Meghala IMC Assignment 1

8/3/2019 Meghala IMC Assignment 1

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Integrated

MarketingCommunication

Assignment 1

Submitted by:Meghala Selvaraj

1CR09MBA30

MBA IV Sem - Marketing


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1. Explain differences amongst advertising, promotion, communication and IMC.Advertising and promotion are two marketing tools and they are both used in the modern

marketing. At first sight it is very hard to see the exact difference between advertising and

promotion. Both advertising and promotion use the same techniques and the gained results

are basically the same.

However, there are a few things that highlight the difference between advertising and

promotion. These differences are the following:

amount of time spent ( advertising need more time for results, while promotions haveinstant effects )

impact on overall sales ( advertising can produce greater profits, promotion lowerprofits )

overall costs general purpose company type

The advertising techniques are often used by middle level and large level companies. The

goals of these companies are the strengthening of their brand and the building of long term

sales. The most popular types of advertising are the television and radio adverts, national or

local press advertisements, large billboards and posters.

The main power of advertising is creating strong brands and making long term sales. Beside

the long term sales advertising also helps to improve short term and middle term sales too.

Building and the strengthening of the consumer loyalty is the ultimate goal of advertising.

After starting an advertising campaign we must wait a longer period of time before we can

see any substantial results. This time period can be from months to even years. Because of

this time frame and the high initial costs, advertising is suitable for large companies and

corporations only.

On contrary to advertising, promotion is more focused towards the short term results.

Although promotion is also participating in the process of brand building this is not its goal.The only major goal of the promotion is to build the sales in the short time period. The most

popular ways of promotion are the discount coupons in the local press, two for one special

promotion, free product samples and other special events held in stores.

The creation of promotions is very easy and they can result in very good short term gains.

The cost of the promotion is significantly lower than advertising and because of this fact

promotions are more suitable for small companies. The cost efficiency and the required time

frame do not exclude medium companies or large companies to organize promotions. On the

contrary, medium and large corporations also set up promotions; the everyday example is the

daily or weekly product promotions in large national store chains.


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Of course, there is a number of similarities in advertising and promotions. These two

marketing tools are sometimes support each other and it is not rare that advertising campaigns

use promotions too. During advertising campaigns, promotions are used to make the overall

success of the campaign greater.

Integrated Marketing Communications:-

A management concept that is designed to make all aspects of marketing communication

such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing work together as a

unified force, rather than permitting each to work in isolation.

Normal Marketing: -

Normal flow is the way that elements are displayed in a Web page in most circumstances.

Having a Internet marketing strategy gives you a measurable and definitive way to targetyour market and position your business so that those looking for what you have to offer are

finding you easily. This is only the first level of the sales process, but it is vital to the success

of your online business, but remember traffic marketing is not sales.

2. Explain the importance of IMC.Importance of IMC

There have been many shifts in the advertising and media industry that have caused IMC todevelop into a primary strategy for most advertisers

7 main shifts

From media advertising to multiple forms of communication (including promotions,product placements, mailers...)

From mass media to more specialized media, which are centered around specifictarget audiences.

From a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated market. The marketcontrol has transfered into the consumer's hands.

From general-focus advertising and marketing to data-based marketing. From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability. Agencies now play

a larger role in advertising than ever before.

From traditional compensation to performance-based compensation. This encouragespeople to do better because they are rewarded for the increase in sales or benefits they

cause to the company.

From limited Internet access to widespread Internet availability. This means thatpeople can not only have access to what they want 24/7 but that advertisers can also

target different people 24 hours a day.


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3. Explain the media planning process in details.

Media Planning Process

Situation analysis

* Strategy & targets

(business/brand/consumer)

* Market situation and competition

analysis

* Marketing and media objectives

Objectives

* Definition of communication

objectives

* cognitive-oriented objectives

(awareness, recall)

* affective-oriented objectives (interest, brand positioning,

brand development, brand management)

* cognitive-oriented objectives (purchase intentions,

customer loyalty)

Target group analysis

* target group identification: two-step segmentation process

* definition of core target groups based on

- demographic characteristics (age, gender)

- psychographic characteristics (interests, buying habits)

- socioeconomic characteristics (occupation, social status,

income, buying power)

- behavioural characteristics (buying behaviour, decision behaviour)

