Chapter 14 COMMUNICATING CUSTOMER VALUE: INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

MARKETING STARTER: CHAPTER 14

Chick-fil-A: A Remarkably Enduring Integrated Marketing Communications Campaign
Synopsis Chick-fil-As strength had always been its signature fried chicken sandwich. But somehow, just saying we make good chicken sandwiches wasnt enough. Chick-fil-A needed a creative big ideasomething memorable that would communicate the brands unique value proposition. What it came up with was an improbable herd of renegade black-and-white cows that couldnt spell. Their message: Eat Mor Chikin. Their goal: to convince consumers to switch from hamburgers to chicken. From that initial concept, the effort has now grown to become one of the most consistent and enduring integrated marketing communications campaigns in history, a full multimedia campaign that has forever changed the burger-eating landscape. The key to the Eat Mor Chikin campaigns success lies in its remarkable consistency. For more than 17 years, Chick-fil-A has stuck steadfastly to its simple but potent Eat Mor Chikin message, and the brands racscally cows have now become pop culture icons. Chick -fil-A keeps the campaign fresh with an ever-changing mix of clever message executions and innovative media placements. Most recently, Chick-fil-A has taken its Eat Mor Chikin message to the social media, including Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter. These days, you never know where the quirky cows will show up next. In all, Chick-fil-As now-classic but still-contemporary integrated marketing communications campaign has been more successful than we ever imagined it could be, concludes the companys senior vice president of marketing.

Discussion Objective
The chapter-opening Chick-fil-A story illustrates a truly integrated promotional campaign. Thus, the discussion will go far beyond just showing off another clever ad campaign. It will demonstrate how Chick-fil-A has connected with customers using a wide range of carefully integrated promotion elements focused on delivering a unified, relevant message that has stayed relevant for nearly 20 years.

Starting the Discussion

Begin this discussion by visiting the campaign at www.eatmorchikin.com. Explore the world of the Chick-fil-A Cows and be recruited to help the Eat More Chicken cause while you play free online games starring the Cows. Help students to discover the substantial breadth of media and PR elements used in this award-winning campaign and to show how well integrated the elements are with each other and with the overall campaign theme. This multimedia site provides a springboard for exploring all the different aspects of the Eat Mor Chikin campaign. Next, you can explore how Chick-fil-A has utilized social media by visiting the campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EatMorChikin. Taken as a whole, this campaign is visually and artistically interesting, so have fun as you move through the discussion. But most importantly, be certain that students appreciate how well the Eat Mor Chikin campaign integrates its various pieces around a single simple theme, with a healthy dose of humor to boot.

Discussion Questions
1. Beyond the obvious, what is the key brand message behind Chick-fil-As Eat Mor Chikin campaign? (Quickly explore the www.eatmorechikin.com Web site. Discuss with students the fact that this campaign is silly, irreverent, and endearing to Chick-fil-A die-hards. Indeed, the crazy cows have become

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synonymous with the brand itself. To both current and potential customers, the campaign says, Our brand is folksy, fun, and a little crazy -- just like you. We wont let you down!) 2. Does Chick-fil-A communicate this message effectively? How? (By now, students should be appreciating that although there are many, many pieces to this campaign, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. From the Web site to Facebook page to community events and even cell phone ringtones, everything in the Eat Mor Chikin is carefully integrated under common themes and imagery. Each aspect of the campaign brings home the message or pulls consumers into Chick-fil-A stores.) How does the Chick-fil-A story relate to the concepts presented in Chapter 14? (The chapter begins by discussing the rapidly changing marketing communications landscape and the urgent need for integrating todays rich assortment of new and traditional media. The Eat Mor Chikin campaign provides a great example.)

3.

CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Use Power Point Slide 14-1 here Companies must do more than just create customer value. They must also use promotion to clearly and persuasively communicate that value. Promotion is not a single tool but, rather, a mix of several tools. Under the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC), the company must carefully coordinate these promotion elements to deliver a clear, consistent, and compelling message about the organization and its brands. The chapter begins with an introduction to the various promotion mix tools. Next, we examine the rapidly changing communications environment and the need for IMC. Finally, the chapter discusses the steps in developing marketing communications and the promotion budgeting process.

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
Use Power Point Slide 14-2 here 1. Define the five promotion mix tools for communicating customer value. 2. Discuss the changing communications landscape and the need for integrated marketing communications. 3. Outline the communication process and the steps in developing effective marketing communications. 4. Explain the methods for setting the promotion budget and factors that affect the design of the promotion mix.

CHAPTER OUTLINE
p. 406 INTRODUCTION In an industry characterized by constantly shifting promotional themes, Chick-fil-As remarkably enduring Eat Mor Chikin campaignfeaturing an unlikely herd of
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p. 407 Ad: Chick-fil-A

quirky cowshas successfully engaged customers, communicated the brands personality and positioning, and made Chick-fil-A one of Americas most successful quickservice restaurant chains. The key to the Eat Mor Chikin campaigns success lies in its remarkable consistency. For more than 17 years, Chickfil-A has stuck steadfastly to its simple but potent Eat Mor Chikin message, and the brands cows have now become pop culture icons. Building on the basic message, Chick-fil-A keeps the campaign fresh with an ever-changing mix of clever message executions and innovative media placements. Today, Chick-fil-As now-classic but still-contemporary integrated marketing communications campaign has been more successful than company officials ever imagined it could be. Opening Vignette Questions 1. What are the key brand messages that Chick-filA wants to send customers through this campaign? 2. How does this zany integrated campaign distinguish Chick-fil-A from its competitors in the fast-food business? 3. What are the key promotion mix tools that the company utilized to achieve its objectives? 4. How long do you believe that Chick-fil-As sales success can last with this campaign? How permanent is this brand impression in consumers minds? p. 406 PPT 14-3 THE PROMOTION MIX A companys total promotion mixalso called its marketing communications mixconsists of the specific blend of advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal selling, and direct-marketing tools that the company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives. Chapter Objective 1

PPT 14-4

PPT 14-5

p. 406-407 Key Terms: Promotion Mix (Marketing Communications Mix), Advertising, Sales Promotion, The five major promotion tools are defined as follows: Personal Selling, 1. Advertising: Any paid form of nonpersonal Public Relations presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or (PR) services by an identified sponsor 2. Sales promotion: Short-term incentives to
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PPT 14-6

encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service 3. Personal selling: Personal presentation by the firms sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships 4. Public relations: Building good relations with the companys various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories, and events 5. Direct marketing: Direct connections with carefully targeted individual consumers to both obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationshipsusing telephone, mail, fax, e-mail, the Internet, and other tools to communicate directly with specific customers. Assignments, Resources Use Discussion Question 1 here Use Additional Project 1 here Use Individual Assignment 1 here Use Think-Pair-Share 1 and 2 here Use Outside Example 1 here Use Web Resources 1 here

PPT 14-7

PPT 14-8

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INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS The New Marketing Communications Model

Chapter Objective 2

p. 408 Several major factors are changing the face of todays Photo: Heinz marketing communications. PPT 14-9

Consumers are changing. They are better informed and more communications empowered. Marketing strategies are changing. As mass markets have fragmented, marketers are shifting away from mass marketing. More and more, they are developing focused marketing programs designed to build closer relationships with customers in more narrowly defined micromarkets. Sweeping changes in communications technology are causing remarkable changes in the ways in which companies and customers communicate with each other.

