Design the Communications

Design the Communications:-

Formulating the communications to achieve the desired response requires solving three problems: what to say (message strategy), how to say it (creative strategy), and who should say it (message source).

MESSAGE STRATEGY:-

In determining message strategy, management searches for appeals, themes, or ideas that will tie in to the brand positioning and help establish points-of-parity or points-of-difference. Some of these may be related directly to product or service performance (the quality, economy, or value of the brand), whereas others may relate to more extrinsic considerations (the brand as being contemporary, popular, or traditional). Researcher John C. Maloney felt buyers expected one of four types of reward from a product: rational, sensory, social, or ego satisfaction.15 Buyers might visualize these rewards from resultsof-use experience, product-in-use experience, or incidental-to-use experience. Crossing the four types of rewards with the three types of experience generates 12 types of messages. For example, the appeal “gets clothes cleaner” is a rational-reward promise following results-of-use experience. The phrase “real beer taste in a great light beer” is a sensory-reward promise connected with product-in-use experience.

CREATIVE STRATEGY:-

Communications effectiveness depends on how a message is being expressed, as well as on its content. If a communication is ineffective, it may mean the wrong message was used, or the right one was poorly expressed. Creative strategies are the way marketers translate their messages into a specific communication. We can broadly classify them as either informational or transformational appeals.16 Informational Appeals An informational appeal elaborates on product or service attributes or benefits. Examples in advertising are problem solution ads (Excedrin stops the toughest headache pain), product demonstration ads (Thompson Water Seal can withstand intense rain, snow, and heat), product comparison ads (DIRECTV offers better HD options than cable or other satellite operators), and testimonials from unknown or celebrity endorsers (NBA phenomenon LeBron James pitching Nike, Sprite, and McDonald’s). Informational appeals assume strictly rational processing of the communication on the consumer’s part. Logic and reason rule. Carl Hovland’s research at Yale has shed much light on informational appeals and their relationship to such issues as conclusion drawing, one-sided versus two-sided arguments, and order of argument presentation. Some early experiments supported stating conclusions for the audience. Subsequent research, however, indicates that the best ads ask questions and allow readers and viewers to form their own conclusions.17 If Honda had hammered away that the Element was for young people, this strong definition might have blocked older drivers from buying it. Some stimulus ambiguity can lead to a broader market definition and more spontaneous purchases. You might expect one-sided presentations that praise a product to be more effective than two-sided arguments that also mention shortcomings. Yet two-sided messages may be more appropriate, especially when negative associations must be overcome.18 Two-sided messages are more effective with more educated audiences and those who are initially opposed.19 Chapter 6 described how Domino’s took the drastic step of admitting its pizza’s taste problems to try to change the minds of consumers with negative perceptions. Finally, the order in which arguments are presented is important.20 In a one-sided message, presenting the strongest argument first arouses attention and interest, important in media where the audience often does not attend to the whole message. With a captive audience, a climactic presentation might be more effective. For a two-sided message, if the audience is initially opposed, the communicator might start with the other side’s argument and conclude with his or her strongest argument.21 Transformational Appeals A transformational appeal elaborates on a nonproduct-related benefit or image. It might depict what kind of person uses a brand (VW advertised to active, youthful people with its famed “Drivers Wanted” campaign) or what kind of experience results from use (Pringles advertised “Once You Pop, the Pringles capitalized on the popping sound that occurs when its package is opened to develop a highly successful ad campaign. DESIGNING AND MANAGING INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS | Don’t Stop” for years). Transformational appeals often attempt to stir up emotions that will motivate purchase. Communicators use negative appeals such as fear, guilt, and shame to get people to do things (brush their teeth, have an annual health checkup) or stop doing things (smoking, abusing alcohol, overeating). Fear appeals work best when they are not too strong, when source credibility is high, and when the communication promises, in a believable and efficient way, to relieve the fear it arouses. Messages are most persuasive when moderately discrepant with audience beliefs. Stating only what the audience already believes at best just reinforces beliefs, and if the messages are too discrepant, audiences will counterargue and disbelieve them.22 Communicators also use positive emotional appeals such as humor, love, pride, and joy. Motivational or “borrowed interest” devices—such as the presence of cute babies, frisky puppies, popular music, or provocative sex appeals—are often employed to attract attention and raise involvement with an ad. These techniques are thought necessary in the tough new media environment characterized by low-involvement consumer processing and competing ad and programming clutter. Attention-getting tactics are often too effective. They may also detract from comprehension, wear out their welcome fast, and overshadow the product.23 Thus, one challenge is figuring out how to “break through the clutter” and deliver the intended message. Even highly entertaining and creative means of expression must still keep the appropriate consumer perspective. Toyota was sued in Los Angeles for a promotional campaign designed to create buzz for its youth-targeted Toyota Matrix. The online effort featured a series of e-mails to customers from a fictitious drunken British soccer hooligan, Sebastian Bowler. In his e-mails, he announced that he knew the recipient and was coming to stay with his pit bull, Trigger, to “avoid the cops.” In her suit, the plaintiff said she was so convinced that “a disturbed and aggressive” stranger was headed to her house that she slept with a machete next to her in bed.24 The magic of advertising is to bring concepts on a piece of paper to life in the minds of the consumer target. In a print ad, the communicator must decide on headline, copy, illustration, and color.25 For a radio message, the communicator must choose words, voice qualities, and vocalizations. The sound of an announcer promoting a used automobile should be different from one promoting a new Cadillac. If the message is to be carried on television or in person, all these elements plus body language must be planned. For the message to go online, layout, fonts, graphics, and other visual and verbal information must be laid out.

MESSAGE SOURCE:-

 Messages delivered by attractive or popular sources can achieve higher attention and recall, which is why advertisers often use celebrities as spokespeople. Celebrities are likely to be effective when they are credible or personify a key product attribute. Statesman-like Dennis Haysbert for State Farm insurance, rugged Brett Favre for Wrangler jeans, and one-time television sweetheart Valerie Bertinelli for Jenny Craig weight loss program have all been praised by consumers as good fits. Celine Dion, however, failed to add glamour—or sales—to Chrysler, and even though she was locked into a three-year, $14 million deal, she was let go. Ozzy Osbourne would seem an odd choice to advertise “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” given his seemingly perpetual confusion. What is important is the spokesperson’s credibility. The three most often identified sources of credibility are expertise, trustworthiness, and likability.26 Expertise is the specialized knowledge the communicator possesses to back the claim. Trustworthiness describes how objective and honest the source is perceived to be. Friends are trusted more than strangers or salespeople, and people who are not paid to endorse a product are viewed as more trustworthy than people who are paid.27 Likability describes the source’s attractiveness. Qualities such as candor, humor, and naturalness make a source more likable. The most highly credible source would score high on all three dimensions—expertise, trustworthiness, and likability. Pharmaceutical companies want doctors to testify about product benefits because doctors have high credibility. Charles Schwab became the centerpiece of ads for his $4 billion-plus discount brokerage firm via the “Talk to Chuck” corporate advertising campaign. Another credible pitchman was boxer George Foreman and his multimillion-selling Lean, Mean, Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine. “Marketing Insight: Celebrity Endorsements as a Strategy” focuses on the use of testimonials