Strategic media planning

* Campaign strategy (duration, timing, recency /burst strategy)

* Media mix and budgeting

* Advertising impact

* Ad specials

Detail planning/Optimization


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* Detail planning for each media channel

* Availability

* Dates of publication

* Selection of time slots

* Positioning within the magazine or commercial break

Purchasing

* Booking (order management, production plans)

* Job handling (artwork, tapes)

* Rescheduling/Optimization

Completion

* Controlling, documentation* Invoicing

Evaluation/Controlling

* Campaign performance (expost analysis)

* Planning, purchasing efficiency

* Competition reporting

Negotiations/Discounts

* Special conditions, performance optimization

* Client-specific agreements

Steps to Media Planning

Every media plan begins with target audience. The target audience can be classified in terms

of age, sex, income, education, occupation and other variables. The audience can also be

classified as children teenagers, young adults, office goers, newly married couples, parents,

grandparents, etc. i.e. DECIDING ON TARGET MARKETS

The classification of the target audience helps the media planner to understand the media

consumption habits, and accordingly choose the most appropriate media or media-mix The

media planner can also select the most appropriate programme (in case of radio and TV) to

insert advertisement.

Matching media and market

Advertisers must always attempt to match the profile of the target market with the

demographic characteristics of a given mediums audience. Let us consider an example ofcigarette advertising. The target market for this is men in the age group of 25 to 60 years. The
http://drypen.in/media-resource/steps-to-media-planning.htmlhttp://drypen.in/media-resource/steps-to-media-planning.html


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advertiser would consider placing ads in magazines having a predominantly male readership.

Advertising in magazines having a predominantly female readership would be mostly

wasteful for this product. It may be true that rarely does any magazine have a 100 percent

male readership. Even so, when selecting a predominantly mens magazine, the advertiser

would minimize wasteful expenditure, Some media, such as general interest consumermagazines and newspapers, network radio and television offer to an advertiser the means of

transmitting ad messages to a cross-section of the consumer market. Against this, some other

media, such as spot radio and television, special interest magazines, business publications,

and some business newspapers offer the means of reaching selective group of audience. The

selectivity offered by some media is useful for advertisers, for it enables them to reach a

distinct target market with minimum waste. In fact, a great deal of information on the media

about their demographic characteristics is provided by the media themselves. The objective

of any media planner is to achieve the best possible matching of the media and the market.

DECIDING ON MEDIA OBJECTIVES:

The media planner has to decide on the media objectives. Media objectives often are stated in

terms of reach, frequency, gross rating points and continuity.

Media objectives

You can contribute most to the media process in the definition of objectives (what you want

the plan to accomplish). Before media planning can start, companies have to define the

marketing objectives of the product/ idea proposed to be advertised.

For example, if a professional camera manufacturer decides to launch an automatic camera to

expand his market, his marketing objective would be to reach those segments of the

population who are photo enthusiasts but do not want to be hassled by the intricacies of

operation of professional cameras, the fun loving people who want to capture moments of joy

and togetherness. The manufacturer may also target the existing professional camera users to

consider a replacement in order to have the pleasure of an automatic camera, which obviously

will be faster, having mastered the manual one. The marketing objective, hence, would be to

extend distribution into new geographic markets or income groups as also the current users of

cameras

The following could be the media objectives

To reach photo enthusiasts of that age and income group who are the chief purchasers. To concentrate the greatest weight in urban areas where the target audience would

normally be found and where new ideas gain a quicker response.

To provide advertising support at a consistent level except when it needs extra weightduring announcements and the holiday season, when such target buyers are planning

to visit exotic places or to meet their kith and kin.


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To select those media, which will help strengthen the creative strategy and helpdemonstrate convenience, ease of shooting and, of course, excellent results. The Hot

Shot camera with theKhatak sound became an instant success with the photo

enthusiasts in the late eighties in India.

To reach target buyers through those media to gain greater frequency and lesser costper opportunity

Media objectives are built around answers to five questions: who, when, where, how often,

and in what way?

MEDIA EVALUATION

After the objectives are defined there is a need to evaluate each media in order to reach a

conclusion about the type of media that will be most effective for the accomplishment of the

objectives.

The objects of the evaluation are:

To see which media are feasible. To pick the main medium. To prepare for the decision on how it should be used. To see whether there are suitable supporting media if required.

