Major Decisions in Marketing PR
In considering when and how to use MPR, management must follow the same process as it does for advertising and sales promotion: Establish the marketing objectives, choose the messages and vehicles, implement the plan carefully, and evaluate the results. The main tools of MPR are described in Table 5.6.41
^ Establishing the marketing objectives. These may include: Build awareness of a product, service, person, organization, or an idea; add credibility by communicating a message in an editorial context; boost sales force and dealer enthusiasm; and hold down promotion costs while gaining share of mind. Management needs to set specific objectives for each MPR campaign so the results can be evaluated. PR expert Thomas L. Harris suggests PR and direct-response marketing work together to build marketplace excitement before media advertising breaks, build a core customer base, build a one-to-one relationship with consumers, turn satisfied customers into advocates, and influence opinion leaders and influencers.42
^ Choosing messages and vehicles. The MPR expert must identify or develop interesting stories to tell about the product. If there are few stories, the expert should propose
294 Chapter 15 Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Communications Table 5.6 Major Tools in Marketing PR
Publications: Companies rely extensively on published materials to reach and influence target markets, including annual reports, brochures, articles, printed and on-line newsletters and magazines, and audiovisual materials.
Events: Companies can draw attention to new products or other company activities by arranging special events like news conferences, on-line chats, seminars, exhibits, contests and competitions, and sport and cultural sponsorships that will reach the target publics. News: One of the major tasks of PR professionals is to find or create favorable news about the company, its products, and its people.The next step—getting the media to accept press releases and attend press conferences—calls for marketing and interpersonal skills. Speeches: Speeches are another tool for creating product and company publicity and building the company's image.
Public-Service Activities: Companies can build goodwill by contributing money and time to good causes.
Identity Media: To attract attention and spark recognition, the firm's visual identity is carried by its logos, stationery, brochures, signs, business forms, business cards,Web site, buildings, uniforms, and dress codes.
newsworthy events to sponsor as a way of stimulating media coverage. For example, when Anheuser-Busch sponsored a Black World Championship Rodeo in Brooklyn, the event attracted more than 5,000 spectators.
^ Implementing and evaluating the plan. PR implementation must be handled with care. A great story is easy to place, but other stories might not get past busy editors. One of the chief assets of publicists is their personal relationship with media editors. MPR's contribution to the bottom line is difficult to measure because it is used along with other promotional tools. The easiest measure is the number of exposures obtained in the media, including the audience size and the cost of that space and time if purchased at advertising rates. Other measures include changes in product awareness, comprehension, or attitude resulting from the MPR campaign (after allowing for the effect of other promotional tools). The most satisfactory measure, however, is sales-and-profit impact, allowing the company to determine its return on MPR investment.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Modern marketing calls for more than developing a good product, pricing it attractively, and making it accessible to target customers. Companies must also communicate with present and potential stakeholders, and with the general public. The marketing communications mix consists of five major modes of communication: advertising, sales promotion, public relations and publicity, personal selling, and direct marketing.
Developing effective marketing communications involves eight steps: (1) Identify the target audience, (2) determine the communication objectives, (3) design the message, (4) select the communication channels, (5) establish the total communications budget, (6) decide on the communications mix, (7) measure the communications' results, and (8) manage the integrated marketing communication process.
Managing the communications process calls for integrated marketing communications (IMC), a concept that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communications disciplines and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum communications' impact through the seamless integration of discrete messages.
Advertising is any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Developing an advertising program involves setting objectives, setting a budget, choosing the advertising message, determining how the message will be generated, evaluating and selecting messages, executing the message, developing media strategies by establishing the ad's desired reach, frequency, and impact and then choosing the media that will deliver the desired results, and evaluating the communication and sales effects of the advertising.
Sales promotion consists of a diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, that are designed to stimulate trial or quicker or greater purchase of particular goods or services by consumers or the trade. Sales promotion includes tools for consumer promotion, trade promotion, and business- and sales force promotion. In using sales promotion, as in using advertising, a company must set its objectives, select the tools, develop the program, pretest the program, implement and control it, and evaluate the results. Although the use of sales promotion is growing—and the technique tends to increase sales and market share in the short run—it is not generally considered a long-term brand-building technique.
A public is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on a company's ability to achieve its objectives. Public relations (PR) involves a variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company's image or its individual products. Marketing public relations (MPR) is often used to support corporate or product promotion and image-building. MPR can affect public awareness at a fraction of the cost of advertising, and is often much more credible. The main tools of PR are publications, events, news, speeches, public-service activities, and identity media.
In considering when and how to use MPR, management must establish the marketing objectives, choose the PR messages and vehicles, implement the plan carefully, and evaluate the results. Results are usually evaluated in terms of number of exposures and cost savings; awareness, comprehension, or attitude changes; and sales-and-profit contribution.
Continue reading here: Eciding On Media And Measuring Effectiveness
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