222 CHAPTER 8 COMMUNICATINGTOMASSMARKETS
Summary
Marketingcommunicationremainsoneofthemostvisibleandcontroversialaspectsofmarketing.
Everydayweseehundredsofads,redeemcoupons,areapproachedbya varietyofsalespeople,and
aretoldbycountlesscompanieshowgoodtheyare.Thischapterintroducesthepersuasivearmof
marketingcommunication.Initwesuggestthatsinceeverythingabouta companyis goingtocom-
municatesomething,itwouldbebeneficialtohaveasmuchcontroloverthisprocessaspossible.
Otherreasonsforplanningthecommunicationeffortarealsodiscussed,asaretheprimaryobjec-
tives:(1)tocommunicate,(2)toconvince,and(3)tocompete.Thesystemsmodelofcommunica-
tionisdiscussedtoclarifythegeneralcommunicationsprocess.Componentsofthisprocessaredefined
anddescribed.Typesofcommunicationssystemsaredescribed.IMCisdefinedfroma broadper-
spective,andthencategorizedintofourcomponents:(1)advertising,(2)personalselling,(3)public
relations,and(4)salespromotion.Theeight-stepprocessinvolvedindesigninganIMCstrategyis
discussed.
Advertisingisdiscussedinthecontextofmarketingcommunicationthatistargetedatmass
markets.Itcontainsa sequentialprocess,butishigWightedthroughitscreativestrategyandmedia
strategy.
Salespromotionandpublicrelationsaretwocomponentsthatarebothmisunderstoodandmis-
used.Thesecondpartofthischapterdevelopssome basicconceptsrelatedtobothstrategies.Rea-
sonsforsalespromotionandtypesofsalespromotionarediscussed.Publicrelationsisviewedin
termsofitstwopublics,internalandexternal.Severaltechniquesusedtoreachthesepublicsare
proposed.
Professionalsellinghasbeendefinedaspersonalcontactaimedatsuccessfullypersuading
prospectstobuyproductsorservicesfromwhichtheycanderivesuitablebenefits.Sellingis a major
forceinoureconomy,bothintermsofemploymentanditsimpactonthesuccessofvariousorgan-
izations.Theproduct,customer,competition,andenvironmentmustallbeconsideredindetermin-
ingtherelativeemphasistoplaceonpersonalsellinginthepromotionalmix.Theactivitiesofa
salespersoncanbebrokenintoa seriesofstepscalledthesalesprocess.Notallofthestepsarerequired
foreverysale,butthecompleteprocessincludesprospecting, preapproach,planningthepresenta-
tion,theapproach,deliveringthepresentation,handlingobjectives,closing,andfollow-up.
Marketer's Vocabulary
Advertising(consumer'sperspective) Oneofseveralincomingmessagesdirectedatthecon-
sumer,thesalienceofwhichisinfluencedbytheemotional,physical,andneedstateoftheindi-
vidual,andthebenefitofwhichcanbeinformation,motivation,andentertainment.
Advertising(societalperspective) Aninstitutionofsocietythathasthecapabilityofinforming
thecitizen,stimulatingeconomicgrowth,andprovidingknowledgeusefulindecisionmaking,as
wellasthetendencybothtomisallocatescarceeconomicresourcesandleadconsumerstoengage
inbehaviorthatmaynotbeintheirbestinterest.
Advertising(businessperspective) Advertising'sfunctionis primarilytoinformpotentialbuy-
ersoftheproblem-solvingutilityofa firm'smarketoffering,withtheobjectiveofdevelopingcon-
sumerpreferencesfora particularbrand.
Advertisingcampaign Theculminationofallthestrategic,creative,andoperationaleffortsof
thepeopleworkingtowardsa particularsetofadvertisingobjectives.
Creativestrategy Concernswhatanadvertiserisgoingtosaytoanaudience,basedonthe
advertisingobjectives.Strategyshouldoutlinewhatimpressionsthecampaignshouldconveyto
thetargetaudience.