Creative suitability:

There may be obvious reasons why a particular medium is especially suitable for the

campaign or another is unsuitable, a coupon is to be included or the absence of colour is

critical. Often the preference of the creative group is not backed up by concrete evidence but

they have strong views nevertheless about the media to use and those not to use.

The agency is not in the business of reaching consumers with exposures of advertisements

(which tend to be the media departments natural criterion), but in the business of selling the

product. So if the creative choice looks at all reasonable in media terms, it is usually sensible

for the planning to accept it.

Sometimes the creative choice is unreasonable and may have been reached without full

consideration of the alternatives.

An idea:

Sometimes a media idea, or better an idea which involves media and creative content, is

obviously right or simply a novelty, which is expected to attract attention and so work. A

press advertisement in the shape of the product, using publications that have never before

carried this type of advertising, a radio commercial announcing officially there is now noshortage of the product, a TV commercial that starts with silence and black screen, a poster


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that looks like a shop window and so on. Sometimes a change is as good as an increased

budget.

Proven effectiveness:

When there is evidence that a particular medium is the most efficient, the choice is obvious.

The evidence may come from the tests on our own product or from a study of competitors

activities.

The advertiser often insists on using the same medium as before, even without testing its

effectiveness. The best predictor of an advertising schedule is the schedule for the previous

year. This is not always laziness. It is partly because the media scene is not very different

from year to year: media change is dictated by a major shift in the market place, a new

medium, a new definition of the target, or a new advertising idea. Advertisers resist change

because it involves more risk than to continue with a proven, viable strategy.

Availability and timing:

The type of product or copy claim may prevent the use of a medium- this is most likely to

rule out TV, on which, for example cigarettes are not advertised. The flexibility required by

the advertiser, for example being able to cancel or change advertising at a few days notice,

may also rule out a medium-for example it may make colour press impossible.

Competition:

We cant come off the box, thats where our competitors are.

Look, theres no advertising for this product in womens magazines: lets dominate there.

Of the two policies- match the competition or avoid it- the first is more common in media

choice. This may be because the main purpose of the advertising is defensive- to reassure

existing buyers and reassure existing buyers and diffuse competitors attacks. It may also be a

fear of leaving him to dominate a medium. Or the medium normally chosen is simply the

most suitable for that product group. Or the consumer and the trade have come to expect the

advertising to be in that medium and look for it there, so it works best there.; on the same

principle, shops often do better together in the High Street than scattered over the town.

These arguments apply to large advertisers: McDougalls will not leave spillers to be the only

large flour manufacturer on TV, nor Cadburys leave TV to Mars. But for the small budgets it

could be inefficient to hit competition at knee-level. A small advertiser might do better to

dominate a less used medium.

CHOOSING AMONG MAJOR MEDIA TYPES:


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The media planner has to know the capacity of the major media types to deliver reach,

frequency, and impact. The major advertising media along with their costs, advantages, and

limitations are to be well understood. Every media plan requires that specific media types be

selectedDoordarshan, Direct mail, satellite TV, newspapers, magazines, etc. Media

planners must consider several variables before choosing among major types:

Target audience media habits:

This is the most important factor. Housewives watch more of television, whereas, working

women go for magazines. Again television programmes have different viewers. For instance,

world this week is viewed by teenagers and young adults. Therefore, it would be advisable

to advertise during World thisweek such products which are of interest to teenagers and

young adults. Radio and television are the most effective media for reaching teenagers.

Products:

Products that require demonstration can suit for television. For example, the demonstration of

the use of a vacuum cleaner by Eureka Forbes. Financial advertising such as new issue of

shares is good in newspapers. Women's dresses are best shown in color magazines, and

Polaroid cameras a best demonstrated on television. Media types have different potentials for

demonstration, visualization, explanation, believability, and color.

Again there are media restrictions on certain products. For instance, alcoholic drinks and

cigarettes cannot be advertised in press as well as on DD and AIR, hence these two options

are totally ruled out.

Message:

The type of message dictates the type of media. For example, an ad that features technical

information is best suited for specific magazines. Again, an ad from retailer announcing

major sale on discount requires more of local newspapers.

Cost Factor:

Television is very expensive, whereas, radio is very economical. However, cost is not the

only factor, even if it is calculated on the basis of cost per- person reached. The impact of the

media is to be taken into account.

