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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    www.eiilmuniversity.ac.in

    Subject: ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Credit: 4

    SYLLABUS

    Concepts of Advertising
    The Field of Advertising, Introduction, Integrated Marketing Communication, Advertising and its types,
    Comparative Advertising, case study, Communication Models in Advertising
    Integrated Advertising Program
    Analysis of Mission & Market Objective Setting & Determining Target Audience, Understanding
    Segmentation, Positioning, Budget Decision, case study on Budgets
    Understanding Message Strategy
    Message & Copy in Advertising, Headlines in Print & TV Advertising, Visualization & Layout, AD
    Appeals, Testimonials & Celebrity Endorsement
    Media
    Types & Decision Types of Media, Media Selection, Media Planning: New Perspective, Media Decision
    Campaign Making
    Three Phases of Campaign Creation, Steps of Effective Advertising, Upsetting the applecart in the
    scooterette category In Style! Case study, Understanding Campaigns
    Advertising
    Advertising Stake Holders – Advertising Organization, Evolution & History of advertising Agency, The
    working of AD agencies, Organization Structure of Advertising Department, Interface with other
    Departments, Functions of Advertising Agency

    Suggested Readings:
    1. Advertising Management, Dr. Varma & Aggarwal, King Books
    2. Principles of Marketing, Kotler & Armstrong, Prentice-Hall of India
    3. Advertising: An Introduction Text, S. A. Chunawalla, Himalayan Publishing House
    4. Advertising Principles and Practice, Wells Burnett Moriarty, PHI
    5. Foundations of Advertising, S.A. Chunawalla, KC Sethia , Himalayan Publishing House

    COURSE OVERVIEW
    Well what do I say? Advertising, friends, has always fascinated

    Next few lessons deals with few of the models that you have to

    everybody. Whether it is Hritik Roshan dancing in the commer-

    keep in mind while framing the campaign. You should know

    cial of Coke or a small boy’s innocence in the Dhara

    how to frame your message and understanding as to the

    advertisement, they all make us look at ads with a different

    process, which is there in the communication process. This is

    perspective. In fact I really will not be surprised if you say that

    important to know since it should not happen that you make

    you would rather watch ads than watch saas-bahu on TV.

    this wonderful advertisement but your audience doesn’t read it

    Advertising has certainly come of age. There has been new

    or understand it. End result wastage of resources.

    technology, which is taking the production of ads to greater

    Thereafter we talk about the audience. “The consumer is not a

    heights. In fact in India the ads have become so qualitative in its

    moron, she is your wife”. Well, we teach you to look at the

    essence that we are doing very well in the international scene. We

    audience as if he were the king. You also need to understand

    are winning a lot of awards in the international advertising

    that you cannot sell a Mercedes to rickshaw wala, so what do

    circuits.

    you do? You understand as to who is it that you should sell the

    The credit I would like to give to young people like you. There

    product to. Also frame your aim of your campaign accordingly.

    is so much energy level mixed with creativity that is absolutely

    Where after we talk about money. This is a crucial aspect because

    oozing out of you all that I am sure you people will take the

    the advertisers allocate a lot of money for the advertising honey.

    advertising industry to a new dimension all together. Talent is

    So you have to good a good advertising honey in order that the

    what this field requires. Look, you may say that I do not have

    money gets its value for money.

    any talent. But you don’t know yourself as yet. As it is I have

    Then the lessons equips you all with the creative source house.

    always believed in the fact that everybody is creative in some or

    It will give you an insight as to how those great ads were made.

    the other field. So within advertising you could go in for:

    Who made Sachin Tendulkar to speak in a husky voice and who

    Marketing

    Creative

    Production

    Planning

    Then we talk about why you should go in for TV advertising

    Public Relations

    over radio? Or why is the web a modern tool for reaching out

    made Aishwarya Rai look all the more beautiful? Creatve
    departments with the French beards and long hair do that.

    In any case let me very briefly tell you what this subject is all

    to the public. So media is what we talk about.

    about.

    Welcome to the next interesting part where you learn how to

    Introductory lessons are all about advertising and its relevance

    make the campaign

    with respect to marketing. We have the Integrated Marketing

    It is imperative that you all know about the HTAs and the

    Communication, which talks about integrating all the elements

    O&M of the world. We shall explain you what an agency is all

    of marketing to the field of advertising. Be it public relations or

    about and its role and activities in the framework of advertising

    sales promotion, they all have to be integrated to give cohesive-

    agencies.

    ness to the advertising campaign.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Where after we talk about some issues like the presence of a
    woman in Rupa undergarments for men (that to be she was
    actually wearing one!!!). I am sure you all will agree that we need
    some regulations and ethics where advertising is concerned.
    The last few lessons contains few key questions and case studies
    pertaining to campaign making. This will get you closer in
    becoming an ad man. This is a unit, which is created to bring
    out your creative juices and go on to make award-winning
    campaigns. At least RU will bestow upon you some sort of
    recognition for your creations.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    CONTENTS
    .

    Lesson No.

    Topic

    Page No.

    Concepts of Advertising – The Field of Advertising
    Lesson 1

    Introduction

    1

    Lesson 2

    Integrated Marketing Communication

    6

    Lesson 3

    Tutorial

    24

    Lesson 4

    Advertising and Its Types

    25

    Lesson 5

    Comparative Advertising

    31

    Lesson 6

    Tutorial

    37

    Lesson 7

    Communication models in Advertising

    38

    Lesson 8

    Tutorial

    47

    Integrated Advertising Program Analysis of Mission & Market
    Lesson 9

    Objective Setting & Determining Target Audience

    48

    Lesson 10

    Tutorial

    55

    Lesson 11

    Understanding Segmentation

    56

    Lesson 12

    Positioning

    65

    Lesson 13

    Tutorial

    73

    Lesson 14

    Budget Decision

    74

    Lesson 15

    Case Study on Budgets

    77

    Understanding Message Strategy
    Lesson 16

    Message & Copy in Advertisements

    84

    Lesson 17

    Headlines in Print & TV Advertising

    91

    Lesson 18

    Visualization & Layout

    102

    Lesson 19

    Tutorial

    108

    Lesson 20

    Ad. Appeals

    109

    v

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    CONTENTS
    .

    Lesson No.

    Topic

    Page No.

    Lesson 21

    Tutorial

    118

    Lesson 22

    Testimonials & Celebrity Endorsement

    119

    Lesson 23

    Tutorial

    123

    Media Types & Decision
    Lesson 24

    Media Planning & Decision

    124

    Lesson 25

    Tutorial

    140

    Campaign Making
    Lesson 26

    Understanding Campaigns

    141

    Lesson 27

    Case Study & Campaign Making

    149

    Lesson 28

    Tutorial

    151

    Advertising Stake Holders – Advertising Organization
    Lesson 29

    Lesson 30

    Ad Agencies – A Look

    152

    Tutorial: Case Study

    159

    Tutorial

    168

    Issues in Advertising
    Lesson 31

    Regulation In Advertising

    169

    Lesson 32

    Advertising Effectiveness

    176

    Indian Advertising
    Lesson 33

    Lesson: Indian Advertising

    181

    Lesson 34

    Ethics in Advertising

    188

    Lesson 35

    Children & Women in Advertising

    192

    Lesson 36

    Tutorial

    199

    Case Study

    vi

    Lesson 37

    Key Questions

    200

    Lesson 38

    Advertising Campaign Exercise

    201

    Lesson 39

    Cases 1 & 2

    202

    Lesson 40

    Cases Study

    207

    LESSON 1:
    INTRODUCTION

    Within this lesson you will understand the basics of
    advertising

    This lesson will give you an insight about advertising as a
    communication process.

    I would like to welcome you to the creative side of this world. I
    know that creativity is there in all of you and that is exactly what
    I plan to extract from you all. So, are we ready to get bowled by
    Sachin Tendulkar. That my friend is the beauty of advertising,
    expect the unexpected and again be surprised to see that the
    unexpected got the results.

    reaches out to the maximum number of people. So mass
    communication would be the best way to reach out to the
    people hence the medium of advertisements to reach out to the
    masses. It should be however understood that advertising
    itself couldn’t sell the product it merely assists in the selling
    process. Advertising also cannot rejuvenate or restore a poor
    product it only helps in the selling process through the means
    of communication.
    Matrimonial advertisements, recruitment advertisements,
    tenders, classified advertisements, notice, public announcements
    are also examples of advertisements.
    Basically you must understand that adverting is an announcement to the public of a product, service or idea through a
    medium to which the public has access. The medium may be
    print (newspapers, magazines, posters, banners and hoardings),
    electronic (radio, television, video, cable, phone, internet) or any
    other. An advertisement is usually paid for by an advertiser at
    rates fixed or negotiated with the media.
    The American Marketing Association, Chicago, defines advertising as “any paid form of non personal presentation of ideas,
    goods and services by an identified sponsor.”

