Managing Mass Communications:

Advertising, Sales Promotion, Events, Experiences and Public Relations

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

Five Major Decisions (5Ms)

1. Mission:
a. What are the advertising objectives? (should flow from prior decision regarding
target market, brand positioning and marketing program)
i. Informative advertising
ii. Persuasive advertising
iii. Reminder advertising
iv. Reinforcement advertising
b. What are the sales goals?
2. Money: How much can we spend?
a. Factors to consider:
i. Stage in PLC.
ii. Market share and consumer base
iii. Competition and Clutter
iv. Advertising frequency
v. Product substitutability
Advertising Elasticity
3. Message: What message should we send
a. Message generation, evaluation and selection
b. Message Development and execution
i. Television Ads
ii. Radio Ads (flexibility, stations are targeted to specific audience, inexpensive)
iii. Film Ads (useful for reaching rural audience)
iv. Print Ads
1. Effectiveness of an Ad
a. Is the message clear at a glance
b. Can you tell what the advertisement is all about?
c. Is the benefit in the headline
d. Does the illustration support the headline?
e. Does the first line of the copy support or explain the
headline and illustration?
f. Is the ad easy to read and follow
g. Is the product easily identified
h. Is the brand or sponsor clearly identified
c. Legal and Social Issues (Advertising Standards Council of India, Surrogate
Advertising, Objectionable Advertising)
4. Media: What media should we use (Newspapers, Television, Radio, Direct mail, Magazines,
Outdoor, Yellow Pages, Newsletters, Brochures, Telephone, Internet)
a. Reach, frequency, impact (Total number of exposures (E)= Reach x Frequency);
Weighted number (WE) = Reach x Frequency x Impact
b. Choosing media types
i. Target audience media habits
ii. Product characteristics
iii. Message characteristics
iv. Cost
c. Alternative advertising options
i. Place advertising
1. Billboards
2. Public spaces (airlines trains, elevators, etc)
ii. Product Placement
iii. Point of Purchase
iv. Evaluating alternative media
d. Selective specific media vehicles
i. Circulation
ii. Audience (exposure to vehicle)
iii. Effective audience (no. of audience with target market characteristics)
iv. Effective ad-exposed audience (people who saw the ad)
e. Media timing and Geographical media allocation
i. Macro-scheduling problem
ii. Micro-scheduling problem
Depends on buyer turnover, purchase frequency, and forgetting rate

New product advertising, choice is between continuity, concentration, flighting, pulsing

National Buys Vs local buys of advertising media

5. Measurement: How should we evaluate results?

a. Communication Impact (Communication Effect Research)
i. Copy testing: Consumer feedback method, Portfolio tests, Laboratory tests)
b. Sales Impact
i. Share of advertising expenditures
ii. Share of consumer minds and hearts
iii. Share of market

Two approaches

1. Historical Approach
2. Experimental Design
 Sales Promotion

Sales promotion consists of a collection of incentive tools, mostly short term designed to stimulate quicker or
greater purchase of particular products or services by consumers or the trade.

Advertising offers a reason to buy; Sales Promotion offers an incentive to buy

Consumer Promotion : Samples, Coupons, Cash refund offers (money returned based
on submission of proof), Price Packs (reduce price pack,
banded pack); Prices off, Premiums (free gift with main
product: with pack premium; free in-the-mail premium, self
liquidating premium), prizes / sweepstakes / contests /
games, Patronage awards, Free trials, Warranties, tie-in
promotions (two or more companies team up increasing
pulling power), cross promotions (using one brand to
advertise a non-competing brand), POP displays,
demonstrations, exchange offers, zero percent financing

Trade promotion : Prices off, advertising and display allowances, and free goods,

Business & Sales Force promotion : Tradeshows and conventions, contests for sales reps,
speciality advertising

 Sales promotion is used more in consumer durable industry with 20% of total promotions, followed
by toiletries (14%), basic food items (13%) and computers (11%)
 52% free gift schemes offered unrelated product (salt with tea packets) as free gift 33% related
products (soap with face cream / shampoo with hair oil), complimentary product offerings (Voltage
stabilizer with Air conditioner) 15%.
 Sweepstakes popular method with cigarettes and alcohol category
 Price-off popular with clothing and footwear
 Extra product promotion popular with health, medicines, and entertainment product segments
 Other categories use premium offers.
 Contests are popular with products targeted at children and young adults.

Objectives of sales promotion

Objectives vary with the tool of sales promotion being used. Free samples focus on consumer trial
whereas business advice focuses on building long-term relationships.

Advertising versus Promotion

Historically the ratio is 60:40 for advertising. Currently, it is 25:75 (with 50% trade promotion and 25%
consumer promotion). Growth by 500% to 600% in last few years.

Reasons for rapid growth:

 Sales Promotion became more acceptable top management as a sales tool
 Number of brands increased
 Competitors used promotions frequently
 Brands are seen as similar
 Consumers became more price oriented
 Trade demanded more deals from the company.
 Advertising efficiency has declined
Disadvantages:

 Incessant price-offs, coupons, deals and premiums may devalue the product in buyers minds
 Loyal brand users may not change because of competitive promotions
 Advertising is more effective in brand loyalty
 Price promotions may not build permanent total category volume.
 Price competition is useful for a small brand seeking to increase the market share but is not suitable
for category leader.

1. Decreasing brand loyalty

2. Increasing consumer price sensitivity
3. Brand – Quality – Image dilution
4. Focus on short run market planning

Useful for smaller competitors to compete with bigger advertising budgets of the top companies

Major Decisions in Sales Promotion

1. Establishing Objectives
Marketing objectives  broader promotion objectives  sales promotion objectives
Consumers: Short term short run sales and long run brand equity effects
2. Selecting consumer promotion tools
3. Selecting trade promotion tools
4. Selecting business and sales promotion tools
5. Developing the program
6. Pretesting, implementing, controlling and evaluating the program