ADVERTISING STRATEGY

Advertising is any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.

SETTING THE OBJECTIVES

Informative advertising: Aims to create brand awareness and knowledge of new products or new features of existing products.
Persuasive advertising: Aims to create liking, preference, conviction, and purchase of a product or service Reminder advertising: Aims to stimulate repeat purchase of products and services. Reinforcement advertising: Aims to convince current purchasers that they made the right choice. Automobile ads often depict satisfied customers enjoying special features of their new car.

THERE ARE FIVE SPECIFIC FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN SETTING THE ADVERTISING BUDGET:
1. Stage in the product life cycle - New products typically receive large advertising budgets to build awareness and to gain consumer trial. Established brands usually are supported with lower advertising budgets as a ratio to sales. 2. Market share and consumer base - High-market-share brands usually require less advertising expenditure as a percentage of sales to maintain share. 3. Competition and clutter- In a market with a large number of competitors and high advertising spending, a brand must advertise more heavily to be heard. 4. Advertising frequency - The number of repetitions needed to put across the brand's message to consumers has an important impact on the advertising budget. 5. Product substitutability - Brands in less-well-differentiated or commodity-like product classes require heavy advertising to establish a differential image.

DEVELOPING THE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

In designing and evaluating an ad campaign, it is important to distinguish the message strategy or positioning of an ad (what the ad attempts to convey about the brand) from its creative strategy (how the ad expresses the brand claims) and who should say (message source)

Advertisers go through three steps: 1) Message generation and evaluation, (Message Strategy ) 2) Creative development and execution, (Creative Strategy) 3) Message source Source Credibility (Expertise and Trustworthiness) Source Attractiveness (Similarity, Familiarity, and Likability)

4) Legal & social issues.

MESSAGE STRATEGY In determining message strategy, management searches for appeals, themes, or ideas that will tie into the brand positioning and help to establish points-of-parity or points-of-difference. Some of these may be related directly to product or service performance (the quality, economy, or value of the brand) whereas others may relate to more extrinsic considerations.

CREATIVE STRATEGY Communications effectiveness depends on how a message is being expressed as well as the content of the message itself. Creative strategies can be broadly classified as involving either "informational" or "transformational" appeals. These two general categories each encompass several different specific creative approaches. Informational Appeals An informational appeal elaborates on product or service attributes or benefits. Examples in advertising are Problem-solution ads (Saridon stops headache pain quickly), Product demonstration ads (Godrej washing Machine can also brush ), Product comparison ads (Engine power, Fuel efficiency, Space ), and Testimonials from unknown or celebrity endorsers (Viswanathan Anand-NIIT)). Informational appeals assume very rational processing of the communication on the part of the consumer. Logic and reason rule.

Hovland's research at Yale has shed much light on informational appeals and their relation to such issues as: Conclusion drawing. Message Sidedness (One-versus two-sided arguments), and Order of argument presentation.

Conclusion Drawing

Marketing communicators must decide whether their messages should explicitly draw a firm conclusion or allow receivers to draw their own conclusions.
More highly educated people prefer to draw their own conclusions and may be annoyed at an attempt to explain the obvious or to draw an inference for them. But stating the conclusion may be necessary for a less educated audience, who may not draw any conclusion or may make an incorrect inference from the message. For highly personal or ego-involving issues, message recipients may want to make up their own minds and resent any attempts by the communicator to draw a conclusion. Whether to draw a conclusion for the audience also depends on the complexity of the topic. Even a highly educated audience may need assistance if its knowledge level in a particular area is low. Does the marketer want the message to trigger immediate action or a more long-term effect? If immediate action is an objective, the message should draw a definite conclusion. Some early experiments supported stating conclusions for the audience. Subsequent research, however, indicates that the best ads ask questions and allow readers and viewers to form their own conclusions. If Bajaj had hammered away that Wave scooter was for young people, this strong definition might have blocked older age groups from buying it.

Message Sidedness

A one-sided message mentions only positive attributes or benefits. A two-sided message presents both good and bad points.
One-sided messages are most effective when the target audience already holds a favorable opinion about the topic. They also work better with a less educated audience. Two-sided messages are more effective when the target audience holds an opposing opinion or is highly educated. Two-sided messages may enhance the credibility of the source. A better-educated audience usually knows there are opposing arguments, so a communicator who presents both sides of an issue is likely to be seen as less biased and more objective. W. K. Buckley Limited has become one of the leading brands of cough syrup in Canada by using a blunt two sided slogan, Buckleys Mixture. It tastes awful. And it works. Two-sided messages may be more appropriate, especially when negative associations must be overcome. Heinz ran the message "Heinz Ketchup is slow good" and Listerine ran the message "Listerine tastes bad twice a day."

Order of argument presentation

Finally the order in which arguments are presented is important. In the case of a one sided message, presenting the strongest argument first has the advantage of arousing attention and interest. This is important in media where the audience often does not attend to the whole message.