    Okay, now let us see what advertising is all about.
    Advertising is multidimensional. It is a form of mass communication, a powerful marketing tool, a component of the
    economic system, a means of financing the mass media, a social
    institution, an art form, an instrument of business management, a field of employment and a profession.
    In India the advertising business is growing at the rate of 30%
    to 35% annually. The total advertising expenditure in India is
    about $5 Billion. It is a 1200 crore industry, even when billings
    are Rs. 8000 plus crores. It is 90% of India’s GDP.
    Today we see our senses bombarded with lots of advertisements. Be it the newspapers, magazines, the television or even
    so many hoardings which line up any street or highway, there
    are lot of advertisements to be seen. In fact the quantity and the
    quality both are increasing day by day. It has become an
    important tool at the hands of the marketers to sell their
    products. Some advertisements are criticized for being false,
    misleading, and deceptive and for concealing information.
    Advertisements can also manipulate the consumer to go in for
    unnecessary buying spree. So it is important to understand
    what advertising is all about.
    Now, let us say that a firm has developed a product, which will
    satisfy the market demand. So essentially he has to reach out to
    the public or to his target market and inform them about his
    product. For optimum exposure he has to make sure that he

    So a form could be a presentation. It may be sign, a symbol, an
    illustration, an ad message in a magazine or newspaper, a
    commercial on the radio or on television, a circular dispatched
    through the mail or a pamphlet handed out at a street corner; a
    sketch or message on a billboard or a poster or a banner on the
    Net.
    Non-personal would mean that it is not on a person-to-person
    basis.
    Goods, Services, Ideas for action would mean making a
    consumer’s work easy in knowing about the product of the
    firm. It could be a television, or a banking service or filing your
    tax returns, which the firm or the marketer wants the consumer
    to know about. An idea could also be political parties letting the
    people know about their party and why they should vote for
    their party. Adult education, beware of AIDS, donate your eyes
    are but a few examples of ideas.
    Paid by an identified sponsor would imply that the sponsor has
    control over the form, content and scheduling of the advertisements. The sponsor could be identified by the company name
    or the brand of the particular product.

    “Salesmanship in print”

    “Advertising as a substitute for the human salesman”

    “Advertising is the business of creative thinking for
    commercial advantage”

    The above are few definitions of what advertising is all about.
    To Communicate, to Persuade, to Influence and to Lead to
    some action is what advertising is all about. Human nature and

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    Learning Objectives

    UNIT I
    CONCEPTS OF ADVERTISING
    UNIT – 1
    CHAPTER 1
    THE FIELD OF ADVERTISING

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    advertising are closely related. A man who wears shirt-trouser
    instead of dhoti is advertising that he is westernized; a woman
    who wears a lipstick wants to advertise that she wants to look
    beautiful; a boy who rides a beautiful bike wants to advertise
    that he wants to be noticed. So we see that people want to
    notice for anything that they do. That is what advertising does.
    It pulls people towards the product like the flowers attracts the
    bees towards it.

    customers that we are looking at. Once we have identified a
    group and further identified a few characteristics about them
    then we can incorporate those very characteristics in our message
    formulation. This would be under the context of Product. That
    is the distinctive image you want to associate the brand with.

    Within the context of Price, quality plays a major role. When
    you think about Mercedes Benz at a price tag of Rs. 70 Lakhs,
    there is certainly a difference you perceive when you are given an
    automobile with a tag price of Rs. 3 Lakhs.
    The Place would mean the interaction between the buyer and
    the seller. It is like you advertise your brand of television but
    when the buyer goes to the shop he does not get it there. So the
    place would mean the distribution channels.
    Advertising is a career for many. I am sure you might want to
    make it a career. It is getting professionalized. Competition,
    growing marketing expenses, product failures, liberalization,
    globalization and the emergence of new electronic media has
    given an impetus to advertising activity.
    You must understand however that advertising is a communication process. You have a certain message and that is ‘Decoded’
    by a party (Sender) to be ‘Encoded’ by another (Receiver). We
    must understand that the message so encoded should be so
    clear that the person should not distort the meaning of it. This
    means that what you are trying to say and what the other
    person makes out of the message should be the same. You
    should not make the other party confused. So it means that the
    message should:
    1. Gain attention of the receiver.
    2. Be understood.
    3. Be able to stimulate the receiver and suggest appropriate
    method to satisfy their needs.
    So the sender must know his receivers or the audience and the
    kind of response they are likely to elicit. This response he can
    get by maintaining a proper feedback mechanism. The feedback
    can also have some “Noise elements”. These could be poor
    message planning, busy audience members or careless feedback
    of response.
    We talk about the 4 P’s of Marketing – Product, Price, Promotion and Place. In a way we can say that the entire process of
    Marketing is a Communication process. For example what do
    we want to say about a particular product – is it youthful,
    young, matured, secured, – that is what is the profile of the
    2

    Promotion would encompass the method and the medias used
    to reach out to the people. Even in rural areas, where there may
    not be many televisions in households, but through the local
    shows and with the help of ‘Nautakiwalas’ you promote your
    product. The local salesman coming to your house to sell
    shawls from Kashmir is another example of promoting your
    wares.
    Advertising as such is related closely to other subjects of
    marketing too. Be it Personal Selling, Sales Promotion, Publicity
    or even Public Relations, advertising plays a significant role in
    reaching out to the selected target audience.

    Communication Model
    As we have understood that the sender identifies the receiver(s)
    and develops a message, the basic of the sender is that the
    customer or the target audience should buy the product or the
    service. For this we must understand whether a particular
    message so created has been effective in reaching out to them.
    So what makes an advertisement effective? Below are the key
    points on the effectiveness of a message.
    1. Attract Attention
    2. Secure Interest
    3. Build Desire for the product
    4. Obtain Action
    The above has been formulated as the AIDA Model.
    Attention could be the form of the layout of a print advertisement or the way an advertisement is made in the form of
    moving pictures, the colors used, the models used and the copy
    written, the movements used and the contrasting element used.

    Desire would mean the buying motive. When you feel that you
    want to posses the particular product or be associated with it.
    Action would normally mean the acquisition of the product.
    Within the AIDA framework, Attention would refer to the
    cognitive stage, both Interest and Desire would relate to the
    affective stage and Action would be a behavioral activity.
    Within the framework of advertisements the following should
    be kept in mind:

    Understanding the Objective(s) of the advertisement
    (MISSION)

    Defining the Target Audience (MARKET)

    Understanding the Budget (MONEY)

    Understanding the Message (MESSAGE)

    The Media used for putting the advertisement (MEDIA)

    Seeing whether the advertisement was Effective
    (MEASUREMENT)

    The above would commonly be termed as the 6 M’s of
    Advertising.
    The Mission statement would refer to the Aim of your
    advertisement. Is to improve sales, is to launch a new product,
    it for recall, is it for some short term offers, is it to gain
    attention, etc.
    The Market analysis would incorporate the type of buyer you
    want to sell the product to. For a cosmetic company it is but
    natural they would show women and not men in their
    advertisement. For Horlicks they would show children having
    the product.

    allocate Rs. 2 crore for the advertisement of Tide detergent
    spread over one year.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    We are bombarded by so many advertisements that there are a
    few we see and while a few we don’t. The advertisement, which
    arouses interest in us and provokes us to think or feel about a
    product, is what an advertiser looks at. It basically means to
    catch the eye of the public.

    What to say, how to say, who will say it and what type of
    appeals to be given in the message is what Message formulation
    is all about. Shahrukh Khan being the spokesperson for
    Hyundai Santro, the colors used in the car, the movements of
    the car and what the person should remember the car as are few
    of the elements to be kept in mind.
    Star Plus, Zee TV, Star Movies, Times of India, Radio Mirchi,
    etc, are few of the choices where you could think of putting
    your advertisement. The people watching those medias are very
    crucial to the success of your advertisement being seen by your
    target audience.
    You have spent Rs. 5 crore on your advertisement but do you
    think that your sales have improved or do you think the people
    have seen the advertisement? Measurement is precisely the way
    in which see as to whether your advertisement has been effective
    or not.
    Advertising has a dark side to it too. The use of women to sell
    virtually everything and to have sexual overtures in an advertisement has been a contentious issue. Then showing one
    community in a bad light, like if you don’t put fairness cream
    then you would not get married have come under the microscope of the ethics committee.
    Advertising involves lot of creativity and also marketing
    aptitude to be successful in this field. You have to keep your
    eyes and ears open for inspirations. After all great advertisements were not made in the think rooms. Shown below is a
    diagram of what advertising entails.

    Money is the amount of budget constraint that the advertiser
    has in allocating the money between different medias and the
    expenditure to be incurred. For example, Procter & Gamble may

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    This is a very good advertisement but you are not to take the
    picture too seriously.

    “Quote-Unquote What Few Stalwarts
    Have to Say About Advertising.”

    Characteristics of a good Advertisement
    –The Dual Process

    “Advertising is the principal reason why the business man
    has come to inherit the earth.”
    – James Randolph Adams, quoted in John P. Bradley, Leo F.
    Daniels & Thomas C. Jones, The International Dictionary of
    Thoughts, 1969, Chicago, IL: J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co.,
    p. 12.

    “Advertising is of the very essence of democracy. An election
    goes on every minute of the business day across the counters
    of hundreds of thousands of stores and shops where the
    customers state their preferences and determine which
    manufacturer and which product shall be the leader today,
    and which shall lead tomorrow.”
    – Bruce Barton (1955), chairman of BBDO, quoted in James
    B. Simpson, ContemporaryQuotations, 1964, Binghamton,
    NY: Vail-Ballou Press, p. 82.

    “Advertising is the ability to sense, interpret . . . to put the
    very heart throbsof a business into type, paper and ink.”
    – Leo Burnett, quoted by Joan Kufrin, Leo Burnett: Star
    Reacher(1995), Chicago, IL: Leo Burnett Company, Inc., p.
    54.

