Topic Ii. Promotion, Sales, Pricing and International1

TOPIC II. PROMOTION, SALES, PRICING AND INTERNATIONAL1

ED 5

Mandeep Singh, WesternIllinois University

John T. Drea, WesternIllinoisUniversity

ANALYZING MARKETING MESSAGES

It is estimated that each individual is exposed to hundreds of commercial messages on any given day. This enormous clutter of marketing messages requires marketers to create messages that are clever, focused, and specific in their communication objectives. The intent of this exercise is to allow students to select a commercial message of their choice and critically analyze each of its components. It is hoped that this exercise provides students with an opportunity to apply the theoretical concepts of communication theory in a real world setting while impressing upon them the difficulty associated with creating effective messages.

How it Works

This assignment is typically handed out post coverage of the Advertising and Promotion sections of the principles course. Students are asked to pick a marketing message of their choice for critical evaluation. This message may be drawn from TV, radio, the WWW, or any other media source. The following assignment outline is furnished:

Briefly describe the commercial of your choice. The intent of this section is to give the reader a basic understanding of the various components of the commercial. This explanation must communicate the gist of the commercial and be vivid in communicating the essential features to enable a critical analysis even if the reader has not viewed the message previously (5 points)
Identify the target market. Who is the marketer attempting to reach? This involves developing a detailed description of the intended target market. Identify the demographic and psychographic components while you evaluate the target market in terms of its homogeneity within, heterogeneity between, substantiality, and operationalizability (5 points).
Product strategy. Every product should have something which makes it unique. Recognize that customers buy benefits and not features. With this in mind identify the benefits the marketer is providing for its target market. Example of a product feature being positioned as a usable benefit:
Feature. This toaster has the following dimensions 12” x 6” x 7”
Benefits. This toaster is small and fits easily in cramped spaces.
Also identify the values being offered to the intended target market: functional value, social value, emotional value, or experiential value (10 points).
Critique the message in terms of each element of the communication process, i.e., encoding, the message, the channel, the decoding, and the provision of a system for feedback. This section represents the heart of your paper and I would reckon that you will expend the greatest amount of effort on this section (20points).

Some Points to Consider

While examining the encoding and message section, once again evaluate the signs, symbols, verbal cues, and non-verbal cuss used to communicate the message. Are these cues optimal in terms of targeting the identified market segment?

What mechanisms has the marketer adopted to break through the clutter? Has any attempt been made to deal with an individual’s selective processes (attention, perception, and retention)?

Message strategy. On this section you are required to identify the marketers’ objective for the identified ad. Does this ad provide information? Serve as a reminder? Attempt to add new attributes? Build image? Remember that a message may actually possess more than one objective. What is the marketer's intended route to persuasion, the central or the peripheral route? Discuss (5points).
The last evaluative section of the paper actually examines the chosen message channel, i.e., was this ad on television, radio, or print. Was this channel selection optimal for the intended market (5 points)?

Scott R. Swanson

University of Wisconsin – Whitewater

UNDERSTANDING “THE MESSAGE” IN ADS

When discussing the area of advertising in my marketing class I frequently receive very simplistic “like” or “dislike” comments from students about advertising campaigns. Often times they indicate that a particular advertisement must not be very effective if they themselves do not like it. This project helps students better understand that advertising message creation is driven by the characteristics of the target market, and specific corporate objectives.

Assignment

Find a series of three ads from a current advertising campaign. The ads can be taped from the television or clipped from magazines or newspapers, but must accompany the report. You are to rate and discuss the effectiveness of the chosen advertising campaign based on your analysis or the following: (1) the specific target market the ad campaign is directed at, (2) the identified objective(s) of the ad campaign, and (3) the created message being utilized. The message analysis should focus on four key points:

Content: What is being said (e.g., the appeal).
Structure: How is the message being presented logically (e.g., order presentation, conclusion drawing, one- or two-sided arguments).
Format: How is the message being presented symbolically (e.g., executional style, lecture or drama, color).
Source: Who is presenting the message (e.g., credibility issues of expertise, trustworthiness, and likability).

Comments

The class period following the collection of the papers I utilize some of the turned-in advertising campaigns for class discussion. If print ads are used, I will put them on overheads or scan them into PowerPoint for easier visibility. There will generally be a variety of advertising campaigns submitted which provide current examples of the myriad of ways that messages can be created. I also often find several people will choose the same ads for their paper but have interpreted them very differently. The varying interpretations of the students often lead to engaging discussions and help to clarify how advertising messages are created based on specific objectives, and characteristics of the target market.

Nancy J. Boykin

TarletonStateUniversity

SALES PROMOTION SCENARIOS

I’ve found that in my promotional strategy course I often spend too much time on the subject of advertising at the expense of discussing the virtues of using sales promotion. To correct this oversight, I have developed a series of sales promotional tasks for my students that are assigned throughout the course of the semester. Two of the exercises that I have used in the past, that the students seemed to enjoy, include the following:

Task 1: Select a local retailer in the Stephenville area and develop a continuity program that will encourage repeat patronage and instill customer loyalty.

