at the amount of money that competitors spend on
communications and then copy their budgets.
Competitive tendering budgeting : a marketing
communications programme is decided on and
different agencies are requested to file a proposal
and a budget.
Competitor communications strategy research : competitive
ads, promotions, budgets and shares of voice, target groups,
positioning, communications strategies, media strategies, PR
material, etc., are collected and analysed to judge competitive
(communications) strategies in order to define target groups
and positioning strategies more clearly for the company’s
own products.
Conference-bound exhibitions : small exhibitions linked
to a conference. They have a low reach, but may be highly
effective as a result of their high selectivity on the target
group.
Confusing positioning : inconsistent communications or an
inconsistent choice of distribution channels would give a
customer a confused image of a company or brand.
Consistency in marketing communications : marketing
instruments combined in such a way that the company’s
offering is consistently marketed. In other words, all
marketing instruments have to work in the same direction,
and not conflict with each other.Consumer brand equity : the underlying customer- and
marketing-related components of brand equity.
Consumer promotions : sales promotions by manufacturers or
retailers targeted at end-consumers.
Consumer sovereignty : an ethical view that ethical marketing
decisions are determined by the answer to three important
questions. Is the target market vulnerable in ways that limit
consumer decision-making (consumer capability) and are
consumers’ expectations at purchase likely to be realised?
Do consumers have sufficient information to judge (consumer
information) and can consumers go elsewhere? Would they
incur substantial costs or inconvenience by transferring their
loyalty (consumer choice)?
Content communities : the main objective of content
communities is sharing content between users. Content
communities share different media types, such as text,
photos, videos and presentations (e.g. YouTube, Flickr,
Instagram).
Content sponsorship : placing an advertiser’s message in an
area on a website that stands out from other advertisements,
for instance a fixed and exclusive presence in a chosen
section that is relevant to the advertiser’s brand.
Continuous advertising schedule : the advertiser spends a
continuous amount of money throughout the whole campaign
period.
Contractualism : an ethical principle that focuses upon implied
obligation, contracts, duties and rules.
Controversial or shock advertising : advertising that
deliberately startles and offends its audience, by means of
deliberate norm violation – transgression of law or custom
(obscenity) or moral/social code (vulgarity) – or by showing
things that outrage the moral or physical senses (e.g.
provocative or disgusting images).
Co-operative advertising : two manufacturing companies,
or a retailer and a manufacturer, jointly develop an
advertising campaign.
Core product : the unique benefit that is being marketed.
It is the position, the unique place in the mind of the
consumer, that will be focused upon.
Corporate behaviour : the way in which the employees of
a company behave. It is an important factor in making the
corporate identity visible.
Corporate branding : the name of the company used for all the
company’s products.
Corporate communications : the total integrated approach
to the communications activity generated by all functional
departments of a company, targeted at all stakeholders of the
company, and aimed at establishing and maintaining the link
between strategic objectives, the corporate identity and the
corporate image in line.
Corporate culture : the deeper level of basic assumptions and
beliefs that are shared by members of an organisation, that
operate unconsciously and define in a basic ‘taken-for-granted’
fashion an organisation’s view of itself and its environment.
Corporate design : see Corporate symbolism.
Corporate identity : the set of meanings by which a company
allows itself to be known and through which it allows peopleZ01_PELS3221_05_SE_GLOS.indd 595Z01_PELS3221_05_SE_GLOS.indd 595 3/6/13 4:01 PM3/6/13 4:01 PM