MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX (PROMOTION

MIX)

PROMOTION MIX
Marketing communications are the means by

which firms attempts to inform, persuade,

& remind consumer's directly ,
indirectly about the products and
brands they sell.
This is an assortment of advertising, sales

promotion, public relation, personnel selling,

& direct marketing, any organization must
have an ideal promotion mix to promote its
products. Therefore it is a very crucial task
for the marketer to properly list out the
promotion mix strategies & its benefits ( it
Majorly consist of 7 major modes of
communication )

ADVERTISING

Any paid form of non-personal presentations &

promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified

sponsor.
E.g. Print Ads, packaging outer, packaging inserts, motion

pictures, brochures & booklets, posters & leaflets,, directories,

reprints of ads, billboards, ,display signs, points-of-purchase
displays, audiovisual material, symbols & logos, videotapes.

SALES PROMOTION
Incentives designed to stimulate

the purchase or sale of a product,

usually in the short term &
generally adopted in the stores or
point of purchase, for e.g. Contents ,
games, sweepstakes, lotteries,
premiums & gifts, sampling, fair &
trades shows, exhibits, demonstrations,
coupons, rebates, low-interest financing,
entertainment, Trade-in-allowance,
continuity programs, Tie-ins.

EVENTS & EXPERIENCES

Company sponsored activities and programs

designed to create daily or special brand- related
interactions.
E.g : Sports, Entertainment, Festivals, Arts,
Causes, Factory Tours, Company Museums, Street
activities.

PUBLIC RELATIONS & PUBLICITY

A variety of programs designed to promote or

protect a company's image or its individual

products.
Publicity - This medium of communications may be

used with or without the organization knowing

about it. When the company itself is involved in
publicizing a certain message or idea then publicity
is organizational oriented, if any other external
party such as media is involved in communicating
any issue about the company then it gets publicity
through others. For example, film producers often
use publicity stunts to promote their films even
before it is released.
E.g : Press kits, Speeches, Seminars, Annual

reports, Charitable donations, Publications,

Community relations, lobbying, identity media,
company magazine.

DIRECT & INTERACTIVE MARKETING

The communication tool used to interact with

the customers directly by using telephone,

mail, online mediums, & other tools for e.g.
Catalogs , Mailings, Telemarketing, Electronic
Shopping, TV shopping, Fax mail, E-mail,
Voice Mail, Blogs, Websites.

WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING

People to people oral, written, electronic
communications, that relate to the merits
or experiences of purchasing or using
products or services.
E.G : Person to person, Chat rooms, Blogs

PERSONAL SELLING

The type of promotion mix that involves sales

people who will help & persuade one or more

prospects to purchase a good or service or to
act on any idea through the use of an oral
presentation. E.g. Sales presentations, Sales
meetings, sales trainings, & incentive
programs of intermediary sales people,
samples & fair & trade shows

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

According to the American Marketing Association , Integrated Marketing

Communication is a Planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts

received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are
relevant to that person & consistent over time.
Its objective is to plan ,develop ,execute, & evaluate coordinated communications

with organizations stakeholders.

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) The concept under which a company

carefully integrates and coordinates its many communications channels to deliver a

clear, consistent, and compelling message about the organization and its products.

REASONS FOR GROWTH OF INTEGRATED MARKETING

COMMUNICATIONS

1. The growth of innovative promotional tools & the need to integrate them
2. Specialized media vehicles for niche target customers
3. Growth of retailer dominated market & passing of control from manufacturer to the

customer.
4. Growth of database marketing
5. Wider geographical coverage through internet
6. Higher accountability & performance linked compensation schemes.

COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Major Parties in
Communication : Sender
& Receiver
Major Communication
Tools : Message & Media
Major Communication
Functions: Encoding,
Decoding, Response &
Feedback

Sender: The party sending the message to another party, E.g Hospital to Target Audience
Encoding: The process of putting thought into symbolic form , words and illustrations into an
advertisement that will convey the intended message.
Message: The set of symbols that the sender transmits, Single Specialty Ad
Media: The communication channels through which the message moves from sender to receiver.
Decoding: The process by which the receiver assigns meaning to the symbols encoded by the
sender.
Receiver: The party receiving the message sent by another party
Response: The reactions of the receiver after being exposed to the message can be brand
awareness, can result in purchase or can lead to no response.
Feedback: The part of the receivers response communicated back to the sender, research for the
response of campaign , customers writes to the company for their feedback
Noise: The unplanned static or distortion during the communication process, which results in the
receivers getting a different message than the one the sender sent.

IMC BUILDS BRANDS

Brand equity is the added value endowed on products and services, which may be reflected
in the way consumers, think, feel, and act with respect to the brand.

RESPONSE HIERARCHY MODELS

DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

Potential buyer, current users, influencers, individuals,
groups, loyalty & usage

Category Need, e.g. Electronic Car , Brand Awareness, Brand Attitude

(Negatively Oriented, Positively Oriented), Brand Purchase Intention
Message Strategy (What to Say) , Creative Strategy (How to Say ,
Informational & Transformational Appeal), Who should say it (Message
source) (Expertise , Trustworthiness, Likability)
Personal (Advocate Channel, Expert Channel, Social Channel) & Non
Personal communication Channel (Media, Sales Promotions, Events &
Experiences)
Affordable Method, Percentage of Sales Method, Competitive Parity Method,
Objective & Task Method (Defining specific Objectives, determining tasks,
Estimating costs of performing tasks)

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Designing a Message
AIDA Model

Get Attention

Hold Interest

Arouse Desire

Obtain Action

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Designing a Message
Message content is an appeal or theme that will produce the
desired response

Rational appeal

Emotional appeal

Moral appeal

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Designing a Message
Rational appeal relates to the audiences self-interest
Emotional appeal is an attempt to stir up positive or negative
emotions to motivate a purchase
Moral appeal is directed at the audiences sense of right and
proper

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Choosing Media

Personal communication
Non-personal communication

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Choosing Media
Personal communication involves two or more people communicating
directing with each other

Face-to-face

Phone

Mail

E-mail

Internet chat

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Choosing Media
Personal communication is effective because it allows personal
addressing and feedback
Control of personal communication

Company

Independent experts

Word of mouth
14-31

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Choosing Media
Personal Communication
Company

Salespeople
Independent experts

Consumer advocates

Buying guides
Word of mouth

Friends

Neighbors

Family

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Choosing Media
Personal Communication

Opinion leaders are people within a reference group who,

because of special skills, knowledge, personality, or other
characteristics, exerts social influence on others.

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Choosing Media
Personal Communication

Buzz marketing involves cultivating opinion leaders and getting

them to spread information about a product or service to
others in their communities

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Non-Personal Communication Channels

Non-personal communication is media that carry
messages without personal contact or feedback including
major media, atmospheres, and eventsthat affect the buyer
directly

COMMUNICATION STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE

Non-Personal Communication Channels
Major media include print, broadcast, display, and online media
Atmospheres are designed environments that create or reinforce
the buyers leanings toward buying a product

CHARACTERISTICS OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX

Advertising reaches geographically dispersed buyers, it can build a long
term image as well as can trigger quick sale.
Pervasiveness : Advertising permits the seller to repeat a message many times, also
allows the buyer to compare the message of various competitors.
Amplified expressiveness : Advertising provides the opportunity for dramatizing the
company & its products through the artful use of print, sound & color.
Impersonality : The audience does not feel to obligated to pay attention or respond to
advertising, advertising is a monologue in front of , not a dialogue with the audience.

SALES PROMOTION
Companies uses 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 & boosting sagging sales .