    “Advertising is what you do when you can’t go see
    somebody. That’s all it is.”
    – Fairfax Cone (1963), ad agency partner, quoted in James B.
    Simpson, Contemporary Quotations, 1964, Binghamton,
    NY: Vail-Ballou Press, p. 84.

    “Advertising is the life of trade.”
    – Calvin Coolidge, quoted in John P. Bradley, Leo F. Daniels
    & Thomas C. Jones, The International Dictionary of
    Thoughts, 1969, Chicago, IL: J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co.,
    p. 13.

    “Advertising – a judicious mixture of flattery and threats.”
    – Northrop Frye, quoted in Robert I. Fitzhenry, The
    Fitzhenry & Whiteside Book of Quotations, 1993, Canada:
    Fitzhenry& Whiteside Limited, p. 18.

    “The art of publicity is a black art.”
    – Learned Hand, American jurist, quoted in Robert I.
    Fitzhenry, The Fitzhenry & Whiteside Book of Quotations,
    1993, Canada: Fitzhenry& Whiteside Limited, p. 19.

    “[A]dvertising is a symbol-manipulating occupation.”
    – S. I. Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action (1964),
    New York: Harcourt, p. 268.

    “Advertising is salesmanship mass produced. No one would
    bother to use advertising if he could talk to all his prospects
    face-to-face. But he can’t.”
    – Morris Hite, quoted in Adman: Morris Hite’s Methods for
    Winning the Ad Game, 1988, Dallas, TX: E-Heart Press, p.
    203.

    Advertising is “the lubricant for the free-enterprise system.”
    – Leo-Arthur Kelmenson (1976), quoted in Michael
    McKenna, The Stein & Day Dictionary of Definitive

    Need for understanding

    Advertising Objectives

    Consumer Objectives

    Attention / Awareness

    Satisfy Curiosity/Memory/Entertainment

    Interest

    Identify Personal Needs

    Knowledge

    Gather Relevant Information

    Attitude Change

    Support Risk Associated With Attitude Change

    Behavioral Change/Trial

    Enhance Need Reduction

    Repurchase/

    Reinforce Trial and Need Reduction

    Commitment/Reminder

    4

    “Advertising is selling Twinkies to adults”
    – Donald R. Vance

    “Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the
    human intelligence long enough to get money from it.”
    – Stephen Butler Leacock, quoted in Michael Jackman,
    Crown’s Book of Political Quotations, 1982, New York:
    Crown Publishing Inc., p. 1.

    “Advertising is legalized lying.”
    – H.G. Wells, quoted in Michael Jackman, Crown’s Book of
    PoliticalQuotations, 1982, New York: Crown Publishing
    Inc., p. 2.

    “Advertising is the greatest art form of the twentieth
    century.”
    – Marshall McLuhan (1976), Canadian social scientist (quoted
    in Robert Andrews, The Routledge Dictionary ofQuotations
    1987, p. 5, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul).

    “Advertising is the genie which is transforming America into
    a place of comfort,luxury and ease for millions.”
    – William Allen White, quoted in John P. Bradley, Leo F.
    Daniels & Thomas C. Jones, The International Dictionary of
    Thoughts, 1969, Chicago, IL: J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co.,
    p. 15

    “Ads are the cave art of the twentieth century.”
    – Marshall McLuhan, quoted in Robert I. Fitzhenry, The
    Fitzhenry & Whiteside Book of Quotations, 1993, Canada:
    Fitzhenry& Whiteside Limited, p. 19.

    “Advertising is an environmental striptease for a world of
    abundance.”
    – Marshall McLuhan, introduction to Wilson Bryan Key,
    Subliminal Seduction: Ad Media’s Manipulation of a Not So
    Innocent America, 1974, New York: Signet (New American
    Library), p. vii.

    “Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket.”
    – George Orwell, quoted in Angela Partington, The Oxford
    Dictionary of Quotations, 1992, New York: Oxford
    University Press, p. 501.

    Advertising is “[a] ten billion dollar a year misunderstanding
    with the public.”
    – Chester L. Posey, Senior V.P. & Creative Director, McCann
    Erickson

    “Advertising is, actually, a simple phenomenon in terms of
    economics. It is merely a substitute for a personal sales force
    – an extension, if you will, of the merchant who cries aloud
    his wares.”
    – Rosser Reeves, Reality in Advertising (1986), New York:
    AlfredA. Knopf, Inc., p. 145.

    “Advertising is the ‘wonder’ in Wonder Bread.”
    – Jef I. Richards (1995), advertising professor, The University
    of Texas at Austin.

    “Advertising is the modern substitute for argument; its
    function is to make the worse appear the better.”
    – George Santayana

    “Advertising is the foot on the accelerator, the hand on the
    throttle, the spur on theflank that keeps our economy
    surging forward.”
    – Robert W. Sarnoff, quoted in John P. Bradley, Leo F.
    Daniels & Thomas C. Jones, The International Dictionary of
    Thoughts, 1969, Chicago, IL: J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co.,
    p. 15.

    “The simplest definition of advertising, and one that will
    probably meet the test of critical examination, is that
    advertising is selling in print.”
    – Daniel Starch, Principles of Advertising, 1923, Chicago, IL:
    A.W. Shaw Company, p. 5.

    The spirit should be free and creativity of yours should fly
    higher and higher in this ad mad world of advertising.

    Notes

    5

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Quotations, 1983, New York: Stein & Day Publishing Co., p.
    11.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 2:
    INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION
    Learning Objectives

    In this lesson you will be exposed to the relevance of
    marketing within the context of advertising

    You will understand the relevance of the Promotion mix.

    The exposure to Integrated Marketing Communication is
    step forward in understanding advertising.

    You will be briefly exposed to Branding, since it plays a
    dominant role in today’s advertising.

    You are to see the power point slides first; this will give you an
    idea about the topic.
    Within the context of marketing, we see that marketing
    communication plays an important role in the dissemination of
    information. Marketing communication is a term used in a
    broader sense for promotional strategy. So it is more of a
    planned promotional communication.
    Within this we have the following tools:

    Advertising: Which is any paid form of non-personal
    communication of ideas, products and services by an
    identified sponsor.

    Sales Promotion: Short term direct inducement to encourage
    sales of products and services.

    Publicity: Non-personal stimulation of demand for a
    product / service or business organization as a whole by
    putting commercially significant news in media to create a
    favorable image. The sponsor does not pay it for.

    Personal selling: For making sales, a salesman interacts orally
    with the buyer or buyers in the form of sales presentation.

    Public Relations: Marketers engage in public Relations to
    develop a favorable image of their organizations in the eyes
    of the public – public at large, customers, suppliers,
    government, media, competitors, shareholders, employees
    and the society.

    So how does one go about it? Following are the key areas as to
    how marketing is an integral part of advertising.

    6

    Objective setting: What is the objective of your advertising
    plan? Look towards your product or service. Also look
    towards what is it that you really want to achieve. Is it a new
    product or an existing one? Would you like to see more
    people buying your product? Do you want to measure the
    effectiveness of your advertising campaign? Some of the
    objectives could be:

    Increasing Awareness

    Increasing Sales

    Sales promotion offer

    PR exercise for a negative news about the brand

    Fighting competitor’s claims

    Introducing changes in the product offering

    Understanding the Target Audience: Read the following
    brief of a Brand and identify the customer group they are
    looking at.

    “The beer-drinkers in the country are much younger than the
    average beer-drinker elsewhere in the world. This makes them
    more likely to carry the brand with them for a lifetime. Also, as
    the target audience becomes younger, a light beer like Foster’s
    LightIce is expected to attract first-time drinkers, since it is much
    milder than any of the other beers in the country. Even if one
    accounts for the fact that the strong beer market is growing fast
    in India, we expect that at times when consumers of our
    product shift to stronger beers, they will restrict themselves to
    the Foster’s brand because of the association they have with it
    and the positive connotations from the Foster’s name.
    A lot of new variants promise to gain prominence, but mainly
    in niche urban segments. The sophisticated consumer who
    drinks beer for the experience and not to get drunk will lap up
    ice beer or light beer. In urban centers, apart from first time
    users we are also targeting women, who as ‘the times they are a
    changing,’ are entering the market for beer. Essentially, women
    shy away from beer consumption because it is associated with
    calories, and has traditionally been a buddy drink, associated
    with pot-bellied men sitting at bars and shooting darts.
    Our product however is light both in colour and body, and
    mild in flavour. It is highly carbonated with low bitterness and
    no aftertaste. It has fewer calories lower alcohol content. It thus
    moves away from the traditional psychographics of the sector
    and toward the more up-market, college/office going youth,
    male or female, with aspirations, who sees himself as both
    physically and mentally fit, has an attitude of self-confidence
    and nurtures the belief that ‘he/she can change the world’.”
    You would be able to understand the consumer base that the
    brand is intending to target at. So we focus on the fact that the
    age, income and sex plays an important part but also the
    lifestyles and the psychographical profile of the consumer base
    which are but an integral aspect in the determination of the
    target audience.
    So come to think of it, advertising plays an important role in
    the overall marketing program. Some of the basic tools by
    which marketing program could be made are:

    Product or services can be developed or refined.

    A wider distribution coverage could be made.

    Pricing could be another important decision.