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Although television, magazines, and other mass media p. 411 remain very important, their dominance is declining. Photo: SoBe Advertisers are now adding a broad selection of morespecialized and highly targeted media to reach smaller customer segments. The new media range from specialty magazines, cable television channels, and made-for-the Web videos to Internet catalogs, e-mail, blogs, blogs, mobile phone content, and online social networks. Companies are doing less broadcasting and more narrowcasting. Many large advertisers are shifting their advertising budgets away from network television in favor of more targeted, cost-effective, interactive, and engaging media. It seems likely that the new marketing communications model will consist of a shifting mix of both traditional mass media and a wide array of exciting new, more-target, morepersonalized media. Assignments, Resources Use Real Marketing 14.1 here Use Discussion Question 2 here Use Marketing Technology here Use Additional Project 2 here Use Think-Pair-Share 3 here Use Small Group Assignment 1 here Use Web Resources 2 here p. 409 The Need for Integrated Marketing Communications Customers dont distinguish between message sources the PPT 14-10 way marketers do. In the consumers mind, advertising messages from different media and different promotional approaches all become part of a single message about the company. Conflicting messages from these different sources can result in confused company images and brand positions. Too often, companies fail to integrate their various communications channels. Mass-media advertisements say one thing, while a price promotion sends a different signal and a product label creates still another message. Company
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sales literature says something altogether different and the companys Web site seems out of sync with everything else. The problem is that these communications often come from different company sources. p. 411 Today, more companies are adopting the concept of Key Term: PPT 14-11 integrated marketing communications (IMC). Integrated Marketing Under this concept, as illustrated in Figure 14.1, the Communications company carefully integrates and coordinates its many (IMC) communications channels to deliver a clear, consistent, and compelling message about the organization and its brands. p. 409 Figure 14.1: IMC calls for recognizing all contact points where the Integrated customer may encounter the company, its products, and its Marketing brands. Each brand contact will deliver a message, whether Communications good, bad, or indifferent. The company must strive to deliver a consistent and positive message with each contact. p. 410 Photo: Hormel IMC builds brand identity and strong customer relationships by tying together all of the companys messages and images. Brand messages and positioning are coordinated across all communication activities and media. Troubleshooting Tip Some students will need to have explained in detail the differences among the various promotional tools outlined in the chapter. Figure 14.1 will help in this regard. Asking students for examples from each channel of communication will also help.

p. 412

A VIEW OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS IMC involves identifying the target audience and shaping a well-coordinated promotional program to obtain the desired audience response. Today, marketers are moving toward viewing communications as managing the customer relationship over time. Because customers differ, communications programs need to be developed for specific segments, niches, and even individuals.
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Chapter Objective 3

The communications process should start with an audit of all the potential contacts target customers may have with the company and its brands. PPT 14-12 To communicate effectively, marketers need to understand how communication works. Communication involves the nine elements shown in Figure 14.2

Sender: The party sending the message to another party. Encoding: The process of putting thought into symbolic form. Message: The set of symbols that the sender transmits. 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. Feedback: The part of the receivers response communicated back to the sender Noise: The unplanned static or distortion during the communication process that results in the receivers getting a different message than the one the sender sent.

p. 413 Figure 14.2: Elements in the Communication Process

Assignments, Resources Use Discussion Question 3 here Use Think-Pair-Share 4 here Use Small Group Assignment 2 here Troubleshooting Tip One area of concern is found in Figure 14.2 (Elements in the Communication Process). Survey students to see how many have had a basic course in business or interpersonal communications. The model used in Figure 14.2 is standard to most communication presentations. If most students have had a course in communications of some type, the model presents no problem. However, if most have not had any preparatory course work spend time explaining the model and associated vocabulary.
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p. 413

STEPS IN DEVELOPING EFFECTVE MARKETING COMMUNICATION

PPT 14-13 There are several steps in developing an effective integrated communications and promotion program. Identifying the Target Audience p. 414 A marketing communicator starts with a clear target PPT 14-14 audience in mind. The audience may be potential buyers or current users, those who make the buying decision or those who influence it. The audience may be individuals, groups, special publics, or the general public. The target audience will heavily affect the communicators decisions on what will be said, how it will be said, when it will be said, where it will be said, and who will say it. Determining the Communication Objectives PPT 14-15 Once the target audience has been defined, the marketing communicator must decide what response is sought. The marketing communicator needs to know where the target audience now stands and to what stage it needs to be moved. The target audience may be in any of six buyerreadiness stages, the stages consumers normally pass through on their way to making a purchase. (See Figure 14.3) p. 414 Key Term: BuyerReadiness Stages p. 414 Ad: Tide

p. 414 Figure 14.3: BuyerThe communicator must first build awareness and Readiness Stages knowledge. p. 414 Assuming target consumers know about the product, how do they feel about it? These stages include liking (feeling favorable about the product), preference, (preferring it to other brands), and conviction (believing that the product is best for them). Some members of the target market might be convinced about the product, but not quite get around to making the purchase. The communicator must lead these consumers to take the final step. Actions might include offering special promotional prices, rebates, or premiums.

