Marketing Communications

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES 155

Introduction

Once the target group of the marketing communications plan is well defi ned, it is crucial to

the planning process to set the main communications objectives. Th ese goals will determine

the choice of the right communications and media mix and will consequently infl uence mes-

sage and strategy development, budgeting and eff ectiveness research issues. Communications

goals will always have to fi t in with the marketing objectives such as market share, estimated

return fi gures or market penetration (the number of people or percentage of the target group

buying the product) goals. Th ese marketing objectives, in turn, are formulated to contribute

to the overall company goals, such as making profi ts, providing earnings for shareholders, etc.

Formulating marketing communications objectives is also important in judging the eff ective-

ness of a campaign. Th e question of whether an advertising campaign, promotional action or

whatever other communications plan has been ‘good’ or ‘eff ective’ depends on the goals that

were defi ned for that specifi c campaign. It is therefore impossible to judge campaigns or

individual communications executions without a thorough knowledge of the objectives.

Diff erent categories and types of objectives can be distinguished. Furthermore, the product

life cycle stage and the consumer’s choice situation will also infl uence the marketing com-

munications objectives.

Marketing communications objectives

Marketing communications objectives can be broadly divided into three categories: reach

goals , process goals a n d effectiveness goals ( Figure 5.1 ). Th e reach goal of communicating is to

reach the target groups in an eff ective and effi cient way. For this purpose a good segmentation

and audience defi nition are needed, as well as insights into the media behaviour of the

desired segments. Part of this problem was discussed earlier on target groups; the detailed

considerations of media planning will be the subject of a later chapter ( Chapter 8 ). Process

goals are conditions which should be established before any communications can be eff ective.

All communications should capture the attention of the target group, then appeal or be

appreciated, and last but not least be processed (and remembered). Th e third type of

communications goals are the eff ectiveness goals. Th ey are, of course, the most important

ones, since reach goals only assure suffi cient exposure, and process goals only ensure enough

processing of the message to make the eff ectiveness goals possible.

Evidently, long-term sales and market share growth are the ultimate objectives of most

marketing communications campaigns. However, sales are infl uenced by other marketing mix

instruments, such as product quality, design, benefi ts, packaging, distribution and pricing

strategies, as well as the market evolution, technology and innovations, and of course competitive

Figure 5.1 Categories of communications objectives

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