Decisions to address:

Duration of the offer--will it run for a short or long period of time and why?
Proof or purchase required--what does the consumer need to save/collect to get the reward? Develop the saving device. Is there an alternative to the saving device? In other words, can the consumer opt to pay a specified amount of money in lieu of collecting proofs of purchase?
Premium--what will the consumer receive upon completing the continuity program? How does the consumer collect the reward?
Advertising--Develop an ad for the newspaper announcing the continuity program. Provide enough information to let the consumer know what they have to do and how they will be rewarded.

Task 2: As you know, Burger King has had their share of unsuccessful ad campaigns. McDonald's has better advertising, greater distribution, and stronger positioning. Mickey D's has been very successful with their Monopoly game sweepstakes. Burger King, in retaliation, has decided to launch either a sweepstakes or a contest that will bring more consumers into their stores. It is your mission to develop this sales promotion.

Decisions to address:

What does the consumer have to do to be eligible to win? In other words, give me a detailed description of your contest or sweepstakes idea. (Make sure you understand the difference between a contest and a sweepstakes).
What prizes will be awarded? Will a prize pyramid be used? Why?
What type of consumer in-store support needs to be developed (i.e., POP displays, posters, theme packaging, etc.)? Develop examples to show the class.
What advertising support needs to be developed? Develop an advertisement announcing the launch of your sweepstakes/contest.

Rosa T. Cherry

WilliamsburgTechnicalCollege

PROMOTION ASSIGNMENTS:

Larry Brown, South DakotaStateUniversity

Karen Fritz, EastTennesseeStateUniversity

DESIGNING ADS FOR

“The Real Yellow Pages”

A few years ago, a proprietor opened a new florist in an out-of-the-way location near the college. Since her budget was limited, and there were dozens of florists in the city, she needed help creating a logo that would differentiate her business from all the other florists in the telephone book. She approached one of our advertising classes to assist her in designing a small quarter-page advertisement for the Yellow Pages.

As a class assignment, we sponsored a contest for student teams to design a winning ad for the florist owner. Even though this was a pro-bono project, the florist agreed to give every member of the winning team a free floral arrangement for their efforts. The instructor divided the class into teams consisting of both marketing and graphics students whose mission was to create possible ads. The class consulted with the client, and every team submitted entries for her to judge. Through this experience, they learned about the agency-client relationship.

Because most Yellow Page ads for florists featured pictures of flowers, we needed something visually unique to distinguish our client’s ad from the others. By drawing an ad with a gentleman suitor presenting his beloved lady friend with a bouquet of posies, one team was able to capitalize on the old-fashioned image inspired by the name of the business, which was Flower Me Fancy. Not only did the florist feature this design on her Yellow Page ad, but she also used it on her business cards and clip-on truck delivery sign. This new design gave her shop a perceptibly different image from other florists, whose advertisements looked "generic" by comparison.

In case you are a marketing or advertising instructor who has not yet discovered the educational support services of the Yellow Pages Publishers Association (YPPA), I would encourage you to contact its Educational Programs Department at 820 Kirts Blvd. in Troy, Michigan to make some of the many services available to your classes, free of charge. They have several booklets and video tapes to supplement advertising textbooks, in addition to supplying guest speakers from the branch offices to talk to marketing classes. The YPPA also sponsors an annual student Creative Competition with several thousands of dollars in prize money, as well as an annual workshop for twenty pre-selected professors to learn more about the Yellow Pages at the U.S. West-Dex office in Denver, Colorado.

Robert D. Montgomery

University of Evansville

Teach Promotion Through

Professional Sports

This project is a hands-on learning pedagogy that will increase the level of student excitement and motivation which, of course, leads to increased levels of learning. Choose a professional sports franchise, the higher the profile the better. Professional sports are exciting to this age group (i.e., 18-22 year-olds). As the franchise profile increases so will the level of excitement. I recommend starting with “Major League” franchises and then trying “Minor League” franchises.

It is my personal experience that these businesses are very open to having a university marketing class promote their team (In other words, they are smart enough to take free work and the publicity that comes with it).

This Summer my Promotion Management class is going to promote The Indianapolis Colts in EvansvilleIndiana. Because of Evansville’s geographic proximity and the drawing of state boundaries, residents of this city are a well-defined target market of this franchise. Additionally, Evansville to this date is a relatively untapped target market for this franchise.

My class is going to the headquarters of the Colts for two days of training from their Marketing Staff. During this session students will learn about the firm’s environment, goals, philosophies, and marketing strategies. Armed with this knowledge, my class will return to Evansville and begin promoting the Colts to the city of Evansville.