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PPT 14-16 Designing a Message Having defined the desired audience response, the communicator turns to developing an effective message. The message should get Attention, hold Interest, arouse Desire, and obtain Action (a framework known as the AIDA model). PPT 14-17 In putting the message together, the marketing communicator must decide what to say (message content) and how to say it (message structure and format). Message Content The communicator has to figure out an appeal or theme that will produce the desired response. There are three types of appeals. 1. Rational appeals relate to the audiences selfinterest. They show that the product will produce the desired benefits. 2. Emotional appeals attempt to stir up either negative or positive emotions that can motivate purchase. Communicators may use positive emotional appeals such as love, pride, joy, and humor. Communicators can also use negative emotional appeals, such as fear, guilt, and shame that get people to do things they should or to stop doing things they shouldnt. 3. Moral appeals are directed to the audiences sense of what is right and proper. They are often used to urge people to support social causes such as a cleaner environment, better race relations, equal rights for women, and aid to the disadvantaged. Message Structure p. 416 The communicator must also decide how to handle three Ad: Snickers message structure issues. 1. The first is whether to draw a conclusion or leave it to the audience. Recent research suggests that in many cases, rather than drawing a conclusion, the advertiser is better off asking questions and letting buyers come to their own conclusions. 2. The second message structure issue is whether to
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PPT 14-18

present the strongest arguments first or last. Presenting them first gets strong attention but may lead to an anticlimactic ending. 3. The third message structure issue is whether to present a one-sided argument (mentioning only the products strengths) or a two-sided argument (touting the products strengths while also admitting its shortcomings). Message Format The marketing communicator also needs a strong format for the message. In a print ad, the communicator has to decide on the headline, copy, illustration, and color. To attract attention, advertisers use novelty and contrast; eye-catching pictures and headlines; distinctive formats; message size and position; and color, shape, and movement. If a message is to be carried over the radio, the communicator has to choose words, sounds, and voices. If the message is to be carried on television or in person, then all these elements plus body language have to be planned. Presenters plan their facial expressions, gestures, dress, posture, and hairstyles. If the message is carried on the product or its package, the communicator has to watch texture, scent, color, size, and shape. Assignments, Resources Use Web Resources 3 here p. 416 Choosing Media The communicator now must select channels of communication. There are two broad types of communication channels: personal and nonpersonal. Personal Communication Channels p. 416-417 PPT 14-19 In personal communication channels, two or more people Key Terms: communicate directly with each other. Personal Communication
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Some personal communication channels are controlled directly by the company. For example, company salespeople contact buyers in the target market. But other PPT 14-20 personal communications about the product may reach buyers through channels not directly controlled by the company. Word-of-mouth influence has considerable effect in many areas. Companies can take steps to put personal communication channels to work for them. They can create marketing programs that will generate favorable word-of-mouth communications about their brands. PPT 14-21 Companies can create opinion leaderspeople whose opinions are sought by othersby supplying influencers with the product on attractive terms or by educating them so that they can inform others.

Channels, Word-ofMouth Influence, Buzz Marketing, Nonpersonal Communication

Buzz marketing involves cultivating opinion leaders and getting them to spread information about a product or p. 417 service to others in their communities. Photo: P&G p. 417 Nonpersonal Communication Channels

PPT 14-22 Nonpersonal communication channels are media that carry messages without personal contact or feedback. PPT 14-23 Major media include print media, broadcast media, display media, and online media. Atmospheres are designed environments that create or reinforce the buyers leanings toward buying a product. PPT 14-24 Events are staged occurrences that communicate messages to target audiences. Nonpersonal communication affects buyers directly. Communications first flow from television, magazines, and other mass media to opinion leaders and then from these opinion leaders to others. Thus, opinion leaders step between the mass media and their audiences and carry messages to people who are less exposed to media. p. 417 Selecting a Message Source
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The messages impact on the target audience is also affected p. 418 PPT 14-25 by how the audience views the communicator. Messages Ad: Celebrity delivered by highly credible sources are more persuasive. Endorsers Marketers often hire celebrity endorsers to deliver their p. 419 message. But companies must be careful when selecting Ad: Lipton celebrities to represent their brands. p. 418 Collecting Feedback

PPT 14-26 After sending the message, the communicator must research its effect on the target audience. This involves asking the target audience members whether they remember the message, how many times they saw it, what points they recall, how they felt about the message, and their past and present attitudes toward the product and company. The communicator would also like to measure behavior resulting from the messagehow many people bought a product, talked to others about it, or visited the store. Feedback on marketing communications may suggest changes in the promotion program or in the product offer itself. Assignments, Resources Use Video Case here Use Discussion Question 4 here Use Critical Thinking Exercise 1 here Use Additional Projects 3 and 4 here Use Web Resources 4 here p. 418 SETTING THE TOTAL PROMOTION BUDGET AND Chapter Objective 4 MIX How does the company decide on the total promotion budget and its division among the major promotional tools to create the promotion mix? p. 418 Setting the Total Promotion Budget One of the hardest marketing decisions facing a company is how much to spend on promotion. We look at four common methods used to set the total budget for advertising.

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Affordable Method p. 420 Some companies use the affordable methodthey set the Key Terms: promotion budget at the level they think the company can Affordable Method, afford. Percentage-of-Sales PPT 14-27 Method Small businesses often use this method, reasoning that the company cannot spend more on advertising than it has. p. 420 Unfortunately, this method of setting budgets completely Ad: Coca-Cola ignores the effects of promotion on sales. It tends to place advertising last among spending priorities, even in situations in which advertising is critical to the firms success. p. 420 It leads to an uncertain annual promotion budget that makes long-range market planning difficult. Although the affordable method can result in overspending on advertising, it more often results in underspending. Percentage-of-Sales Method PPT 14-28 Other companies use the percentage-of-sales method, setting their promotion budget at a certain percentage of current or forecasted sales. Or they budget a percentage of the unit sales price. The percentage-of-sales method has advantages. It is simple to use. It helps management think about the relationship between promotion spending, selling price, and profit per unit. However, it wrongly views sales as the cause of promotion rather than the result. The percentage-of-sales budget is based on availability of funds rather than on opportunities. It may prevent the increased spending sometimes needed to turn around falling sales. Because the budget varies with year-to-year sales, long-range planning is difficult. Finally, the method does not provide any basis for choosing a specific percentage, except what has been done in the past or what competitors are doing.