In the case of a two-sided message, if the audience is initially opposed, the communicator might start with the other side's argument and conclude with his or her strongest argument

..Order of argument presentation

Research on learning and memory generally indicates that items presented first and last are remembered better than those presented in the middle . This suggests that a communicators strongest arguments should be presented early or late in the message but never in the middle. Strong arguments work best at the beginning of the message if the audience is not interested in the topic, so they can arouse interest in the message. When the target audience is predisposed toward the communicators position or is highly interested in the issue or product, strong arguments can be saved for the end of the message. This may result in a more favorable opinion as well as better retention of the information. The order of presentation can be critical when a long, detailed message with many arguments is being presented. Most effective sales presentations open and close with strong selling points and bury weaker arguments in the middle

Refutational appeal
Refutation In a special type of two-sided message known as a refutational appeal, the communicator presents both sides of an issue and then refutes the opposing viewpoint.

Market leaders, who are often the target of comparative messages, may find that acknowledging competitors claims and then refuting them can help build resistant attitudes and customer loyalty.

Transformational Appeals A transformational appeal elaborates on a non-product-related benefit or image. It might depict what kind of person uses a brand (Raymonds advertisement depicts relatively young, successful & elegantly dressed men) or

what kind of experience results from using the brand (Liril is advertised as the freshness soap, and mentos, a mouth freshener that will electrify the mind)
Transformational appeals often attempt to stir up emotions that will motivate purchase. Transformational appeal some times stir

1. Negative Emotions 2. Positive Emotions 3. Comparison

Negative appeals
Communicators use negative appeals such as fear, guilt, and shame to get people to do things (brush their teeth, have an annual health checkup) or stop doing things (smoking, alcohol abuse, overeating). Fear appeals work best when they are not too strong. Furthermore, fear appeals work better when source credibility is high and when the communication promises to relieve, in a believable and efficient way, the fear it arouses.

Positive appeals Communicators use positive emotional appeals such as humor, love, pride, and joy. Humor is often used to highlight a particular benefit of a brand by exaggerating it . For Example :Happy dent, Fevicol Motivational or "borrowed interest" devicessuch as the presence of cute babies, frisky puppies, popular music, or provocative sex appealsare often employed to attract consumer attention and raise their involvement with an ad.

Borrowed interest techniques are thought to be necessary in the tough new media environment characterized by low-involvement consumer processing and much competing ad and programming clutter.
Attention-getting tactics are often too effective and distract from brand or product claims. Thus, one challenge in arriving at the best creative strategy is figuring out how to "break through the clutter" to attract the attention of consumersbut still be able to deliver the intended message.

Comparative Advertising Comparative advertising is the practice of either directly or indirectly naming competitors in an ad and comparing one or more specific attributes

The magic of advertising is to bring concepts on a piece of paper to life in the minds of the consumer target. In a print ad, the communicator has to decide on headline, copy, illustration, and color. For a radio message, the communicator has to choose words, voice qualities, and vocalizations. The "sound" of an announcer promoting a used automobile has to be different from one promoting a new Cadillac. If the message is to be carried on television or in person, all these elements plus body language (nonverbal clues) have to be planned. Presenters have to pay attention to facial expressions, gestures, dress, posture, and hairstyle.

If the message is carried by the product or its packaging, the communicator has to pay attention to color, texture, scent, size, and shape.

MESSAGE SOURCE Many communications do not use a source beyond the company itself. Others use known or unknown people. Messages delivered by attractive or popular sources can potentially achieve higher attention and recall, which is why advertisers often use celebrities as spokespeople. Three factors that underlie source credibility likability of the source are expertise, trustworthiness, and

Expertise is the specialized knowledge the communicator possesses to back the claim.

Trustworthiness is related to how objective and honest the source is perceived to be. Friends are trusted more than strangers or salespeople, and people who are not paid to endorse a product are viewed as more trustworthy than people who are paid.
Likability describes the source's attractiveness. Qualities like candor, humor, and naturalness make a source more likable. The most highly credible source would be a person who scores high on all three dimensions. Pharmaceutical companies want doctors to testify about product benefits because doctors have high credibility.

LEGAL & SOCIAL ISSUES

Advertisers and their agencies must be sure that advertising does not overstep social and legal norms. Public policy makers have developed a substantial body of laws and regulations to govern advertising.
Under the Indian law, advertisements for alcoholic beverages and cigarettes are not permitted on television. However, indirect advertising (or surrogate advertising) is permitted in print and outdoor advertisements for these product categories. Similarly, infant food advertising is not acceptable, and there are also restrictions on advertisements targeted at children. Advertisements of pharmaceutical products that promise cure, diagnosis, and treatment are governed by the Drugs & Cosmetic Act 1940, and the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954. As per the law, no advertisement should promise magical cure for any ailment or disease, and the rules specify the diseases and ailments that cannot be advertised promising cure or remedies.

Rules also prohibit any advertisements that offend morality, decency, and religious susceptibility of the audience. In addition, as per the advertising code specified by the ASCI, women must not be portrayed in a manner that emphasizes passive, submissive qualities that encourage women to play subordinate or secondary roles in the family, and in the society.