    Integrated Marketing Communication is what we must focus
    on. So what is IMC?

    IMC can be Defined as
    A concept of marketing communications planning that
    recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan that
    evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication

    produce). Price cuts, displays, frequent shopper programs and
    so on are few of the sales promotions done by the retailers.

    IMC, thus, calls for a “big picture” approach to planning
    marketing and promotion programs and coordinating the
    various communication functions. It requires firms to develop a
    total marketing communications strategy that recognizes what
    the sum total of a firm’s marketing activities, not just advertising, communicate to its customers. Consumers’ perceptions of
    a firm and/or brands are a synthesis of the messages they
    receive from various sources. These include media advertisement, price, direct marketing efforts, publicity, and sales
    promotions, as well as interactions with salespeople and other
    customer-contact employees. In a global economy with
    international markets and instantaneous communications, no
    aspect of marketing can be studied in a vacuum or in isolation
    if one expects to be accurate and relevant. Marketing tools, used
    as planned business-building techniques are more likely to
    facilitate attainment of organizational goals than current “silo”
    approaches.

    It is a key element in inducing trial or repurchase in many
    communication programs in which advertising creates
    awareness and favorable attitudes but fails to spur action.
    The action comes about due to the limited duration of the
    program so the consumer must act quickly. The consumer
    may perceive this as a value for money purchase.

    In many retail outlet the companies are able to make out
    through scanners as to which brands are moving fast off the
    retail shelves and also try to understand as to which shelf
    does not receive much sales so that they could reduce the
    hiring or the display of merchandise from the shelf. This is
    done in order to be cost effective.

    In order to keep the brand equity of the brand intact
    especially for high involvement products and ‘feeling’
    products, the advertising and sales promotion efforts must
    complement each other.

    Advertising is but a part of this integrated marketing communication. One such tool within IMC is Direct or Database
    Marketing. This involves not just direct mail but also
    telemarketing & direct response advertising on T.V and radio
    and other media, in which ad aims to generate an action
    response (eg. Call center number). Direct marketing has two
    advantages over mass advertising.

    Other action related marketing communications are as under.

    The ability to target specific individual consumers with an
    offer that is tailored to that consumer.

    The ability to directly measure response.

    The goal of direct marketing may not be to generate awareness
    or change preference but it generates some action. It could be to
    get an order or request for some information, a visit to a dealer
    or a store and so on.
    So direct marketing encompasses the following:

    Targeting

    Customization ability

    Measurability

    This has become a major tool since many advertisers are
    combining direct marketing efforts with their regular advertising
    efforts. Primarily to retain loyalty of existing customers, to cross
    sell new products and services to these existing customers, and
    to increase the amount or frequency of usage.
    The second important tool within the context of IMC is Sales
    Promotion. They are of two types:

    Consumer promotion (coupons, samplings, premiums,
    sweepstakes, low-cost financing deals and rebates)

    Trade promotions (allowances for featuring the product in
    retail advertising, display and merchandising allowances and
    the like)

    These are used to get the consumer to try or to repurchase the
    brand and to get the retail trade to carry and to ‘push’ the brand.
    Retails in turn use promotions to clear their inventory of slow
    moving, out of season, shelf-unstable products (such as fresh

    So how does it play a role with IMC or advertising? There are 3
    ways in which it plays a role:

    Retail Advertising
    The retails in order that the consumer can see the product and
    buy it are those that provide the consumer with lots of
    information. So listing the size, color and prices of various
    shirts in a store make a buyer more action inductive. Appropriate behavioral aspects are used in case of durables and
    automobiles. The advertisement used here must create a strong
    sense of desire, curiosity and urgency to get the reader or viewer
    to make the store visit.

    Cooperative Advertising
    Here a manufacturer offers retailers an advertising program for
    the later to run. The program may include suggested advertising
    format, materials to be used to create actual advertisements, and
    money to pay a portion of the cost. Certain merchandise
    quantity is also suggested for the retailer to stock and perhaps
    display. There are 3 types of co-op advertising:
    1. Vertical: When the upstream manufacturer or service
    provider pays for a downstream retailers ad.
    2. Horizontal: When local dealers in a geographic area pool
    money for advertising.
    3. Ingredient producer co-op: When the producer of an
    ingredient pays part of an ad run by the user product.
    The intention of this type of communication is to stimulate
    short-term sales. The advertising is specific to the product, the
    place as to which it can be purchased and the price. To maintain
    the brand image and to reinforce the company’s leverage with
    the retailers are important long-term considerations. The need
    should also be to expand the distribution coverage by allowing
    allowances to the retailers.

    Reminder, point-of-Purchase and
    Specialist Advertising
    Reminder ads serve to stimulate immediate purchase and/or
    use to counter the inroads of competitors. It is basically
    reminding the consumer about its existence. ‘Shelf talkers’ or
    7

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    disciplines. In other words, the message and approaches of
    general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, public
    relations, and personal selling efforts are combined to provide
    clarity, consistency, and maximum communications impact.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    point of purchase materials placed in stores at or near the place
    where the brand is on display. You might have seen sachets of
    shampoos hanging right in front of the shop and they hit you
    on the face that could be taken as point of purchase material.
    Here the product itself acts as the material. Top of the mind
    awareness is the basis of the reminder and point of purchase
    material. Specialist advertising is useful in circumstances when
    certain free products like diaries, pens and calendars bearing the
    name of the manufacturer are given to the consumers for
    greater brand awareness. Pepsi and Coca Cola often paint the
    entire shop with their logo, this is to remind the consumer of
    their existence in that area.

    Sales Promotions
    Sales promotions are different from advertising, in that they do
    not involve the use of mass media. Many sales promotions are
    designed to encourage the immediate sale of goods, while
    others have longer-run goals of keeping customers loyal to the
    store, aiding salespeople, or attracting customers into the store.
    The term promotion is used to refer to all communication
    efforts made on an impersonal basis, including sales promotions, publicity, and advertising.

    Personal Selling
    Personal selling involves individual, face-to-face communication, in contrast to the impersonal mass communication
    involved in advertising. Effective personal selling is quite often,
    the most important and effective element in retail communication.

    Publicity
    Two factors distinguish publicity from advertising – cost and
    control. When a newspaper, magazine, TV or radio features a
    retailer’s store, personnel, product or events and the retailer does
    not have to pay for it, the retailer receives publicity. The retailer
    cannot, however, control the time, direction, or content of the
    message.

    Word-of-mouth
    Retailers cannot directly control what customers say to friends
    about their stores, services and products. However, they should
    be aware of this channel of information because potential
    customers often rely on what customers of a store say about it.
    Unfair treatment of one customer can create an ever-widening
    web, as more people are told about that customer’s experience.
    Fortunately, fair treatment and real value are also discussed
    among customers, although positive aspects may not have as
    much influence as negative ones do. The point is, customers are
    going to talk about how they are treated in a store.

    Packaging
    Proper product packaging protects the product as well as
    provides a message that facilitates its sale. Unfortunately, in
    most cases, retailers purchase products already packaged and,
    therefore, have little control over the communication on the
    package. However, the retailer should always consider the image
    and message projected by packaging as a part of the total
    communication mix. The retailer does ‘package’ many goods
    with paper and plastic bags, boxes, and wrapping paper. Such
    packaging, carefully designed, can prove to be an effective yet

    8

    inexpensive element within the complete communication
    programme

    Merchandising and in Store Advertising
    Of late it has made a lot of inroads in outlets. With Bennetons
    with their color scheme in various shelves, Raymond’s with
    their window display play a major role in attracting the consumer base. This is so because most decisions about brands are
    made when you enter a particular shop. So the use of displays,
    signs, and positioning of the particular brand in the store is an
    important decision making exercise.

    Industrial Marketing
    A business-to-business deal, which requires a sales representative to make the sales call, here, the additional information
    provided by him with the help of certain pamphlets and
    brochures are the key tones for advertising. The telemarketers
    can handle the calls made once the pamphlets and brochures are
    effective enough for eliciting a response. Often toll free numbers
    are provided in the pamphlets and brochures.
    Integrated marketing communication with the help of another
    tool namely Public Relations, is important to accommodate
    complex buying decisions. The key to the success lies in the
    effective monitoring of the various tools used in order to avoid
    dilution to the plan by any one. One important impact of IMC
    is greater consistency to their communication including media
    waste. In addition we must answer the following in order that
    the marketing communication is successful:

    What are the target audience and their behavioral pattern?

    What are the media that the target audience normally comes
    in touch with?

    What behavior or attitudes do we want to affect?

    What are the communication goals?

    What is the best marketing program(s)?

    How should we allocate the budget?

    Who is responsible for the programs?

    How will we measure the degree of success of each part?

    The answer to the following would indeed give us a fair
    amount of idea as which plan could be the most effective.
    Another important tool within the marketing communication
    is the Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Relationship management is emerging as the core marketing activity for
    businesses operating in fiercely competitive environments. On
    average, businesses spend six times more to acquire customers
    than they do to keep them (Gruen, 1997). Therefore, many
    firms are now paying more attention to their relationships with
    existing customers to retain them and increase their share of
    customer’s purchases.
    Worldwide service organizations have been pioneers in
    developing customer retention strategies. Banks have relationship managers for select customers, airlines have frequent flyer
    programs to reward loyal customers, credit cards offer redeemable bonus points for increased card usage, telecom service
    operators provide customized services to their heavy users, and
    hotels have personalized services for their regular guests.