SELECTING SPECIFIC MEDIA VEHICLES

Once a decision is made on media types, specific media vehicles within each medium must

be chosen. For instance, the media planner may take a decision to select only magazines. The

question now appears in which magazines. There are several classes of magazines- General

interest like Readers digest, Women Interest magazines like Femina, Savvy, Elle, Business


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interest magazines like Business India, Business Today. If the decision is to select Business

Interest Magazines- then the media planner may consider the following:

Business India Business World Fortune India Dalal Street Journal Business Today Advertising & Marketing

4. Explain the role of advertising agency in creating and designing an advertisement.Professionals at advertising agencies and other advertising organizations offer a number of

functions including:

Account ManagementWithin an advertising agency the account manager oraccount executive is tasked with handling all major decisions related to a specific

client. These responsibilities include locating and negotiating to acquire clients. Once

the client has agreed to work with the agency, the account manager works closely

with the client to develop an advertising strategy. For very large clients, such as large

consumer products companies, an advertising agency may assign an account manager

to work full-time with only one client and, possibly, with only one of the clients

product lines. For smaller accounts an account manager may simultaneously manage

several different, though non-competing, accounts.

Creative TeamThe principle role of account managers is to manage the overalladvertising campaign for a client, which often includes delegating selective tasks to

specialists. For large accounts one task account managers routinely delegate involves

generating ideas, designing concepts and creating the final advertisement, which

generally becomes the responsibility of the agencys creative team. An agencys

creative team consists of specialists in graphic design, film and audio production,

copywriting, computer programming, and much more.

ResearchersFull-service advertising agencies employ market researchers whoassess a clients market situation, including understanding customers and competitors,and also are used to test creative ideas. For instance, in the early stages of an

advertising campaign researchers may run focus group sessions with selected

members of the clients target market in order to get their reaction to several

advertising concepts. Researchers are also used following the completion of an

advertising campaign to measure whether the campaign reached its objectives.

Media PlannersOnce an advertisement is created, it must be placed through anappropriate advertising media. Each advertising media, of which there are thousands,

has its own unique methods for accepting advertisements, such as different

advertising cost structures (i.e., what it costs marketers to place an ad), differentrequirements for accepting ad designs (e.g., size of ad), different ways placements can


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be purchased (e.g., direct contact with media or through third-party seller), and

different time schedules (i.e., when ad will be run). Understanding the nuances of

different media is the role of a media planner, who looks for the best media match for

a client and also negotiates the best deals.

5. Explain the concept of IMC in with reference of rural market.

Promotion strategies in Rural market

Customized promotional media & messages need to be developed by the organizations to

effectively target the rural market. The following strategies can be considered while

developing promotional campaigns for the rural markets:

1. Think Global Act LocalRural population is diverse, but the commonalities of their ethos & simple living

habits need to be understood for advertising to succeed. For that, the theme of theadvertisement needs to revolve among universal themes, such as family-love. But the

context, storyline, language & idioms should be such that the rural audience of

different rural market segments can relate to.

2. Think in Local IdiomThis is the need of the advertising professionals who can think like the rural people.

The only we can have insights like Thanda matlab Coca Cola. There should be the

use of language writers who understands the rural & regional pulse better.

3. Simplicity & ClarityAll promotional messages targeted at rural audience need to be simple & clear, which

can be easily understood, & they should not include any confusing elements. It is

preferable that it has only a few propositions at a time. Bombarding rural consumers

with too much, in less time can easily confuse them & leave them bewildered.

Promotional message should highlight only the functional values of the product &

explains how those values can make the consumers life even better & solve any of

his problems.

4. Narrative Story StyleThe promotional message can be delivered in the form of an entertaining story with a

message depicting how the brand delivers larger good to the family & society. The

theme of the story line can be about how the product can solve the problems of the

rural consumers.

5. Choice of Brand AmbassadorBrand Ambassador for the rural markets need to be picked carefully as urban

successes might not get replicated in the rural markets. That is why Govinda in the

Mirinda as boosted the sales of the drink in the rural markets. An organization might

spend a lot of money in hiring a brand ambassador only to find out later that it had

little impact on the rural consumer.

Documents

Meghala IMC Assignment 1