5 Setting overall expenditure levels
We can use traditional approaches such as those suggested by Kotler et al. (2001). For
example:
Affordable method – the communications budget is set after subtracting fixed and vari-
able costs from anticipated revenues.
Percentage-of-sales methods– the communications budget is set as a percentage of fore-
cast sales revenues.
Competitive parity methods– expenditure is based on estimates of competitor expendi-
ture. For example, e-marketing spend is typically 10–15% of the marketing budget.
Objective and task method– this is a logical approach where budget is built up from all
the tasks required to achieve the objectives in the communications plan.CASE STUDY 8Activity 8.2 Selecting the best promotion techniques
Suggest the best mix of promotion techniques to build traffic for the following applications:
1 well-established B2C brand with high brand awareness;
2 dot-com start-up;
3 small business aiming to export;
4 common B2C product, e.g. household insurance;
5 specialist B2B product.Case Study 8 Making FMCG brands sizzle online
Context
Large fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) organisations
such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble or Masterfoods face
many challenges when exploiting interactive communica-
tions. This case illustrates some of the following challenges:
The case for interactive spend is less clear than for
companies with a transactional online presence since
typically no sales can be directly generated online.
Instead, these companies have to assess the role of
their interactive communications in generating aware-
ness, brand favourability and purchase intent.
Assessing the optimal amount of investment in digital
media on the company web site and third-party web
sites relative to offline media is difficult.
Creative executions which work well in TV and print
may work less well online. Creative variants may need
to be devised to make best use of the digital media.
Some online marketing communications tools such as
search engine marketing and affiliate marketing that work
well for higher-involvement products are less relevant.
Many of the brands are marketed internationally, so
some consistency of messaging across countries is
required, but also with a degree of localisation.
We will look at these challenges, and some of the oppor-
tunities through looking at different examples of how varied
Unilever brands have exploited digital media in different
campaigns. Unilever has products in three main areas:
foods, personal care and home care. In 1998 there were no
digital media, but in line with the dot-com boom many sites
were built over the next five years for different products.
More recently, digital marketing is managed centrally, but
elements are included in many campaigns as part of
Unilever communications channel planning for its different
brands. Response by e-mail, SMS or interactive TV is used
to build the database about consumer preferences.Birdseye develops brand positioning – ‘We don’t
play with your food’
If you visit the Birdseye UK site (www.birdseye.co.uk),
you will see that the site explains to visitors its core brand
proposition through the messaging: ‘We don’t play with
your food: Free from artificial flavours and quick frozen to
keep nature’s goodness locked in.’
The site also appeals to an audience who are particu-
larly concerned about food and nutrition – the ‘Health and
Nutrition’ section is one of the most popular on the site
with content for people dieting, diabetics and vegetarians.