    Individual size bottled water

    A new ink pen

    Television

    An automobile.

    A perfume or cologne

    A purse

    A Banking service.

    Mobile service

    While not an actual part of the IMC Campaign, it is beneficial
    to think about how your product relates to the communications model. You can do this by locating a print or television
    advertisement for your product and then examine the communications model to the advertisement. What message do you
    think the advertising agency intended to encode into the ad.
    What types of noises could effect the decoding? What are some
    the possible decoding problems that could occur? What other
    transmission devices could be used to convey the message that
    is in the ad and what type of problems might the transmission
    device create?

    Direct Marketing
    I am sure you all must be fed up with all the Spam mail that
    you get. They could range from 30% off on some laser printer
    or how to look beautiful in 25 days? Well, all I can say is that
    you are the target of direct marketing effort via the net. Let me
    discuss some history with you first. I promise it will not be
    boring.
    Direct marketing has a long history, dating, back to the 15th
    century when an Italian printer was using it to sell books,
    coinciding almost with the introduction of printing in Europe.
    Dr. Johnson in 18 th century summed up the essence of
    advertising and direct marketing in his two statements;
    “Promise. Much promise is the soul of advertising.” Consumers are interested in knowing what the product can do for them,
    rather than what it actually is. Printing and further innovations
    has given a boost to direct marketing. It has made the mail
    order catalogues economical. Literacy is a great boon for direct
    markets. Kennedy’s apt description of advertising as ‘salesmanship in print’s is equally applicable to direct marketing.
    Advertising in general and direct marketing in particular must
    build an added value into the product beyond its physical
    constituents. Brand image, as we shall learn shortly, is an
    emotional construct but people still have to rationalize their
    choices. Rosser Reeve’s USP is comparative. Our product is
    compared to all competitive products. One feature is then
    identified which the others do not offer. It is our USP. However, it is difficult to identify a USP for technologically similar
    products or for complex services such as American Express.
    Many times USP relies upon some trivial point of difference.

    i. DM is not Just Posting a Brochure with a Letter
    DM is not limited to direct mail, there are other media like direct
    response ads, telemarketing etc. Still direct mail is the most
    popular method. However, don’t think it means just posting a
    brochure with a letter. We have to define the correct market
    segment, lay our hands upon the correct database, plan the
    direct mail package, give good follow –up and so on.

    ii. Envelope is not to be Neglected
    An envelope should not be a barrier. It should be friendly with
    the receiver.
    iii. Mailer and Letter go Together
    A personal-touch covering letter accompanying a mailer goes a
    long-way in establishing a rapport with the prospect.
    iv. Don’t Neglect the Offer
    It is the heart of the DM. Think of innovations here. It should
    be action-oriented. Time –tested offers are:
    • Free trials.
    • Inspection without any obligation
    • Incentives for early birds
    • Discount offer within a limited time period
    • Gifts in contests
    • Incentive on filling up the coupon.
    • Gifts for slogans.
    v. Checks the Quality of the Data-base
    Verifying the credentials of the data-base company if you
    happen to hire it. Just check how the database has been
    compiled, and what results it has given in the past.
    vi. Retain the Initiative
    The sender must retain the initiative right from the beginning
    to the end. Being persuasive, innovative, using prepaid
    envelopes and follow-up through reminders do this.
    vii. Follow-up the Mailers
    No matter how persuasive you are, your first mailer might fail
    to enthuse the buyer unless given a good follow-up by
    reminders. That saves the initial investment from going waste.
    viii. DM is Mostly Complementary/Supplementary
    DM works on its own for very few products. Mostly, it has a
    supplementary/complementary role.

    What is Direct Marketing
    Drayton Bird, Vice Chairman, O & M Direct world wide,
    defines it as “any activity whereby you reach your prospect or
    customer (read doctor) directly as an individual – or they
    respond to you directly.”
    DM is not simply another form of advertising. It’s a way of
    marketing. Advertising can initiate a sale but it cannot close it.
    DM has the capacity to close the sale and build a dialogue.
    DM is like operating a store in print and then managing it.
    (Dick Shaver)
    DM and sales promotion (SP) offer the twin benefits of
    helping the marketing manager establish a cause-and-effect
    relationship between her/his actions and results on the
    bottom-line, and offering advanced data bases which can be

    9

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    An effective Integrated Marketing Communications program
    involves pulling together the thoughts and ideas contained in
    the Clow and Baack textbook. Your assignment for Chapter
    One is to pick a product that you will use throughout the entire
    course pack. Possible product choices include:

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    exploited to target promotional activity of any kind at an
    entirely fine-tuned audience.
    At a recent seminar organized by MAA Communication in
    Bangalore, the Regional Director of Kobs & Draft Worldwide’s
    division K. D Asia Ms. Deborah Coulson spoke on how DM is
    different from general advertising. The preconceived notion that
    they – advertising and DM are mutually exclusive is not valid.

    Relationship Marketing
    One –time communications does not build a relationship. We
    have to get married to our customers in DM. We have to
    monitor purchases of the customers between two sales points.
    The amount generated per customer is calculated. Suppose it is
    100 Rupees at a profit margin of 25 p.c. We have made Rs 20
    per customer. If the DM programme costs Rupees 5 per
    mailing, still it is worth.

    Qualities of Direct Mailers
    1. In terms of overall looks, they must look the best in the
    category.
    2. Writing is very important, and writing letters in not easy.
    Copywriters in direct marketing should write passionately
    and then edit carefully.
    3. Secretaries should not throw out high impact DM. It is
    interesting innovative. It puts across a message in a cutthroat
    way.
    4. It also reinforces the company’s brand image. Our
    advertising, letterheads, DM, and business cards must
    project a consistent image.
    5. Customers often complain that when they open a DM
    package, lot of stuff falls out. This is great news because the
    fallen stuff is picked up an is invariably looked at.
    6. For certain products, a mere brochure will not build a
    relationship. We have to send a personalized letter.
    7. Provide a good response device. The order form must be
    carefully designed – it is so very difficult to do so. Even a
    child should be able to fill it. It should not turn off the
    consumers.

    Costs
    Direct marketing is relevant only when margins in the business
    can afford the cost of sustained contact. Cost per thousands is
    much higher. First we lose money but every time the losses
    come down. The future value and life cycle value are of much
    more importance. It is relationship marketing and that is where
    profits are.
    Increased research costs are paid back in the first year or less than
    that by mailing less waste mail.
    The attempt should be to curtail monthly mailing by eliminating wasted mail. The cost of computer processing is also
    dropping rapidly. It will give a further boost to direct marketing.

    Clutter Problem
    Imagine several thousands mailings received by Indian doctors.
    The clutter is too much.

    10

    Direct Response Ads
    If the advertising is designed and its specific purpose is to
    generate an immediate enquiry or an order, it is called Direct
    Response ads.
    BE (Breaks –even) analysis of these ads is possible. The
    number of responses to get break-even divides all costs. Even 2
    percent response rate may be good if you are making money at
    half percent.
    Conversion is the number of sales divided by the number of
    leads. To have a good conversion rate, we should back our DM
    by employing a supportive sales force. It can give even a 90
    percent conversion rate.
    In print media, Direct Response (DR) ad may generate a low
    initial response that rises up by the end of the month. Many
    look for 50 percent response rate. But people tend to retain the
    DR ad for future.
    General Advertising
    Reaches a mass of buyers
    in broad groups, shares
    common demographic and
    psycho graphic profile.

    DM
    Sells to individual customers
    definable by name, address,
    specific purchases behavior.

    Selling a product whose
    benefits do not include
    distribution to the
    customer’s door.

    Selling a product whose value
    added lies in distribution to
    customer’s door.
    Time of purchase and amount of
    purchase in a particular time period
    is more important.
    Medium itself is the market place.
    It gives comprehensive
    information to buy the product.
    Product is controlled all the way
    through delivery.
    Enquiry generating advertising or
    order generation advertising is DM
    (Direct Response ads).

    There is a rapid movement towards database marketing where
    we are targeting the smallest consumer segment- the individual.
    Database marketing goes by different names – relationship
    marketing or one-to-one marketing. But it all amounts to keep
    an individual customer in focus by collecting mountains of
    information about him and using the same to design a
    marketing message. There is a shift from mass market (that
    vast, undifferentiated body of consumers who received identical
    messages for mass –produced products) to market segmentation (dividing consumers into homogenous groups with
    common demographic / psycho graphic characteristics) to still
    smaller niche marketing, aiming for the smallest consumer
    segment of all – the individual.