3 Distinctive Benefits are :

1. Communication : They gain attention and may lead 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 & PUBLICITY

Extremely beneficial if the company has to challenge consumers
misconception , 3 distinctive qualities :
1. High Credibility : New stories & features are more authentic and credible to readers
than ads.
2. Ability to catch buyers off guard : Public relations can reach prospects who prefers
to avoid salespeople and advertisements.
3. Dramatization : Public relations has the potential for dramatizing a company or
product.

EVENTS & EXPERIENCE

Relevant : A well chosen event or experience can be seen as highly
relevant because the consumer gets personally involved
Involving : Given their live, real time quality , events & experiences are
more actively engaging for consumers.
Implicit : Events are an indirect Soft Sell

DIRECT & INTERACTIVE MARKETING

Customized : The message can be prepared to appeal to the addressed
individual
Up- to Date : A message can be prepared very quickly
Interactive : The message can be changed depending on the persons
response.

WORD OF MOUTH MARKETING

Credible : People trust others they know & respect word of mouth can be highly
influential
Personal : Can be very intimate dialogue that reflects personal facts, opinions &
experiences.
Timely : It occurs when people want it to and when they are most interested and it
often follows noteworthy or meaningful events or experiences.

PERSONAL SELLING
Personal Interaction : Personal selling creates an immediate and interactive episode
between two or more persons, each party is able to observe the others reactions.
Cultivation : It also permits all kinds of relationships to spring up, ranging from a
matter of fact selling to deep personal friendship.
Response : The buyer may feel under some obligation for having listened to the sales
talk.

FACTORS IN SETTING THE COMMUNICATION MIX

Type of product Marketing
Consumer Readiness to make a purchase
Stage in the Product Life Cycle
Type of Product Market : Communication Mix Allocations vary between consumer &
business market, consumer market tend to spend comparatively more on sales promotion &
advertising , Business Marketers tend to spend comparatively more on personal selling.
In general personal selling is used more with complex, expensive, & risky goods
and in markets with fewer & large sellers.

r Readiness Stage : Communication tools vary in cost effectiveness at different stages of buyer readines
Awareness & Publicity play the most
important role in the awareness building
stage.
Customer Comprehension is primarily
affected by advertising and personal
selling.
Customer conviction by personal selling
Closing the sales by personal selling &
sales promotion
Reordering by personal selling ,sales
promotion & reminder advertising

Product Life Cycle : Communication tools also vary in cost effectiveness at different stages of
the product life cycle.
In the Introduction stage advertising ,events & experiences and publicity have the
highest cost effectiveness, followed by personal selling to gain distribution
coverage's and sales promotion and direct marketing to induce trial.
In the growth stage demand has its own momentum through word of mouth.
In the maturity stage advertising , events & experiences and personal selling all
become more important.
In the decline stage, sales promotion continues strong ,other communication tools
are reduced and sales people give the product only minimal attention.

MEASURING COMMUNICATION RESULTS

Senior Managers wants to know the outcome & revenues by use of communication mix, but
communication directors supply only outputs & expenses, press clipping counts, numbers od ads
placed, media costs in other words, reach & frequency, recall & recognition scores, persuasion
changes, & ultimately behavior changes.
Communication directors needs to measure the impact on target audience by asking whether
they recognize or recall the message, how many times they saw it, what points they
recall, how they felt about the message, & their previous & current attitudes towards
the product & the company.
They should also calculate behavioral aspects such as how many people bought it, liked
it , talked about it etc.

20% not
aware
60% not
aware

40% did
not try
100% market

100% market
80% aware
60% tried

80%
disappointed
40% aware

30% tried

20% satisfied
Total

Awareness
Brand A

Brand Trial

Satisfaction

70% did not

try

Total

Awareness
Brand B

Brand Trial

20% disappointed

80% satisfied
Satisfaction

MANAGING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX

Major Ad Agencies has acquired promotion agencies, public relations firms & package design
consultancies, web site developers, direct mail houses these agencies are known as
communication agencies
Single Vehicle Single Stage
Multiple Vehicle Single Stage
Multiple Vehicle Multiple Stage