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p. 421 p. 421 Key Term: Other companies use the competitive-parity method, Competitive-Parity PPT 14-29 setting their promotion budgets to match competitors Method outlays. Competitive-Parity Method They monitor competitors advertising or get industry promotion spending estimates from publications or trade associations, and then set their budgets based on the industry average. Two arguments support this method: 1. Competitors budgets represent the collective wisdom of the industry. 2. Spending what competitors spend helps prevent promotion wars. Unfortunately, neither argument is valid. There are no grounds for believing that the competition has a better idea of what the company should be spending on promotion than does the company itself. Companies differ greatly, and each has its own special promotion needs. Finally, there is no evidence that budgets based on competitive parity prevent promotion wars. PPT 14-30 Objective-and-Task Method The most logical budget-setting method is the objectiveand-task method, whereby the company sets its promotion budget based on what it wants to accomplish with p. 421 promotion. Key Term: Objective-and-Task This budgeting method entails: Method 1. Defining specific promotion objectives 2. Determining the tasks needed to achieve these objectives 3. Estimating the costs of performing these tasks The sum of these costs is the proposed promotion budget. The advantage of the objective-and-task method is that it forces management to spell out its assumptions about the relationship between dollars spent and promotion results. But it also is the most difficult method to use. Often, it is hard to figure out which specific tasks will achieve stated
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objectives. Assignments, Resources Use Discussion Question 5 here Use Marketing by the Numbers here Use Think-Pair-Share 5 here Troubleshooting Tip Some students have difficulty remembering the four budget methods suggested in the text. It makes for an interesting discussion to have the accounting or finance majors discuss each method as an accountant or financial advisor would. Which method would they prefer? Why? p. 421 Shaping the Overall Promotion Mix The IMC concept suggests that the company must blend the promotion tools carefully into a coordinated promotion mix. Companies within the same industry differ greatly in the design of their promotion mixes. The Nature of Each Promotion Tool Each promotion tool has unique characteristics and costs. Marketers must understand these characteristics in selecting their mix of tools. PPT 14-31 Advertising can reach masses of geographically dispersed buyers at a low cost per exposure, and it enables the seller to repeat the message many times. Beyond its reach, large-scale advertising says something positive about the sellers size, popularity, and success. Because of advertisings public nature, consumers tend to view advertised products as more legitimate. Advertising also has some shortcomings. Although it reaches many people quickly, advertising is impersonal and cannot be as directly persuasive as can company salespeople. For the most part, advertising can only carry on a one-way communication with the audience, and the audience does not feel that it has to pay attention or respond. In addition, advertising can be very costly. p. 422 Personal selling is the most effective tool at certain stages Photo: Personal PPT 14-32 of the buying process, particularly in building up buyers Selling
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preferences, convictions, and actions. The effective salesperson keeps the customers interests at heart in order to build a long-term relationship. Finally, with personal selling, the buyer usually feels a greater need to listen and respond, even if the response is a polite No thank you. These unique qualities come at a cost, however. A sales force requires a longer-term commitment than does advertisingadvertising can be turned on and off, but sales force size is harder to change. Personal selling is also the companys most expensive promotion tool. U.S. firms spend up to three times as much on personal selling as they do on advertising. PPT 14-33 Sales promotion includes a wide assortment of tools coupons, contests, cents-off deals, premiums, and others all of which have many unique qualities. They attract consumer attention, offer strong incentives to purchase, and can be used to dramatize product offers and to boost sagging sales. Sales promotions invite and reward quick response. However, their effects are often short-lived. Public relations is very believablenews stories, features, PPT 14-34 sponsorships, and events seem more real and believable to readers than ads do. Public relations can reach many prospects that avoid salespeople and advertisementsthe message gets to the buyers as news rather than as a sales-directed communication. Marketers tend to underuse public relations or to use it as an afterthought. Direct marketing has four distinctive characteristics: 1. Direct marketing is less public: The message is normally directed to a specific person. 2. Direct marketing is immediate and customized: Messages can be prepared very quickly and can be tailored to appeal to specific consumers.
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3. Direct marketing is interactive: It allows a dialogue between the marketing team and the consumer, and messages can be altered depending on the consumers response. Thus, direct marketing is well suited to highly targeted marketing efforts and to building one-to-one customer relationships. Promotion Mix Strategies Marketers can choose from two basic promotion mix p. 425-423 strategies. Figure 14.4 contrasts the two strategies. Key Terms: Push PPT 14-35 Strategy, Pull A push strategy involves pushing the product through Strategy distribution channels to final consumers. The producer directs its marketing activities (primarily personal selling and trade promotions) toward channel members to induce p. 423 them to carry the product and to promote it to final Figure 14.4: Push consumers. versus Pull Promotion Strategy Using a pull strategy, the producer directs its marketing activities (primarily advertising and consumer promotion) toward final consumers to induce them to buy the product. If the pull strategy is effective, consumers will then demand the product from channel members, who will in turn demand it from producers. Thus, under a pull strategy, consumer demand pulls the product through the channels. Most large companies use some combination of both. Companies consider many factors when designing their promotion mix strategies, including type of product and market. For example, the importance of different promotion tools varies between consumer and business markets. Business-to-consumer (B-to-C) companies usually pull more, putting more of their funds into advertising, followed by sales promotion, personal selling, and then public relations. In contrast, business-to-business (B-to-B) marketers tend to push more, putting more of their funds into personal selling, followed by sales promotion, advertising, and public relations.
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 Assignments, Resources Use Real Marketing 14.2 here Use Additional Project 5 here Use Individual Assignment 2 here Use Web Resources 5 here p. 423 Integrating the Promotion Mix Having set the promotion budget and mix, the company must now take steps to see that all of the promotion mix elements are smoothly integrated. Integrating the promotion mix starts with customers. Whether its advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, PR, or direct marketing, communications at each customer touchpoint must deliver consistent messages and positioning. An integrated promotion mix maximizes the combined effects of all a firms promotional efforts. p. 424 PPT 14-36 In shaping its promotion mix, a company must be aware of p. 424 the large body of legal and ethical issues surrounding Ad: BP marketing communications. p. 424 Advertising and Sales Promotion By law, companies must avoid false or deceptive advertising. Advertisers must not make false claims, such as suggesting that a product cures something when it does not. They must avoid ads that have the capacity to deceive, even though no one actually may be deceived. Sellers must avoid bait-and-switch advertising that attracts buyers under false pretenses. A companys trade promotion activities are also closely regulated. For example, under the Robinson-Patman Act, sellers cannot favor certain customers through their use of trade promotions. They must make promotional allowances and services available to all resellers on proportionately equal terms. SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE MARKETING COMMUNICATION