    Direct Marketing
    DM is not simply another form of advertising. It is way of
    marketing.
    Advertising could start a sale but it fails short of closing it. DM
    closes a sale, and builds a dialogue. “DM closes a sale, and

    In DM, we have to plan the database keeping in mind the target
    audience. While constructing a database, voluntary information
    from people must be tapped so as to avoid the charge of
    intrusion on privacy. It may not always be necessary to mail to a
    large database- ensuring a large reach.
    In the States, three percentage of GNP is through direct
    marketing. Houses, autos and food are not sold by direct
    marketing. Though there can be traffic-building programmers,
    but DM does not close a sale for these products. When we take
    off these three categories, DM accounts for 27 per cent of GNP.
    Junking

    Direct marketers fear the junk mail that is nothing but ineffective direct mail. The following factors lead to junking.
    1. Wrongly targeted direct mail
    2. Unattractively produced direct mail
    3. Wrongly timed direct mail
    4. No impact whatsoever on the receiver
    5. No capacity to incite curiosity in the receiver
    6. Improperly constructed database.
    It is better to be imaginative about the envelope that carries
    direct mail by putting a suitable phrase on it as enveloper
    opener. It is creative headline or envelope opener alone that
    avoids junking at the envelope stage itself. The covering letter is
    the next stage at which there is a possibility of junking. It has to
    be personalized by addressing a person by name. There should
    not be feeling that the receiver is just one number on the
    mailing list. The receiver is to be led into the letter without
    being aware of it. If we get across to the right person, and get
    him past the envelope and right through the covering letter, the
    mail is unlikely to be junked. The chances of junking are at
    earlier stages and not at later stages.

    Direct Marketing
    Direct Marketing is an attempt to approach the customers
    directly. It is a personal approach to consumers. This direct
    approach may be through sales letters and circulars. It may be
    through leaflets, folders and brochures. All these are routed
    through post and so are called direct mailings. Distributors are
    bypassed in direct marketing. For demonstrations, sales people
    may call in on the prospects.
    In US, there are very large direct marketing agencies, with a high
    profile roster of clients, e.g., American Express, AT & T, Bell
    Systems, British Airways, British American Tobacco, Burroughs
    Wellcome, Dinner’s club, Du Pont, IBM, General Electric,
    Newsweek, Philip Morris, P & G. In 1993, the gross spending
    the world over the direct mail has increased by 7.2 percent over
    1992 to touch $ 27 billion (Rs 89,000) crores). DM thus remains
    the world’s most preferred ad medium.
    There is a huge opportunity for direct marketing in India. Direct
    marketing may exploit new technologies like E-mail, TV etc.

    databases at all. They are available for one rupee per name and
    address while good databases cost anything between Rs 8 to Rs
    75 per name and address. Building up database is a time
    consuming process. It takes anything between 3-5 months to
    build databases.
    It is difficult to say what is the ideal ratio of general advertising
    to direct marketing. It varies so much by-product categories.
    General advertising is preferred for packaged products; direct
    marketing accounting for less than 20 p.c. For satellite TV, cable
    TV, selling subscriptions, it is mainly direct marketing
    Direct marketing does make sense for small advertisers like a
    small company or a departmental store. To make direct
    marketing effective we select a 20 p.c. sample of population that
    accounts for 80 p.c. of sales.
    Direct marketing effect can be easily measured. Many Indian
    agencies have opened up direct marketing division. Corporate
    Voice Direct has tied up with Kobs and Drafts (K &D).
    Direct marketing can make use of personal selling and promotional literature. Mail order advertisements are a form of
    marketing. It is cheaper than personal selling. Sears & Roebuck
    in America was the pioneer of mail order in the US. In India,
    the first company that made a success of mail –order business
    was Bull worker. Mail order advertisements have their merits
    and demerits. The costs of sales are low since no marketing and
    distribution networks are required, and no margins have to be
    paid to intermediates. The disadvantages is only one product
    can be sold at a time. There are diminishing returns, since every
    additional advertisement brings a lower response than the
    previous one.
    Direct marketing is slowly coming of age. In India today, we get
    mail order advertisement ranging for a wide variety of products
    from music cassettes to saving schemes to holiday packages.
    Even computer software companies like Microsoft has commissioned Contract direct to promote its MS DOS 6.0. It seeks to
    reach its target of EDP managers and general users via direct
    mail and advertising.
    So far, direct marketing outfits in the US believed that an
    effective TV commercial for direct marketing should be
    approximately 90 seconds long in order to demonstrate brand’s
    qualities and to get in a call action, with the telephone number
    repeated as often as possible.
    However, mainstream agencies deviate from this norm and
    create shorter, faster and learner ads. Right now in the US, direct
    marketing is mostly used by services, charities and travel but
    many new growth areas are fast opening up. Direct marketing
    agencies have become more television- literature to keep up.
    Direct response TV is coming into mainstream – and clients
    cannot ignore its pulling power.

    Public Relations
    Let me start by saying some are born great, some achieve
    greatness, and some hire public relations officers.

    Direct Marketing depends upon the database of the market.
    The basic challenge in the Indian market is to develop database
    management skills. The kind of lists now available is not

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    builds a dialogue. “Dm is like opening a shop in print, and
    managing it.”(Dick Shaver).

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Lobbying: Building and maintaining relations with
    legislators and government officials to influence legislation
    and regulation.

    Investor relations: maintaining relationships with
    shareholders and others in the financial community.

    Development: Public relations with donors of members of
    nonprofit organizations to gain financial or volunteer
    support.

    Public Relations
    The
    The Role
    Role of
    of
    Public
    Relations
    Public Relations

    Evaluates
    Evaluates public
    public
    attitudes
    attitudes
    Identifies
    Identifies issues
    issues
    of
    of public
    public concern
    concern

    Executes
    Executes
    programs
    programs to
    to gain
    gain
    public
    public
    acceptance
    acceptance

    Functions of Public Relations
    Press
    Press Relations
    Relations
    Product
    Product Publicity
    Publicity
    Corporate
    Corporate Communication
    Communication
    Public
    Public Affairs
    Affairs
    Lobbying
    Lobbying
    Employee
    Employee and
    and Investor
    Investor Relations
    Relations
    Crisis
    Crisis Management
    Management

    Public Relations Tools
    New
    NewProduct
    Product Publicity
    Publicity

    Tools
    Tools
    Used
    Used By
    By
    PR
    PR
    Professionals
    Professionals

    Product
    ProductPlacement
    Placement
    Consumer
    ConsumerEducation
    Education
    Event
    Event Sponsorship
    Sponsorship
    Issue
    Issue Sponsorship
    Sponsorship

    “Public relations involves many functions beyond product
    publicity, including public affairs, lobbying, and investor
    relations.”
    You must remember that, public relations are used to promote
    products, people, places, ideas, activities, organizations, and
    even nations. Trade associations have used public relations to
    rebuild interest in declining commodities such as eggs, apples,
    milk, and potatoes.

    The Role and Impact of Public Relations
    Public relations as an industry or practice have only been around
    since the early 1900s. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, young corporations discovered that their growth
    depended on gaining the goodwill of the masses. Those that
    succeeded prospered. Those that didn’t met a quick demise.
    Soon, even individuals – most notably politicians and Hollywood celebrities – were utilizing the wooing techniques of
    public-savvy companies. In recent years, the power of the
    media has made public relations a major industry.
    The primary challenge in creating publicity is to be able to digest
    the relevant points being communicated, see them from every
    angle, and express them effectively from one group to
    another. Effective practice of PR boils down ideas from one
    segment of the population and conveys them clearly to others,
    forming a common ground of communication for the various
    groups who make up our society. Analysis of any successful PR
    campaign will reveal clear, concise communication, common
    sense in appealing to people’s wants and needs, combined with
    a little imagination.

    Now let us understand a few definitions. Public Relations can
    be defined as:

    Once you have thoroughly studied your objective and found a
    way to convey it effectively, you will want to explore the many
    arenas open to you to spread your message. Whether you are
    using television, radio, print, or personal appearances, your
    message remains constant, but will probably be delivered as
    each of these media dictate.

    “ Building good relations with the company’s various publics
    by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good corporate
    image, and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories
    and events.”

    By familiarizing yourself with the basics of public relations, you
    will be better prepared to launch en effective campaign, whether
    the goal is to increase business, spread goodwill, reflect a
    positive image, or further community or charitable efforts.

    Public Relation department may perform any or all of the
    following functions:

    Public relations can have a strong impact on public awareness at
    a much lower cost than advertising can. The company does not
    pay for the space of time in the media. Rather, it pays for a staff
    to develop and circulate information and to manage events. If
    the company develops an interesting story, several different
    media could pick it up, having the same effect as advertising that
    would cost millions of dollars. And it would have more
    credibility than advertising.

    Internet
    InternetWeb
    WebSites
    Sites

    Press Relations or press agentry: Creating and placing news
    worthy information in the news media to attract attention to
    a person, product or service.

    Product publicity: Publicizing specific products.

    Public affairs: Building and maintaining national or local
    community relations.

    12

    Thus, goods public relations can be a powerful brand-building
    tool. In fact, two well-known marketing consultants have
    concluded that advertising doesn’t build brands, PR does. They
    provide the following advice, which points to the potential
    power of public relations as a first step in brand building.

    Major Public Relations Tools
    Public relations professionals use several tools. One of the
    major tools is news. PR professionals find of create favorable
    news about the company and its products or people. Sometimes news stories occur naturally, and sometimes the PR
    person can suggest events or activities that would create news
    speeches can also create product and company publicity.
    Increasingly, company executives must field questions from the
    media or give talks at trade associations or sales meetings, and
    these events can either build or hurt the company’s image.
    Another common PR tool is special events, ranging from news
    conferences, press tours, grand openings, and fireworks displays
    to laser shows, hot air balloon releases, multimedia presentations and star-studded spectaculars, and educational programs
    designed to reach and interest target publics. Recently, mobile
    marketing-traveling promotional tours that bring the brand to
    consumers-has emerged as an effective way to build one-to-one
    relationships with targeted consumers.
    Public relations people also prepare written materials to reach
    and influence their target market. These materials include annual
    reports, brochures, articles, and company newsletters and
    magazines. Audiovisual materials, such as films, slide-andsound programs, and video-and audiocassettes, are being used
    increasingly as communication tools. Corporate identity
    materials can also help create a corporate identity that the public
    immediately recognizes. Logos, stationery, brochures, signs,
    business forms, business cards, buildings, uniforms, and
    company cars and trucks-all become marketing tools when they
    are attractive, distinctive, and memorable. Finally, companies can
    improve public goodwill by contributing money and time to
    public service activities.