My class will be limited to sixteen students. The class will be broken down into four teams based on functions: Advertising, Personal Selling, Public Relations, and Sales Promotions.

The PR team will focus on generating publicity for this team. The fact that a local university class is promoting a NFL team is in itself “newsworthy” in Evansville. The Personal Selling team will focus on selling season tickets and single game bus trips to businesses and organizations. The Advertising team will investigate placing pre-made radio, TV, and print ads in the local media. The Sales Promotions team will focus on developing special promotions such as having famous football players appear at half-time of one of this University’s basketball games. All strategies are subject to the approval of me and the Director of Marketing for the Colts.

Each group will report their progress to the class weekly. This will provide all students with an opportunity to learn, as well as provide input to the other teams. At the end of the semester, my class will make a presentation to the Marketing Department of the Colts concerning results and recommendations.

Benefits to the class include: increased excitement due to the profile and nature of the organization, increased motivation, hands-on professional experience, professional contacts, and increased knowledge of Promotion Management and professional sports.

Benefits to the NFL team include: tapping a new target market, free publicity, and free personal selling, advertising and sales promotion consulting.

It is four months prior to the start of my Promotion Management class and students have already been talking about it for three months. The level of excitement is tremendous: not only among students but among my colleagues and administrators as well. The biggest draw back is that I will only be able to accommodate sixteen students.

Sheri Carder

LakeCityCommunity College

Marketing Portfolio

You will turn in a selection of the best examples from the following list. These do not have to be print materials. You may include a photograph or sketch of a billboard, a 3-D object, or a script from a radio or TV commercial. Your "portfolio" of advertising examples may be presented in a folder, a notebook, scrapbook, or a box (if containing large objects.) With each example, attach a brief (paragraph) explanation of what the material demonstrates and why you selected it as a "best example."

Selection List:

1. Person marketing

2. Place marketing

3. Cause marketing

4. Event marketing

5. Organization marketing (Choose only one from these first 5).

6. Sales Promotion

7. Advertising directed towards Children

8. Misleading/false packaging or advertising

9. Direct Mail piece

10. Public relations/community relations effort

11. Product marketing

12. Service marketing

13. Comparative advertising

14. Marketing idea that was a complete waste of money in your opinion

15. Sales solicitation (letter?)

16. Specialty advertising

17. Advertising teaser campaign

18. Newspaper insert

19. Coupon

20. Market Research/Customer Satisfaction Survey

CHOOSE 10 ITEMS ONLY! 50 pts. Possible

Sheri Carder

LakeCityCommunity College

Lemonade from Lemons

Marketing – Consumerism Exercise

As a consumer, you expect quality products and good service. But sometimes things go wrong. If you’re unhappy with your purchase or the service you received, do you know how to obtain satisfaction?

Consider yourself an active consumer. Choose a company or service with which you’ve recently been disappointed. Write them a letter, using the following guidelines, to explain the problem and what you would like to see happen. Make two copies – one to mail to the company and one to put in our class file as we compare “responsiveness rates” among the various companies. When you receive a reply, share it with the class.

We will make this a research project, measuring how responsive companies are to their customers. Are companies really concerned with “Total Quality?” We will note the amount of time it took to respond and the companies’ efforts to satisfy their customers. Writing the initial letter is the assignment; bringing the reply in is for extra points. You may certainly write more than one letter if you wish. You might try writing a letter of praise for one product as well as a letter of disappointment for another. You’ll get better results if they believe you’re an adult consumer, so type the letter rather than writing in pencil on notebook paper.

Describe the problem and what (if anything) you’ve already done to resolve it. List facts: date and place of purchase, serial or model number, etc.)
Send sales receipts, repair orders, warranties, etc. (copies, not originals) to make your case.
Don’t be angry or sarcastic. In fact, begin your letter with a compliment to the company, e.g., “Colgate Palmolive products are central to any household. I have used your _____ for the five years and have been completely satisfied. That is why I was disappointed when the _____ didn’t live up to the Colgate Palmolive standards I expected.”
State what would be a fair resolution from your point of view. Do you want the product repaired or exchanged? Do you want your money back? Say exactly what you want done.
Include an inside return address and phone number in your letter so that they may contact you. (Many students forget and leave this important bit of information off.)
Have someone proofread your letter before you mail it. You’re less likely to be taken seriously if you appear illiterate.
Be sure to sign your letter.
Have the correct, full mailing address for the company. “Gillette Company, New York City, NY” won’t do it.
If you don’t receive resolution, decide if you want to pursue it. Keep a record of everyone to whom you talk or write, and when. You can appeal to the higher-ups. You can approach the Better business Bureau, a trade association related to the business, arbitration agencies (in some states), small claims court, or the attorney general’s office of consumer affairs.

Nancy M. Carr