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Companies can use advertising and other forms of promotion to encourage and promote socially responsible programs and actions. Personal Selling p. 424 A companys salespeople must follow the rules of fair competition. Most states have enacted deceptive sales acts that spell out what is not allowed. For example, salespeople may not lie to consumers or mislead them about the advantages of buying a product. To avoid bait-and-switch practices, salespeoples statements must match advertising claims. Different rules apply to consumers who are called on at home versus those who go to a store in search of a product. Because people called on at home may be taken by surprise and may be especially vulnerable to high-pressure selling techniques, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has adopted a three-day, cooling-off rule to give special protection to customers who are not seeking products. Much personal selling involves business-to-business trade. In selling to businesses, salespeople may not offer bribes to purchasing agents or to others who can influence a sale. They may not obtain or use technical or trade secrets of competitors through bribery or industrial espionage. Finally, salespeople must not disparage competitors or competing products by suggesting things that are not true. Assignments, Resources Use Critical Thinking Exercise 2 here Use Marketing Ethics here Use Company Case here Use Think-Pair-Share 6 here Use Outside Example 2 here

Use Web Resources 6 here

Troubleshooting Tip The last area within the chapter that needs special attention is found in the section on Integrating the Promotion Mix. This is a new concept to most students. Carefully explain the points and ask for demonstration of understanding on the part of the students.
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END OF CHAPTER MATERIAL

Discussion Questions 1. List and briefly describe the five major promotion mix tools. (AASCB: Communication) Answer: Advertising: Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Sales promotion: Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. Personal selling: Personal presentation by the firms sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships. Public relations: Building good relations with the companys various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories, and events. Direct marketing: Direct connections with carefully targeted individual consumers to both obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationshipsthe use of direct mail, the telephone, direct-response television, e-mail, the Internet, and other tools to communicate directly with specific consumers. 2. Discuss the external factors that impact an organizations the marketing communication function. Will traditional mass media advertising soon be dead as some have predicted? (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking) Answer: Several major factors are changing the face of todays marketing communications. First, consumers are changing. In this digital, wireless age, they are better informed and more communications empowered. Rather than relying on marketer-supplied information, they can use the Internet and other technologies to find information on their own. They can connect more easily with other consumers to exchange brand-related information or even create their own marketing messages. Second, marketing strategies are changing. As mass markets have fragmented, marketers are shifting away from mass marketing. More and more, they are developing focused marketing programs designed to build closer relationships with customers in more narrowly defined micromarkets. Finally, sweeping advances in communications technology are causing remarkable changes in the ways in which companies and customers communicate with each other. The digital age has spawned a host of new
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information and communication tools. These explosive developments have had a dramatic impact on marketing communications. Just as mass marketing once gave rise to a new generation of mass-media communications, the new digital media have given birth to a new marketing communications model. Although network television, magazines, newspapers, and other traditional mass media remain very important, their dominance is declining. In their place, advertisers are now adding a broad selection of more-specialized and highly targeted media to reach smaller customer segments with more-personalized, interactive messages. The new media range from specialty cable television channels and made-for-the-Web videos to Internet catalogs, email, blogs, mobile phone content, and online social networks. Some advertising industry experts even predict that the old mass-media communications model will eventually become obsolete. However, rather than the old media model rapidly collapsing, most industry insiders see a more gradual blending of new and traditional media. The new marketing communications model will consist of a shifting mix of both traditional mass media and a wide array of exciting, new, more-targeted, and more-personalized but sometimes lesscontrollable media. The key is to integrate all of these media in a way that best communicates the brand message and enhances the customers brand experience. Many marketers now view themselves more broadly as brand content managers who manage brand conversations with and among customers across a fluid mix of channels, both traditional and new, controlled and not controlled. 3. Name and briefly describe the nine elements of the communications process. Why do marketers need to understand these elements? (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking) Answer: The elements of the communication process are: Sender: The party sending the message to another party. Encoding: The process of putting thought into symbolic form. Message: The set of symbols that the sender transmits. 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. Feedback: The part of the receivers response communicated back to the sender. 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. Understanding this process will help the marketer communicate more effectively and allocate its communication dollars more effectively. In addition, marketers must make sure that their encoding processes mesh with the receivers decoding processes. They need to know their audience, and they must understand decoding. They must send messages through media that
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reach the target and they must develop feedback channels so they can assess the audiences response to the message. 4. Name and describe the four promotion budgeting methods and discuss the pros and cons of each. Which method is best? (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking) Answer: The four common methods used to set the total budget for advertising are the affordable method, the percentage-of-sales method, the competitive-parity method, and the objectiveand-task method. Using the affordable method, marketers set the promotion budget at the level they think the company can afford. They start with total revenues, deduct operating expenses and capital outlays, and then devote some portion of the remaining funds to advertising. Unfortunately, this method of setting budgets completely ignores the effects of promotion on sales, tends to place promotion last among spending priorities, and leads to an uncertain annual promotion budget, making long-range market planning difficult. Businesses using the percentage-of-sales method set the promotion budget at a certain percentage of current or forecasted sales or on a percentage of the unit sales price. It is simple to use and helps management think about the relationships between promotion spending, selling price, and profit per unit. However this method wrongly views sales as the cause of promotion rather than as the result. Thus, the percentage-of-sales budget is based on the availability of funds rather than on opportunities. The competitive-parity method sets promotion budgets to match competitors outlays. Two arguments support this method: (1) competitors budgets represent the collective wisdom of the industry and (2) spending what competitors spend helps prevent promotion wars. Unfortunately, neither argument is valid. There are no grounds for believing that the competition has a better idea of what a company should be spending on promotion. Finally, there is no evidence that budgets based on competitive parity prevent promotion wars. The most logical budget-setting method is the objective-and-task method, whereby the company sets its promotion budget based on what it wants to accomplish with promotion. This budgeting method entails: (1) defining specific promotion objectives, (2) determining the tasks needed to achieve these objectives, and (3) estimating the costs of performing these tasks, and the sum of these costs is the proposed promotion budget. This method forces management to spell out its assumptions about the relationship between dollars spent and promotion results, but it is also the most difficult method to use because it is hard to figure out which specific tasks will achieve the stated objectives. 5. Compare and contrast personal and nonpersonal communication channels. (AACSB: Communication) Answer: In personal communication channels, two or more people communicate directly with each other. They might communicate face to face, on the phone, through mail or e-mail, or
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even through texting or an Internet chat. Personal communication channels are effective because they allow for personal addressing and feedback. Nonpersonal communication channels are media that carry messages without personal contact or feedback. They include major media, atmospheres, and events. Major media include print media (newspapers, magazines, direct-mail), broadcast media (television, radio), display media (billboards, signs, posters), and online media (e-mail, company Web sites, online social and sharing networks).