    Let us see some Types of Public Relations
    Business-Increasing PR. Corporations and small businesses
    alike use public relations to grow their businesses. Major
    corporations either have a department of in-house public
    relations experts or hire outside consultants to deal with the
    media and act as the company’s mouthpiece. The small
    business owner usually tries tackling it alone or hires a small
    agency. The object is to generate as much positive press for the

    company or organization as possible. Many companies do
    things like making contributions to charities, scholarship funds
    and other non-profit organizations to win positive feelings
    from the public at large.

    Fundraising PR
    Many not-for-profit organizations use the media to raise
    monies for their efforts. Newsworthy developments – such as
    signing glamorous celebrity spokespersons or receiving major
    corporate sponsorship – generates attention in the media. In
    events like these, everyone benefits … the companies or
    celebrities gain the respect of the public, their participation helps
    to raise more money or give the cause a higher profile, and the
    charity itself has raised the funds necessary to operate.
    Enhancing Public Image
    Politicians, corporate heads, and celebrities are just a few of the
    people that use public relations to earn the respect of the
    masses. Such individuals become involved in philanthropic and
    other endeavors in an effort to enrich the community. One
    classic example was the makeover of Geri Halliwell (a.k.a.
    Ginger Spice), orchestrated by PR guru Matthew Freud. The
    former Spice Girl transformed herself from a questionable
    talent and one-time topless dancer into a UN goodwill ambassador and advocate in the fight against breast cancer.
    Corporations also use this tactic to promote themselves in the
    public eye, often donating money to such community-enhancing efforts as building a library or improving a public park.
    Public Information
    Public awareness is essential in any public relations campaign. It
    is important to keep the public informed about services you are
    offering the community. Even though you are in business to
    make money, you are supplying a demand or you wouldn’t still
    be in business. You may be offering clean, affordable used cars
    to the public, or possibly clothing for the discriminating man.
    Whatever it may be, you need to communicate one factor about
    your business: what you are contributing to the
    community. This will be the undertone to all your public
    relations and advertising efforts.

    Now let us Discuss a Few Features and
    Terms of a Few PR Tools
    Press Releases
    A press release is a short document, usually one page, aimed at
    raising awareness and calling attention to an event or newsworthy happening at your company. Press releases are sent to all
    areas of the media: print, radio and television. If it is deemed
    newsworthy by the media, it can generate a multitude of public
    awareness. Oftentimes, if one source picks up on your release,
    it creates a domino effect and others run the story as
    well. Corporations who have the means rely on trained public
    relations experts to put together well-written, powerful press
    releases that are sure to catch the attention of the media. But be
    careful: no matter how big or newsworthy the subject of your
    press release is, poor writing can scare off the media faster than
    Kato Kaelin and Linda Tripp’s new talk show.

    13

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Despite its potential strengths, public relations are often
    described as a marketing stepchild because of its limited and
    scattered use. The public relations department is usually located
    at corporate headquarters. Its staff is so busy dealing with
    various publics- stockholders, employees, legislators, city
    officials-that public relations programs to support product
    marketing objectives may be ignored. Marketing managers and
    public relations practitioners do not always talk the same
    language. Many public relations practitioners see their job as
    simply communicating. In contrast, marketing managers tend
    to be much more interested in how advertising and public
    relations affects brand building, sales, and profits.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Press Kits
    A press kit, also known as a media kit, is an expansion on your
    press release. It is usually a high quality folder containing your
    press materials: press releases, brochures, collateral materials,
    company biography, news clippings, photographs (if applicable), contact information and any other relevant
    materials. These are frequently used to attract new clients. They
    are also made available to the media upon request when
    someone is seeking more information about your company.
    EPKs (or Electronic Press Kits) might also contain videotapes
    of relevant information (i.e., commercials, news spots, etc.).

    Press Conferences
    Holding a press conference is usually only necessary to make a
    major announcement. A representative or two from your
    company speaks, making the announcement and elucidating
    upon it, and the conference is open to question and discussion
    with the members of the media. The speaker should be
    thoroughly prepared for all possible questions. In general, the
    speaker should be someone who is well spoken, charming and
    able to address negative matters in a positive fashion. As a
    general rule, never hold a press conference if a press release or a
    few telephone calls will serve your purpose.

    Special Events
    These offer a terrific way for any company to get some good
    press. Having your company name associated with popular
    events is sure to garner positive recognition. For example, say
    your company is involved in putting on a pancake breakfast to
    raise money for the local humane society. This generosity, caring
    and concern is sure to have an effect on how others see your
    business from that point forward. Not only that, but also
    these events often receives large amounts of media coverage,
    especially if there is a politician or local celebrity (i.e., Miss
    Cornhusk) appearance.

    Presentations
    A presentation is akin to a press conference. Depending on your
    line of business, you may be asked to speak in front of a group
    of your peers, clients, or to a club such as the Kiwanis or Rotary.
    The goal is to be general, informative, anecdotal, and use as
    many attention-catching devices as possible. Maybe you have a
    company video or film you can screen, or possibly some of the
    company’s ads. The presentation is basically a broader form of
    the press conference, which is usually focused on one event or
    announcement. Think of the presentation as a quick summary
    of everything you do and offer, and a listing of your accomplishments.
    As with the other promotion tools, in considering then and
    how to use product public relations, management should set
    PR objectives, choose the PR messages and vehicles, implement
    the PR plan, and evaluate the results. The firm’s public relations
    should be blended smoothly with other promotion activities
    within the company’s overall integrated marketing communications effort.
    The essence my dear student is to do an out of the box
    thinking. PR is all about ‘connecting people’; so the more
    divergent your thinking is the better are your chances of
    developing a mark for your campaign or organization.

    Advertisements or PSAs
    Many organizations and corporations put together advertisements not with the aim of selling their product but of
    generating goodwill. Take for example the brewing company
    advertisements discouraging drinking and driving, or the
    tobacco company ads urging youngsters not to smoke. Ads like
    these, known as public service announcements (PSAs), are not
    made with the goal of increasing sales, although the goodwill
    they create can contribute to sales in a roundabout way.
    Speeches
    When done well, few things can convey your message like a
    well-delivered speech. This is easier said than done, since a great
    deal of work goes into the process. The speech must be
    concise, entertaining and well articulated. Politicians and
    corporate heads are constantly called upon to speak
    publicly. Because of this, they often hire speechwriters, people
    who know how to craft a message effectively to pull emotional
    strings. Small business owners may be asked to speak at a
    college or high school function, before a group or club, or at any
    number of events. But they should not just sit around and
    wait to be invited. Take the proactive route and volunteer to
    speak!
    Public Appearances
    Placing a representative from your company at various events
    can yield numerous benefits to your business. It is a way of
    taking part in the community, showing your interest and
    opening up the lines of communication. There are many
    places and events at which to make appearances: charity galas
    and fundraisers, community symposia, chamber of commerce
    conventions and mixers, and many others – the calendar is full
    of them. It’s just a matter of having someone present to show
    that your company is concerned with what is going on in the
    region.

    14

    Direct Selling
    You all must have heard of Eureka Forbes, I am sure. So what
    do they exactly do? They send their representatives to various
    households to sell their products. I am sure you all will be able
    to give me few more examples.
    So what is Direct Selling?
    In layman’s terms, Direct Selling is the sale of consumer
    products or services through personal contacts, away from fixed
    retail locations or shops.

    Person-to-person Selling
    Company and manufacturers’ representatives (independent
    contractors) sell services and products directly to people at
    home, office or workplace, on a one-to-one basis.
    Party-Plan or Group Presentations
    A system by which sales are made to individuals who are part
    of a group. The sales person invites a “hostess” to hold a
    “party” for eight to ten prospective customers, usually at home,
    but it can also be at an office or workplace. The emphasis of the
    party is to have an enjoyable time, products are attractively
    displayed whilst the independent contractor talks about the
    various products and allows the audience to “feel” products
    (touch, smell, taste, etc depending on the product being
    demonstrated).
    Major Advantage
    Direct-selling companies do away with wholesalers, retailers and
    other middlemen in the supply chain, thereby reducing their
    distribution and advertising costs.
    Major Challenge
    Since there is minimal use of advertising and large dependence
    on ‘word of mouth’ publicity, there is a lack of awareness about
    the company and its products among the target audience.
    Some Facts/ Figures
    Worldwide

    India was the fastest growing market in 2000 in terms of
    revenues from direct selling, registering a 54% yoy growth.

    90% of goods sold by the direct sellers in India are sourced
    from goods manufactured within the country.

    Most of the Direct Selling companies operating in India
    today are in the field of cosmetics, personal products,
    household products, cookware and healthfood.

