The marketing mix - promotion (marketing communications)
The promotion mix
Direct marketing, digital marketing and sponsorship also recognised as part of promotion mix
Comprises communication techniques:
Advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations/ product
Combined to achieve specific goals
Criteria for choosing marketing communication mix:
Extent of desired control
Level of financial resources
Size of target audience and geographical spread
Target audiences' preference and behaviour towards media
Goals of communication
Also influenced by activities of competitors, cost of media, and preferences and marketing strategy
Celebrity endorsements can be risky if scandal strikes - companies include 'moral turpitude clause' in contracts
The communication process
Designed to transmit messages from organisation (the source) to target (receiver/audience) using particular 'medium of transmission'
Factual communications helpful when launching new product that's revolutionary so consumers are educated with info
Using humour can be risky
Subject to 3 potential problems:
Accuracy of coding of message (technical problem)
Accuracy of decoding intended meaning of message (semantic problem)
Effectiveness of decoding of intended meaning (effectiveness problem)
Communications can be distorted by noise
Most media today are generally reliable and other potential sources of noise considered competing marketing messages and receiver distraction
Complex models recognise existence of multiple message sources and interactions between receivers
Messages spread through informal social media networks - weakening control the organisation has over the message
Important to use marketing communications to elicit engagement of consumers and those with potential consumer influence
Through a blend of intellectual and emotional content
3 forms of engagement:
Cognitive
Relational
Behavioural
Marketing communications help raise awareness and create familiarity with brands - so they're more likely chosen over competitors
AIDA approach:
Attention
Interest
Desire
Action
Variation of this model is 'awareness-interest-evaluation-trial-adoption'
Trialling may be available for some offerings