Assignment on ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION IN BUSINESS

Acknowledgement:

I would like to thank X for his guidance and support and all those people who gave some of their time to test the completed system and suggest modifications and improvements to it. I would also like to thank Y for his help with colour coordination and proof-reading the finished report.

I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my parents who have been a source of inspiration to me all my life. It is only through their support and encouragement that this work has been possible.

Your Name……..                                                                                             Date

Abstract/Executive Summary

Advertising and promotion is one kind of marketing communication which promotes and introduces services and products to its target consumers. Without proper marketing communication it is really tough to survive in present competitive market. Most of the organizations spend a lot of money on advertising and promotion. Advertising and promotion help to make a product brand and when a brand image is created it has long lasting great impact on business. Below-the-line promotional techniques are very popular among the business organizations.  

 Introduction:

Advertising and promotion is very important for a business organization as it carry out the attentions of current and potential customers.  Business organizations may have finest products or services with attractive and reasonable prices but its potential customers do not know about their business, there is a great chance to be unsuccessful in business. Advertising and promotion are the activities which are responsible to enlarge sales and improve the image of a business or a product. Advertising normally used to inform the potential customers of -1) the accessibility of services and products, 2) When they are in season, 3) any speciality of the products or services, 4) where the customers are located. Promotional activities are very important as they maintain customer traffic throughout the market operation. At the beginning of business operation it draws customers for business organization and rests of the life it maintains the customer traffic. The successfulness of advertising and promotion is augmented when services and products are clearly differentiated, are of extraordinarily high quality, are new offering and are very adopting with market demand. [1]

In this assignment I will describe the scope of marketing communications first then the role and importance of advertising and at last the below-line techniques and how they used in promotion activities.     

                

1.    Understanding the scope of marketing communications

1.1              Explain the communication process that applies to advertising and promotion

Marketing communications mainly means two processes: advertising and promotions. Those two help to push forward of services or products and attracting the customers towards the services or products. Marketing communication has those elements like advertising, sales promotions, personal selling, direct marketing, publicity and cyber-marketing. It is a complex process but it is based on universal models for communication which has a sender, the message, receivers, and a medium and for 2 way communication, feedback. [2]

Marketing communication models are based on marketing process of a product or service. There are various kinds of marketing communication models and they are:

        

• AIDAS model
• DAGMAR model
• Heightened appreciation Model
• Advertising Exposure Model 
• Model of Joyee 
• LEVIDGE and STEINER Model

Among those model AIDAS model is the most popular and oldest model. Here I am describing this model. In this process there are some stages like

•      Attention: Main task is to get attention of target customer
•           Interest: Make to product interesting by providing product information, what are its speciality, and some attractive features.
•     Outcome: the potential buyer give an opinion regarding product either it is favourable or unfavourable.
•      Desire: Need to know the customer desire and try to fulfil his desire by providing a product according to his need and demand.
•       Action: Make customer to purchase the product.
•      Satisfaction: Customer will satisfy after the product purchase. [3]

Most of business organizations make their advertisements and promotions after doing marketing research. They do the research on customer demand, customer buying behaviours like psychographics, demographics, attitude, beliefs, life-style, culture, society and environments and so on. Then they determine their marketing strategy and act upon that.  

                                                                                                                                               

1.2              Explain the organisation of the advertising and promotions industry

Advertising and promotions industry have four main departments and they are account handling, creative services, media department and production.

Account handling: It creates a relationship between the agency and client, exhibits the interests of clients, exhibits interest of agency when meeting and talking to the clients, and responsible for searching and developing new business. Account director, account planner, account executive and account manager are the key role player of account handling.

The creative department: Responsible for creating concepts, ideas and something finished art for advertising, promoting, literature and other marketing materials. It represents customer demands and needs and liaises with other supplier like photographer, illustrators, web designers, writhers and film producers. Copywriter and art director team produce the initial concept of advertisement and do the creative brief.

Media department: most of the agencies use external consultancy for the media requirements. Media department consists of Media research, media planning and media buying. Media research tries to reach target customer effectively, media planning is responsible for media mix and timing to gain the customer’s marketing objectives, media buying tries to utilize customer’s money more effectively using negotiating skills.

Production department: it ensures the perfect delivery of artwork at its appropriate destination by the deadlines. It is the source of specialist suppliers and materials. There is a traffic department which monitor the activities to ensure perfect delivery. It includes mac operators, studio manager and finished artists.

There are some other department in this organization like public relations, direct marketing, industrial or business to business and recruitment advertising. [4]   

1.3              1.3  Assess how promotion is regulated

Advertisement and promotion is regulated in three ways like self regulation, federal regulation and state regulation.

Self regulation: Advertising industry does the self regulation to maintain customer confidence and trust and limit government interference. Self –regulation is done by trade associations, advertisers and agencies, media and businesses –BBB like National Advertising Review Board.  Agencies, media and advertisers view self-regulation as preferable and effective mechanism to government intervention. Self-regulation is really time consuming, need high budget and staffs, lack of authority and power and self-serving.