Critical Thinking Exercises

1. In a small group, develop an integrated marketing communications plan for a local business or nonprofit organization. Does your plan employ a push or pull promotion strategy? Explain. (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking) Answer: The steps in developing an effective integrated communications and promotion program include: identify the target audience, determine the communication objectives, design a message, choose the media, select the message source, and collect feedback. Marketers can choose from two basic promotion mix strategiespush promotion or pull promotion. The relative emphasis on the specific promotion tools differs for each. A push strategy involves pushing the product through marketing channels to final consumers. The producer directs its marketing activities (primarily personal selling and trade promotion) toward channel members to induce them to carry the product and to promote it to final consumers. Using a pull strategy, the producer directs its marketing activities (primarily advertising and consumer promotion) toward final consumers to induce them to buy the product. If the pull strategy is effective, consumers will then demand the product from channel members, who will in turn demand it from producers. Thus, under a pull strategy, consumer demand pulls the product through the channels. 2. Find three examples of advertisements that incorporate socially responsible marketing in the message. Some companies are criticized for exploiting social issues or organizations by promoting them for their own gain. Do the examples you found do that? Explain. (AACSB: Communication; Ethical Reasoning; Reflective Thinking) Answer: Searching socially responsible advertising campaigns reveals several examples. Ten campaigns can be found at: www.forbes.com/2010/07/09/pepsi-macys-twitter-tide-levis-advertising-responsibility-cmonetwork-imaginative-csr.html

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Marketing Technology: Online-Advertising Auctions Have you ever wondered how ads for relevant brands and businesses pop up around Google search results or appear on just about every site you visit on the Internet? Advertisers pay to have these ads placed based on your keyword searches, your Web-surfing behavior, and even what you post on Facebook or write in Gmail messages. While concerns over privacy mount, the online tracking industry just keeps ramping up. Krux Digital reports that the average visit to a Web page generated 56 instances of data collection, representing a five-fold increase from the previous year. A 2010 investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that the fifty most popular U.S. Web sites installed more than 3,000 tracking files on the computer used in the study. The total was even higher4,123 tracking filesfor the top fifty sites that are popular with children and teens. Many sites installed more than 100 tracking tools each during the tests. Tracking tools include files placed on users computers and on Web sites. Marketers use this information to target online advertisements. But this wouldnt be possible without online-ad auctions. When a user visits a Web page, that information is auctioned among computers to the highest bidder. Bids are based on the users Internet browsing behavior. The bidder in such an auction is a technology broker acting on behalf of the advertiser. Real-time bidding makes up 18 percent of the online display ad market and bids sell for less than $1 per thousand viewers. Web-tracking provides the user data to sell in the auction, and more than 300 companies are gathering this data. Data collectors often share information with each other, called piggybacking, so they have more information about a Web sites user than the ownerthe ad sellerof a Web site has. 1. Write a report explaining how online-ad auctions work and the impact they have on Internet advertising. (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking) Answer: Students will be able to find several sources of information on online-ad auctions. The most common type is called the generalized second price auction (GSP). This is not a new phenomenon and has been the basis of search engine optimization and search-based advertising. It is called second price because advertisers pay when ads are clicked on. Articles range from the complicated (see www.benedelman.org/publications/gsp-060801.pdf) to the easy-to-grasp (see http://behavioraltargeting.biz/internet-advertising-and-thegeneralized-second-price-auction/ or http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303836404577472491637833420.html). 2. Critics claim that Internet tracking infringes consumer privacy rights and that the industry is out of control. Should marketers have access to such information? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this activity for both marketers and consumers. (AACSB Communication; Ethical Reasoning; Reflective Thinking) Answer: Marketers use this information to target online advertising based on a users interests, which are inferred from his or her Web surfing behavior. Therefore, consumers receive ads that may interest them and advertisers dont waste resources advertising to someone who is not
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interested in the product or service. Advertisers still advertise based on the content of a Web site, but that space is limited and often booked. This practice places the ads based on the user rather than the content of the site. Ad industry proponents say this activity does not violate consumers privacy because people are not identified by name. Critics claim that tracking is done covertly and that most consumers do not want to be tracked. However, some Web sites are not aware of what information is collected and/or shared among the third parties collecting and auctioning a sites user information.

Marketing Ethics: Advertising Claims Several well-known companies are making headlines after paying huge fines to settle deceptive advertising complaints with the Federal Trade Commission. Skechers, the leading toning shoe company, agreed to pay $40 million to settle charges of unsubstantiated claims. Skechers made billions claiming its shoes were more effective in toning posture and buttock muscles compared to regular walking and running shoes. Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Joe Montana endorsed the products. The FTC said the study on which the claims were based did not even conclude what was claimed in the ads. Not helping Skechers case was the fact that the study was conducted by the husband of a Skechers marketing executive. Reebok, after making similar claims, settled with the FTC for $25 million. Other well-known companies recently settling with the Federal Trade Commission over deceptive advertising claims are POM, Dannon, Oreck, and Nivea. Dannon settled for $45 million after featuring Jamie Lee Curtis touting the digestive regularity benefits of Activia yogurt. Oreck and Nivea got off relatively cheap. Oreck had to pay only $750,000 to settle the complaint against its claim that its vacuums ultraviolet light and filter killed and trapped flu and other germs, and Nivea had to pay only $900,000 to settle the complaint against claims that its My Silhouette! skin cream reduced a users body size. 1. Research the Federal Trade Commissions deceptive advertising policy and report on another case involving substantiation of specific claims. (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking) Answer: The FTCs deceptive advertising policy states that an ad is deceptive if it is likely to mislead consumers and it is material, meaning it is important to the consumers decision to buy or use the product. While there are several sources for the FTCs policy, with some being somewhat complicated with legal terminology, an easy-to-understand source can be found at http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus35-advertising-faqs-guide-small-business/. Students should not have difficulty finding cases, but they need to be aware that the FTC deals with other types of deceptive practices, not just deceptive advertising. Therefore, they might have to search carefully to ensure it is a deceptive advertising case. 2. The advertising industry has established the National Advertising Division (www.NAD.org), which oversees a self-regulatory process administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Compare and contrast how this body resolves deceptive advertising cases with how
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the FTC handles cases, and then report on a case handled by this process. (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking) Answer: The National Advertising Division (NAD) is the investigative arm of the Advertising SelfRegulatory Council (ASRC). It was established in the early The NADs policy and procedure document can be found at: www.asrcreviews.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/NAD-CARU-NARB-2011-ProceduresREVISED-MAY2012_4-3-12.pdf . Students can find information on cases at the NAD Press Releases page: www.asrcreviews.org/category/nad/nad-press-releases/.

