Deciding on the Marketing Communications Mix

Companies must allocate the marketing communications budget over the eight major modes of communication—
advertising, sales promotion, public relations and publicity, events and experiences,
direct marketing, interactive marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, and the sales force.Within the
same industry, companies can differ considerably in their media and channel choices. Avon concentrates
its promotional funds on personal selling, whereas Revlon spends heavily on advertising.
Electrolux spent heavily on a door-to-door sales force for years, whereas Hoover has relied more on
advertising. Table 17.2 breaks down spending on some major forms of communication.
Companies are always searching for ways to gain efficiency by substituting one communications
tool for others.Many are replacing some field sales activity with ads, direct mail, and telemarketing.
One auto dealer dismissed his five salespeople and cut prices, and sales exploded. The substitutability
among communications tools explains why marketing functions need to be coordinated.
Characteristics of the Marketing Communications Mix
Each communication tool has its own unique characteristics and costs.We briefly review them here
and discuss them in more detail in Chapters 18 and 19.
ADVERTISING Advertising reaches geographically dispersed buyers. It can build up a long-term
image for a product (Coca-Cola ads) or trigger quick sales (a Macy’s ad for a weekend sale). Certain
forms of advertising such as TV can require a large budget, whereas other forms such as newspaper
do not. The mere presence of advertising might have an effect on sales: Consumers might believe a
heavily advertised brand must offer “good value.”34 Because of the many forms and uses of
advertising, it’s difficult to make generalizations about it.35 Yet a few observations are worthwhile:
1. Pervasiveness—Advertising permits the seller to repeat a message many times. It also allows
the buyer to receive and compare the messages of various competitors. Large-scale advertising
says something positive about the seller’s size, power, and success.2. Amplified expressiveness—Advertising provides opportunities for dramatizing the company
and its brands and products through the artful use of print, sound, and color.
3. Control—The advertiser can choose the aspects of the brand and product on which to focus
communications.
SALES PROMOTION Companies use sales promotion tools—coupons, contests, premiums,
and the like—to draw a stronger and quicker buyer response, including short-run effects such as
highlighting product offers and boosting sagging sales. Sales promotion tools offer three
distinctive benefits:
1. Ability to be attention-getting—They draw attention and may lead the consumer to the product.
2. Incentive—They incorporate some concession, inducement, or contribution that gives value
to the consumer.
3. Invitation—They include a distinct invitation to engage in the transaction now.
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PUBLICITY Marketers tend to underuse public relations, yet a
well-thought-out program coordinated with the other communications-mix elements can be
extremely effective, especially if a company needs to challenge consumers’ misconceptions. The
appeal of public relations and publicity is based on three distinctive qualities:
1. High credibility—News stories and features are more authentic and credible to readers than ads.
2. Ability to reach hard-to-find buyers—Public relations can reach prospects who prefer to
avoid mass media and targeted promotions.
3. Dramatization—Public relations can tell the story behind a company, brand, or product.EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES There are many advantages to events and experiences as long
as they have the following characteristics:
1. Relevant—A well-chosen event or experience can be seen as highly relevant because the
consumer is often personally invested in the outcome.
2. Engaging—Given their live, real-time quality, events and experiences are more actively engaging
for consumers.
3. Implicit—Events are typically an indirect “soft sell.”
DIRECT AND INTERACTIVE MARKETING Direct and interactive marketing messages
take many forms—over the phone, online, or in person. They share three characteristics:
1. Customized—The message can be prepared to appeal to the addressed individual.
2. Up-to-date—A message can be prepared very quickly.
3. Interactive—The message can be changed depending on the person’s response.
WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING Word of mouth also takes many forms both online or
offline. Three noteworthy characteristics are:
1. Influential—Because people trust others they know and respect, word of mouth can be highly
influential.
2. Personal—Word of mouth can be a very intimate dialogue that reflects personal facts, opinions,
and experiences.
3. Timely—Word of mouth occurs when people want it to and are most interested, and it often
follows noteworthy or meaningful events or experiences.
PERSONAL SELLING Personal selling is the most effective tool at later stages of the buying
process, particularly in building up buyer preference, conviction, and action. Personal selling has
three notable qualities:
1. Personal interaction—Personal selling creates an immediate and interactive episode between
two or more persons. Each is able to observe the other’s reactions.
2. Cultivation—Personal selling also permits all kinds of relationships to spring up, ranging
from a matter-of-fact selling relationship to a deep personal friendship.
3. Response—The buyer is often given personal choices and encouraged to directly respond.