Federal regulation: there are various kinds of regulations like freedom of speech or expression and commercial speech protected. Federal trade commission help to enforce antitrust laws, make deceptive and unfair practice unlawful. FCT is important as it saves consumers from economical and physical injury.

FCT complaint procedure: Early stage

FCT complain procedure: late stage

State regulation of promotion:

Advertiser must have to follow the state and local laws and regulations. The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) has been involved with car rental price, airfare, health claims and nutrition promotion and advertising.

There are some other sales promotion regulations like contests and sweepstakes, premiums and trade allowances. [5]

1.4              1.4  Examine current trends in advertising and promotion, including the impact of ICT

There are various kind of advertising like television/music, infomercials, radio, online, covert, press, billboard, mobile billboard, in-store, coffee cup, street, celebrity and online advertising and promotions. Internet and various new forms of devices are now overtaking traditional advertising like TV, radio and newspaper. 

Digital sinage is become the most popular advertising medium as it can reach larger audience and need less money. It can reach its target audience very uniquely and preciously. It can attract target customer at any given location and time and get more feedback from it. This is really found in busy and essential areas like stations, restaurants, hospitals, shopping malls and so on.

                             

Advertising through World Wide Web is very popular and cost effective in present days. Web based advertising price depends on surrounding web contents and website receivers traffic. Online display advertising is very effective as it create awareness very quickly. This process helps to learn something very quickly without previous knowledge. It is used in direct response campaigns.  

Email advertising is another phenomenon process of advertising which normally done through email spam. Another newly grown advertising medium is social network advertising which is an online advertising. This is a relatively immature market but it is advantageous as it helps to overcome the demographics problems and do advertising through friends in social network.

Mobile phone advertising is very effective medium of advertising which includes coupons, banner adds, video messages and MMS pictures. In 2009, internet and mobile advertising grew by 9.2% and 18.1% respectively. On the other hand TV, radio, magazines and newspaper advertising decline by 10.1%, 11.7%, 14.8% and 18.7% respectively. [6]

 

2.    Understand the role and importance of advertising

2.1             2.1  Explain the role of advertising in an integrated promotional strategy for a business or product

Advertising is very important for a product or a business. A business organization has to pay for advertisement but the cost is justified by sales return in the fiscal year. It is normally used for enhancing brand image and it is a long term return. Accountability of advertisement is multi-dimensional and it has no exception. In most advertising strategies there will be a section on campaign objectives which includes these tasks:

• ·         Create awareness
• ·         Make an impact
• ·         Communicate messages
• ·         Stir up a quick response
• ·         Remind consumers
• ·         Create favourable impressions
• ·         Fulfil needs
• ·         Reinforce attitudes
• ·         Change perceptions –overcome prejudice or mental reposition
• ·         Enthuse the trade and the staff
• ·         Consolidate a position
• ·         Encourage trial

Advertising has some sensitive issues which has a great impact in a business or a product. Those issues are:

• ·          Appreciate how customers’ attitude towards advertising can affect its roles.
• ·         Need to consider not only the explicit objectives but also the implicit roles of advertisement which depict the growing importance of the emotional effects in present day’s competitive environment.
• ·         Advertise may play different roles accord to the situation.
• ·         Advertise may vary with different stages of a brand improvement
• ·         Advertisement may vary with different Medias. [7]

2.2             2.2  Explain branding and how it is used to strengthen a business product

Branding is the personality which identifies a service or product or company (term, name, symbol, sign, design or combination of them) and how it connected to key populations like investors, staffs, customers and partners. The psychological aspect of branding associates with feelings, thoughts, perceptions, images, beliefs, experiences, and beliefs and so on which makes a product or service a brand.

People involve in branding to align or develop the exceptions behind the brand experience, develop an emotion or impression with a service or a product that makes it unique and specific. Branding is the most valuable ingredient of advertising theme which depicts what business owner will offer to its client. The main goal of advertising is to attract its target customers and make the product or service unique. Branding, through frequent and repeated advertising is the most efficient way to reach this goal.

If customers see an advertisement over and over through different advertising Medias all over the places it create a branding images in their mind and the product or service become brand easily. When it becomes brand, the selling goes high very quickly and it has long term impact on business.    

2.3             2.3   Review the creative aspects of advertising

Advertising campaign becomes successful when it provides a novel, different and unique advertising appeal/theme to the biggest audience. Creating such kind of advertisement is known as creativity of advertising. It is an art and ability to produce original, fresh and unique ideas in communicating with biggest audience. Ad-creativity is the outcome of imaginative skills of commercial artist, layout designer and copywriter. Creative ads attract the attention of target audience very easily and most effective ways. Creative ideas give competitive advantages to the advertiser. If any unique appeals or slogan is created by any organization and it is successful in the market then it last for a longer period of time. To be successful, creative ideas must be interrelated with customer demand and product features. Creating such kind of exceptional selling ideas which is imaginative, different and original is hard. Before launching this kind of unique ads in the market it needs to verify or taste. There are three steps in creating unique ads like collecting information, thinking process and verification.  