Marketing by the Numbers: Advertising-to-Sales Ratios Using the percent of sales method, an advertiser sets its budget at a certain percentage of current or forecasted sales. However, determining what percentage to use is not always clear. Many marketers look at industry averages and competitor spending for comparisons, and companies such as Schonfeld & Associates provide annual reports on advertising-to-sales ratios by industry. While this information is published in proprietary reports, many Web sites and trade publications, such as Advertising Age, publish summary data regarding industry averages as well as advertising-to-sales ratios for top advertisers. 1. Find advertising-to-sales ratios for four different industries for the past ten years or more. Try to find as much data as possible for this period, but be sure to find enough data to indicate the trend in advertising-to-sales ratios for each industry. Develop a chart illustrating these trends and offer reasons for the trends. (AACSB: Communication; Use of IT) Answer: Students answers will vary. The challenge will be finding data aggregated the same way over several years. Advertising Age publishes a chart of the Schonfeld & Associates data each year, but access to that data requires students to register at the Adage.com Web site. Registration and access to ten articles is free, but more than that requires a subscription. Students can search their librarys database for the Advertising Age articles with this data. Also, searching the Internet provides some Advertising Age and other articles with data. Students should be aware that some articles aggregate the data differently, however, making comparisons difficult. The chart below illustrates an example of advertising-to-sales ratios for the following industries: advertising, amusement parks, malt beverages, and hotels and motels.

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One reason for the drastic decrease in Amusement parks and Malt beverages is likely due to the continuing poor economy. These are discretionary products that consumers can easily forego in bad economic times. Data sources used for this example: 2002 data: http://adage.com/article/datacenter/advertising-sales-ratios-2002/106693/; 2007 data: www.creativepartnersgroup.com/index.php/component/content/article/1-latest-news/862007-advertising-to-sales-ratios-for-the-largest-ad-spending-industries; 2010 data: http://adage.com/article/datacenter-advertising-spending/advertising-sales-ratios2010/144639/; 2011 data: www.seattletimescompany.com/advertise/adtosales.htm.

2. Explain why there is variation in the percentage of sales spent on advertising among the four industries. (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking) Answer: The two industries with the highest percent-of-sales ratiosamusement parks and malt beveragesare highly competitive industries that use imagery to position brands. Advertising is an effective tool in this situation. Advertising is a business-to-business service that relies on other methods to promote its business. Hotels & motels is a more functional service and meets consumers utilitarian needs rather than social needs like the other two types of consumer products. Therefore, advertising plays a minor role in the promotion mix for these types of services.

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Company Case Notes

Red Bull: A Different Kind of Integrated Campaign Synopsis As the title suggests, Red Bull represents a different kind of integrated marketing communications campaign. Thats because from its beginnings in the 1990s, Red Bull has almost completely avoided television advertising and has done very little traditional advertising at all. This is a company that has developed a $5 billion per year brand through a very unique blend of event sponsorship, celebrity endorsement, and sampling. Through these methods, Red Bull has built a lifestyle brand that transcends sports or even activities. Its all about the extreme, the offbeat, and the hip. And with that image, it seems that Red Bull has no limit on the places it can take its brand in terms of promotional venues. Currently, Red Bull is expanding into original programming, music, dance, art, video games, and even space suit development. Every partner and every event carry the famous Red Bull logo. Thats the kind of coverage you just cant buy well actually, you can. Teaching Objectives The teaching objectives for this case are to: 1. 2. 3. 4. Grasp the general nature of integrated marketing communications. Be introduced to the elements of the promotional mix. Gain exposure to non-traditional methods of promotion. Understand the importance for a correlation between promotion, brand, distribution, price, and target customers.

Discussion Questions 1. List all the ways that Red Bulls promotional efforts are unique from the mainstream. Almost no TV advertising and very little traditional advertising at all. Most of its budget spent on event sponsorship and celebrity endorsers. Sports and events are not mainstream (air races, Crash Ice, cliff diving, etc.). Method for celebrity endorsement is a handshake. And yet, celebrities are lining up. PR methods have cleverly calculated the value of saying nothing when bad press hits. Among the very few to expand brand support into music production and artist support (Converse does this. Mt. Dew does it on a smaller scale). Is pushing the brand into every corner of culture (dance, art, etc.). Circumventing the problems with ad avoidance by going straight into creating original content. 2. Which promotional mix elements does Red Bull use? What grade would you give Red Bull on integrating these elements into a core marketing communications campaign? Red Bull does little in the way of traditional advertising, although that is certainly there.
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Its early method of the Red Bull vehicles and teams passing out free product most closely lines up with the sales promotion (sampling), although it also has some elements of personal selling and direct marketing. Event sponsorship is primarily classified as public relations. As far as what kind of a grade Red Bull earns for integration, consider the objectives for IMC: Deliver a clear, consistent, compelling message. Deliver the brand image and message through all touch points. Tie all brand messages and images together. Move customers to action. As far as these objectives are concerned, Red Bull gets an A+. 3. Will Red Bull eventually need to embrace more traditional media marketing in order to keep growing? Why or why not? The short answer is, probably not. Consider what Red Bulls strategy has always been and how much of an expert it has become at planning and executing this strategy. Then, consider the trends in advertising and promotion in general. Traditional advertising through traditional channels is stagnant or declining. Companies these days are making every effort possible to shift their promotional models to more heavily incorporate the types of tactics that Red Bull has been involved with for almost 20 years. In other words, marketers are moving away from the traditional methods and towards the nontraditional. Red Bull is already there. 4. Describe Red Bulls target audience. Are Red Bulls promotional techniques consistent with that audience? There are likely many different ways to characterize Red Bulls target customer. Young, energetic, active, full of passion, desire to live life to the fullest, unconventional, goaloriented. Consider Red Bulls promotional strategy, tactic-for-tactic. Everywhere the brand is, thats where these customers are. It seems to line up perfectly with this type of audience. 5. At some point, will Red Bull have to branch out beyond its target market? Will it need to alter its promotional strategy in order to do so? As with any lifestyle brand, the question is, are there enough people that identify with the lifestyle to sustain the brand indefinitely? There is no easy answer to this. This is particularly true given that Red Bulls target market is not exactly mainstream. A few things Red Bull has going for it first, as Red Bulls current customers age, the brand should have no trouble retaining them while at the same time appealing to the up-andcoming younger segments. It is hard to imagine this brand aging. Second, Red Bull has international appeal. As such, it has a lot of room to grow. Third, there are plenty of people in the mainstream who do not exactly fit the target market, but are attracted to certain characteristics of the brand (extreme sports, full of passion, etc.).