DECIDING ON THE MEDIA After choosing the message, the advertiser's next task is to choose media to carry it. The steps here are deciding on 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Desired reach, frequency, and impact Choosing among major media types Selecting specific media vehicles Deciding on media timing; and Deciding on geographical media allocation.

Deciding on Reach, Frequency, and Impact; Media selection is finding the most cost-effective media to deliver the desired number and type of exposures to the target audience. Reach (R). The number of different persons or households exposed to a particular media schedule at least once during a specified time period.

Frequency (F). The number of times within the specified time period that an average person or household is exposed to the message.
Impact (I). The qualitative value of an exposure through a given medium (thus a food ad in Good Housekeeping would have a higher impact than in Fortune magazine).

Total number of exposures (E). This is the reach times the average frequency; that is, E = Rx F This measure is referred to as the gross rating points (GRP). If a given media schedule reaches 80 percent of the homes with an average exposure frequency of 3, the media schedule is said to have a GRP of 240 (80 x 3). If another media schedule has a GRP of 300, it is said to have more weight, but we cannot tell how this weight breaks down into reach and frequency.

Weighted number of exposures (WE). This is the reach times average frequency times average impact, that is WE = Rx F x I. A media Vehicle will be having a particular Exposure/Weighted exposure score. Media selection is finding the most cost-effective media to deliver the desired number and type of exposures to the target audience. A marketer will be having a particular budget and a target exposure to achieve a certain level of awareness/ trial.

Choosing Among Major Media Types The media planner has to know the capacity of the major advertising media types to deliver reach, frequency, and impact. inexpensive.
ADVERTISING

Print & Broadcast media

Packaging-outer
Packaging insert Motion pictures Brochures & booklets Poster & leaflets Directories Reprints of Ads Bill boards Display signs POP displays Audiovisual materials Symbols & logos Videotapes

Media planners make their choices by considering the following variables:

Target audience media habits. Radio and television are the most effective media for reaching teenagers.
Product characteristics. Media types have different potential for demonstration, visualization, explanation, believability, and color. Women's dresses are best shown in color magazines, and Kodak cameras are best demonstrated on television. Message characteristics. Timeliness and information content will influence media choice. A message announcing a major sale tomorrow will require radio, TV, or newspaper. A message containing a great deal of technical data might require specialized magazines or mailings. Cost. Television is very expensive, whereas newspaper advertising is relatively cheaper

Selecting Specific Media Vehicles The media planner must search for the most cost-effective vehicles within each chosen media type. In making choices, the planner has to rely on measurement services that provide estimates of audience size, composition, and media cost. Audience size has several possible measures: Circulation. The number of physical units carrying the advertising. Audience. The number of people exposed to the vehicle. Effective ad-exposed audience. The number of people with target audience characteristics who actually saw the ad.

Deciding on Media Timing and Allocation In choosing media, the advertiser faces both a macro scheduling and a micro scheduling problem. The macro scheduling problem involves scheduling the advertising in relation to seasons and the business cycle.

Suppose 70 percent of a product's sales occur between June and September. The firm can vary its advertising expenditures 1) To follow the seasonal pattern, 2) To oppose the seasonal pattern, or 3) To be constant throughout the year.

The micro scheduling problem calls for allocating advertising expenditures within a short period to obtain maximum impact. Suppose the firm decides to buy 30 radio spots in the month of September. Figure shows several possible patterns. The left side shows that advertising messages for the month can be concentrated ("burst" advertising), dispersed continuously throughout the month, or dispersed intermittently. The top side shows that the advertising messages can be beamed with a level, rising, falling, or alternating frequency.

Evaluating Advertising Effectiveness Good planning and control of advertising depend on measures of advertising effectiveness. Most advertisers try to measure the communication effect of an adthat is, its potential effect on awareness, knowledge, or preference.

They would also like to measure the ad's sales effect.

COMMUNICATION-EFFECT RESEARCH Communication-effect research seeks to determine whether an ad is communicating effectively. Called copy testing, it can be done before an ad is put into media and after it is printed or broadcast. There are three major methods of pre testing. 1. Consumer feedback method asks consumers for their reactions to a proposed ad. 2. Portfolio tests ask consumers to view or listen to a portfolio of advertisements. Consumers are then asked to recall all the ads and their content, aided or unaided by the interviewer. Recall level indicates an ad's ability to stand out and to have its message understood and remembered. 3. Laboratory tests use equipment to measure physiological reactions heartbeat, blood pressure, pupil dilation, galvanic skin response, perspiration to an ad; or consumers may be asked to turn a knob to indicate their moment-tomoment liking or interest while viewing sequenced material.

SALES-EFFECT RESEARCH Companies are generally interested in finding out whether they are overspending or under spending on advertising. One approach to answering this question is to work with the formulation shown in Figure A company's share of advertising expenditures produces a share of voice (i.e., proportion of company advertising of that product to all advertising of that product) that earns a share of consumers' minds and hearts and, ultimately, a share of market

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