2.4          

                                 2.4    Examine ways of working with advertising agencies

If anyone wants to work with a add agencies they need to remember some ways to act and those are:

1.      Know what you want- At first anyone needs to know what he wants to produce otherwise he has to rely on agencies and has to pay a lot of extra money.

2.      Don’t assume you have the right answer- business organization must have its own idea; for more refinement they are going to take help from the ad agencies

3.      Realize that there is a strategy all the time behind advertising

4.      Don’t let loved ones make business decisions.

5.      There will be only one decision maker otherwise it will be time-consuming or difficult. 

6.      Don’t assume you know your customer, it needs to do the market research to know your prefect customers

7.      Something is not better than nothing- here business organization has put full effort on marketing otherwise it really tough to take a place in competitive market.

8.      Value is more important than price- branding is very important for long lasting business so need to give more emphasize on branding.

9.      You need to verify the ad what ad agency gives you.

10.  Don’t stop advertising when sales go down.

11.  Need to identify your ad agency either working for your or not. [8]

3.    Understand below-the-line techniques and how they are used

3.1            3.1  Explain primary techniques of below-the-line promotion and how they are used in an integrated promotional strategy for a business or product

Below the line promotion is a short term incentives but largely aimed at customers. When anyone wants to achieve communication objectives effectively but has limited budget, then he needs to do the below-the –line promotions. It uses less conventional methods than usual media based methods to promote services and products. It includes direct mail, sales promotions or public relation methods but most commonly uses direct mail or email and often use listed and targeted customers. Another way to do promotion is Ssop intercept where sales personnel are employed at retail stores near the shelves of targeted product. Those personnel visit these shelves for better aspect of their brand compared with others. When target group is specific and limited then BTL promotion is very effective and cost-efficient. It uses on touch and feel products and it ensures recall of the brand with highlighting the product features. [9] 

3.2 Evaluate other techniques used in below-the-line promotion             

There are some techniques to do this promotion and they are:

·         Price promotion or price discount but sometimes price discount has negative impact on brand imaging.

·         Coupons are a very versatile way of giving discount. It maximizes the redemption rate. It is very essential when anyone wants to bring a new product in market but make sure that he has sufficient coupons.

·         Gift with purchase- customer get some gift with purchasing product.

·         Competitions and prize

·         Money refunds

·         Frequent user/ loyalty incentives

·         Point-of-sale displays

Most of the big business organizations are following this promotional method as it is cheaper than media based promotion, increase impulse purchasing and advertising clutter. [10]

Conclusion:

Advertising and promotion is very vital and important for a business organization to promote its service or product. Through this they can make their service or product as a brand. When people watch ads or promotions on the TV screen, radio, bill board, mobile phone and internet over and over, it creates a brand image on their mind. When a brand image is created it has long lasting impact on business and customers. Most of the time people buy brand products first then look for other options. Promotional teams work for direct marketing and they follow the below-the-line techniques. Now-a-days most of the organizations follow the combine method of promotion which uses both above-the-line and below-the-line promotions. Most of the business organizations must careful about their product and service and they will provide the exact products and services which they do the commitment to the consumers through advertisement and promotion.    

References (including web referencing)

 1.      Advertising and promotion by Rouglas Dunns, Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on:  http://ag.arizona.edu/arec/pubs/dmkt/Advertisin&Promo.pdf

2.      Marketing communication , Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on:   http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780198775768/freelecturer/manual/imchap12.pdf

3.      Models of marketing communication, Last modified on: 16/07/2008, Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on: http://marketingcommunicationmodels.blogspot.com/

4.      Slideshare; Advertising Agency, Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on: http://www.slideshare.net/SteveRaybould/advertising-agency-235507

5.      Slideshare, Regulation of advertising and promotion, Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on: http://www.slideshare.net/ves_quan/chap21-regulation-of-advertising-and-promotion-presentation

6.      Wikipedia, Advertising, Last modified: 30/12/12,  Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising#Rise_in_new_media

7.      Slideshare, The role of advertising, Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on: http://www.slideshare.net/bipinpandit/the-roles-of-advertising-presentation

8.      Eleven tips for working with an ad agency by Heather Loftiss, Last modified: 10/01/2006,Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on: http://www.syl.com/bc/eleventipsforworkingwithanadagency.html

9.      Below the line, Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on: http://www.promoseven.com/belowtheline.html

10.  Below the line promotion, by Shishir Nurula, Last modified: 02/07/06, Retrieve on: 31/12/12, Available on: http://www.indianmba.com/Occasional_Papers/OP118/op118.html

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