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Teaching Suggestions Go to www.redbull.com. Browse this site for the class. Show the variety of events, sports, athletes, and activities that Red Bull is currently sponsoring. This should illustrate just how far reaching the Red Bull tentacles are. It should also illustrate how much room Red Bull has to grow. This case can also be used with the branding chapter (Chapter 8).

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND EXAMPLES

Projects
1. Review the five components of the promotion mix. Find a merchant that is utilizing all five components and describe how they are using each. (Objective 1) 2. Why are companies doing less broadcasting and more narrowcasting? What is a company that uses both and give examples of how they are accomplishing this? (Objective 2) 3. Consider the buzz marketing tactic of sending $20 off coupons for an MP3 player to teenagers who fit the profile of having large social networks. Develop a brief message to accompany the coupons. Consider content, structure, and format issues. (Objective 3) 4. Give three examples of word-of-mouth communication that you personally have received about some product. What was the nature of the communication and what impact did it have on you? (Objective 3) 5. Describe the five promotion tools and discuss the factors that must be considered in shaping the overall promotion mix. (Objective 4)

Small Group Assignments

1. Form students into groups of three to five. Each group should read Real Marketing 14.1: Celebrity Endorsers: Finding the Right Celebrity for the Brand. Each group should then answer the following questions and share their answers with the class. (Objective 2) a. What are the key elements of an effective celebrity endorsement? b. Based on recent studies showing that ads with celebrities are on average 3 percent less effective than those without them, do you still believe that celebrities are worth it for most advertisers? If so, under what circumstances? c. Think of your favorite celebrity. How would you feel about him or her endorsing a product or service? Which ones might be compatible with this celebritys image? 2. Form students into groups of three to five. Each group should review the basic elements of the communication process (refer back to Figure 14.2). Each group should then answer the following questions and share their answers with the class. (Objective 3) a. What do the best messages consist of?
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b. What are several key factors in good communications pointed out by the model? c. What is noise and how does it potentially impact the communication process? d. Apply the communication model to an Apple iMac television commercial. (If you need to view one of their commercials, go to www.apple.com.)

Individual Assignments
1. Review the information on the promotion mix (beginning on p. 406, 421). General Motors has been in the news quite a bit in recent years. How is GM effectively (or not effectively) using each tool of the promotion mix? (Objective 1) 2. Marketers can choose from two basic promotion mix strategiespush or pull promotion. First, describe each. Larger companies typically use a combination of both strategies. Find two examples of companies that are making successful use of BOTH promotion mix strategies. Describe what they are doing and why you believe it to be successful. (Objective 4)

Think-Pair-Share
Consider the following questions, formulate an answer, pair with the student on your right, share your thoughts with one another, and respond to questions from the instructor. 1. What is the difference between the marketing mix and the promotional mix? (Objective 1) 2. Define the five types of promotion in the promotional mix. (Objective 1) 3. What is different about todays promotional environment? What are the implications of this? (Objective 2) 4. Identify the components of the personal communications process. Which element(s) is (are) the most critical for successful communication? (Objective 3) 5. Define the various methods of setting a promotion budget. Which is the most effective? (Objective 4) 6. What is bait-and-switch advertising? Give examples. (Objective 4)

Outside Examples
1. Sea Ray is one of todays most successful manufacturers of sport boats, cruisers, and yachts. They have models ranging from a small 17-foot sport boat up to a 61-foot motor yacht. Take a look at the company (www.searay.com/index.asp). Learn about their product offering. Most importantly, learn and discuss how they employ the various elements of the promotion mix. (Objective 1) Possible Solution: Sea Ray is successful in part because they have learned how to effectively use the promotion mix elements. From a thorough review of their Web site, you can learn the following:
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Advertising. There is a link on the Web site that will take you immediately to the newest brochures, which details the entire product offering. The brochures are also available for download. Model-specific videos are also available. Sales Promotion. Depending on the time of year you are accessing the Web site, you may find information on the homepage pertaining to specific sales events that are underway. These events offer the buyer significant savings off of the purchase price. Personal Selling. All Sea Rays are sold through their dealer network. If you find a boat you like, Sea Ray will have the dealer closest to you contact you to provide additional information. Personal selling is a central component of the promotion mix that Sea Ray has used successfully. Public Relations. Read about Aquapalooza, the Sea Ray nationally sponsored boating event. Sea Ray started this several years ago and it has grown to be one of the largest boating events in the United States. Direct Marketing. By providing Sea Ray with your e-mail address and/or mailing address, you are added to their database and periodically contacted with news and information that may be of interest to you.

2. Because people called on at home may be taken by surprise and may be vulnerable to high-pressure selling techniques, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has adopted the Three-Day Cooling-Off Rule to give special protection to customers who are not seeking products. Got to the FTCs Web site (www.ftc.gov), learn about this rule, and write a short paper explaining the specifics. (Objective 4) Possible Solution: If you buy something at a store and later change your mind, you may not be able to return the merchandise. But if you buy an item in your home or at a location that is not the sellers permanent place of business, you may have the option. The Federal Trade Commissions (FTCs) cooling-off rule gives you three days to cancel purchases of $25 or more. Under the cooling-off rule, your right to cancel for a full refund extends until midnight of the third business day after the sale. The cooling-off rule applies to sales at the buyers home, workplace, or dormitory, or at facilities rented by the seller on a temporary or short-term basis, such as hotel or motel rooms, convention centers, fairgrounds, and restaurants. The cooling-off rule applies even when you invite the salesperson to make a presentation in your home. Under the cooling-off rule, the salesperson must tell you about your cancellation rights at the time of sale. The salesperson also must give you two copies of a cancellation form (one to keep and one to send) and a copy of your contract or receipt. The contract or receipt should be dated, show the name and address of the seller, and explain your right
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to cancel. The contract or receipt must be in the same language that is used in the sales presentation. You can find the text of the rule at the following Web site of the FTC: www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro03.shtm

Web Resources
1. http://247.prenhall.com This is the link to the Prentice Hall support link. 2. www.eatmorchikin.com Go here to learn more about Chick-fil-As Eat Mor Chikin integrated campaign. 3. www.liveunited.org Spend some time on United Ways homepage and examine the message content. 4. http://buzzmg.com Here is one of the many sites devoted to buzz marketing. 5. www.the-dma.org Here is the home site for the Direct Marketing Association. 6. www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/baitads-gd.htm This is a great government site discussing bait-and-switch

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