    Amway is the largest player in India with annual sales
    exceeding Rs5bn

    Other major players are Avon Beauty Products (I) Pvt Ltd,
    Oriflame India Pvt Ltd, Tupperware India Pvt Ltd, Lotus
    Learning Pvt Ltd, LB Publishers and Distributors Pvt Ltd
    and DK Family Learning

    The Indian Direct Selling Association is an association of
    companies engaged in the business of direct selling in India.
    All major players in India are affiliated to IDSA.

    Mass-market penetration is now catching up within the Rs
    1,800-crore direct selling industry as well, and direct selling
    majors such as Amway, Tupperware and Avon now seem to
    be following the path charted by FMCG giants such as
    Hindustan Lever, Marico, Britannia, Nestle, Dabur, Godrej
    and Tata Tea.

    Considering the Above Facts, the Following Questions
    Come into Picture

    What are other challenges it would face and what are the
    possible solutions?

    How should the company frame its strategies, to account for
    the gaping demographic differences present in the Indian
    market?

    How should a new direct-selling company compete with an
    established FMCG major, such as HLL, if it also adopts
    direct-selling strategies?

    The number of direct sellers is growing at 220,000 per week
    worldwide.

    The direct selling industry does estimated sales of US $83
    billion annually.

    Direct Selling is practiced in 165 countries of the world.

    70% of the sales force involved in Direct selling are women

    Total direct sales people worldwide rose from 37mn in 1999
    people to over 40mn in 2000.

    What are the strategies that should be followed by a directselling company to create a strong brand name?

    However worldwide revenues from direct selling shrunk by
    2% from US$85mn in 1999 to US$83mn in 2000.

    What are the new fields into which direct-selling companies
    could venture?

    USA has the highest number of direct sales people at 11mn.
    Indonesia is No.2 with 4.2mn sales people

    In value terms Japan is the largest market with sales through
    direct selling estimated at Rs28.4bn in 2000. This business is
    done only through 2mn direct sales people.

    Direct selling is an ancient art. It basically goes on to understand
    the customer and create such a relationship with him that it
    transforms into a sale of the product. The beauty you must
    understand is in forging a relationship.

    Sweden was the fastest growing market in terms of addition
    to direct sales persons. Number of direct sellers in Sweden
    increased from 35000 in 1999 to 90000 in 2000, a 157% yoy
    jump.

    The sales force in Russia shrunk by 25% in 2000. However in
    terms of revenues, Russia was among the fastest growing
    market in the world with sales from direct selling rising by
    42% from US$134mn in 1999 to US$189mn in 2000.

    It is like someone comes up to you and becomes very friendly
    with you. He offers you a cup of coffee and there you have it, he
    has actually sold you the coffee cup and yet you both have coffee
    every time he comes knocking on your door.
    You must understand that advertising is essentially a pull
    strategy. That is, the customer having seen the advertisement is
    pulled to the retail outlet. But direct selling is a push activity.
    That is, it reaches the customer and seals the deal.

    India

    In India, direct selling is growing at a fast pace. Total sales
    through direct selling route in 2002 was Rs.1,723.7 crore.

    15

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Methods of Direct Selling

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Relationship Marketing

    Personal Selling

    • The process of creating, maintaining and
    enhancing strong, value-laden relationships
    with customers and other stakeholders.
    • Important accounts needs focused and on
    going attention




    A customer centric activity
    All about Relationships
    Connecting with the right target market
    Management of territory & customer
    management
    • First hand account of the customer

    “The one essential, driving aim of the agency’s campaign is
    not to please and sell you, the public, but to sell the
    advertiser and get his initialed okay. The public is a poor alsoran.”
    – Samm Sinclair Baker, The Permissible Lie: The Inside Truth
    About Advertising, 1968, Cleveland, OH: World Publishing
    Company, p. 13.

    “Let’s say you have $1,000,000 tied up in your little company
    and suddenly your advertising isn’t working and sales are
    going down. And everything depends on it. Your future
    depends on it, your family’s future depends on it, other
    people’s families depend on it . . . Now, what do you want
    from me? Fine writing? Or do you want to see the
    goddamned sales curve stop moving down and start
    moving up?”
    – Rosser Reeves, quoted in Denis Higgins, The Art of
    Writing Advertising: Conversations with Masters of the
    Craft (1990), Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books, p. 101.

    “It is entirely plausible . . . that advertising helps sell goods
    even if it never persuades a consumer of anything. So long
    as investers, salespeople, and retailers believe advertising
    affects consumers, advertising will influence product
    availability and this, by itself, shapes consumer choice.
    Availability, as marketers sometimes say, equals sales.
    Advertising may be an important signal system within the
    business world.” “Despite efforts at ‘psychographics’ which,
    here and there, have proved useful guides for advertising, the
    most consistently used and efficient criteria for describing
    consumers are the most psychologically blunt —
    demographics …. It is the most consistently employed kind
    of data in advertising work.”
    – Michael Schudson, Advertising, The Uneasy Persuasion: Its
    Dubious Impact on American Society, 1984, New York: Basic
    Books, p. 63-64.

    Selling Process
    • Prospecting and Qualifying: Ah, I think he
    needs my product
    • Pre-approach: “Know thy customer”
    • Approach: The start of a beautiful
    relationship
    • Presentation: Story on ‘why not my
    product?’

    Selling Process
    • Handling Objections: Clarifications & more
    clarifications.
    • Closing: Get that man to sign on the dotted
    line.
    • Follow up: Now we talk about ‘his’
    satisfaction

    Sales Promotion
    Case Study 1
    Sales promotions are ideal for temporarily increasing sales of
    FMCGs and durables, but can they also be used strategically?
    Soft drinks like Pepsi continuously come up with promotions
    like, “Mera Number Aayega”. Indeed, some market categories,
    such as chocolates, ready-to-eat foods and personal care
    16

    Creating a brand is a time-consuming process because it
    involves organizational commitment and orchestrating the
    resources in the right manner and channel for building the
    brand’s image in the mind of consumers. In other words,
    branding creates predictability. It’s about creating a relationship
    with consumers. What the brand does today should help you
    anticipate what it will do tomorrow.
    Promotion, on the other hand, is a short-term phenomenon.
    ACT NOW is the definition of sales promotion; tomorrow
    will be too late!
    Whether it is price reduction, larger packaging, a tie-in with
    another product, a coupon or some other incentive, it is
    temporary. Does this mean that you shouldn’t run promotional campaigns? What should happen is this: Promotions
    should help build a strong brand.
    Building a brand works towards building a strong consumer
    base. Think beyond coupons, giveaways and free trials! Sales
    promotions can attract a different audience and encourage
    people to try a product for the first time. You have the opportunity to influence people’s perceptions of a brand, and then,
    through on-going activity, retain those customers.
    Marketers must recognise where sales promotions fit into the
    marketing mix and what goes beyond the promotion. There
    should be a synergy between brands and promotions.
    Think strategically. Have the right kind of promotion for your
    brand! Think beyond coupons, giveaways, and free trials! At the
    same time, keep building your brand using other elements of
    the marketing communication mix.
    For instance, when Onjus was introduced, sampling along with
    consumer interaction was used as a promotional campaign.
    (They asked consumers to exchange two oranges for a free pack
    of the drink).
    Formalise the promotion planning process to include a
    rationale for its existence and the timing of each promotion.
    Promotions are not tactical tools. Promotions reinforce what
    the brand stands for in the consumer’s mind. What the brand
    “communicates” should be synchronised with what the
    marketer wants consumers to think about the product.
    Sales promotion is used not only for products or brands; it can
    be extended to technology and service. Samsung launched a
    scratch-card promo for its CTVs in June 1999. Thums Up used
    the same strategy. What differentiates the promotions is the
    industry? One was in the durable sector, which was aimed at
    growth. The other was in the FMCG sector, with the aim of
    increasing short-term sales.

    same time, the brand was built around the promo during the
    World cup.
    The question still remains: “What makes a winning promotion?” Applying experience from past campaigns? Not
    necessarily, but also the fact that the promotion has actually
    helped in getting the brand off the ground. Promotions cannot
    go on forever, but at the same time they can help in building a
    bond between consumers and brands.

    Act Now – Is that What Sales Promotion
    is All About
    Well, dear student I am sure you found the case study rather
    stimulating. Now I shall show you in the way of slide presentation as to what is Sales Promotion all about. In addition It
    would be nice if you could refer to Marketing Management by
    Phillip Kotler. I am sure you would find the chapter on Sales
    Promotion very interesting. I want you to think of examples
    and write them on the right hand side of the slides.

    Definition
    • Media & Non media marketing pressure
    applied for a predetermined, limited period
    of time in order to stimulate trial, increase
    consumer demand or improve product
    quality.
    E.g.: Watch Kal Ho Naa Ho and win a trip to
    America.

    Focus Areas
    • “Public” & not just consumers.
    • Action oriented. E.g: “Buy Now”.
    • 3 Party involvement:
    ü Consumers
    ü Sales Representatives
    ü The Trade
    • Limited Period. E.g. offer closes 1st December

    What should an ideal promotion result in? Should the
    emphasis be on increasing short-term sales or on building the
    brand in the long run? A promo needs to have a short-term
    impact synchronised with brand-building efforts. Britannia
    successfully managed to increase sales by 20 per cent, and at the

    17

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    products, are almost totally driven by sales promotion. Are the
    marketers of these products caught in a trap, afraid to get off
    the promotional merry-go-round? Can sales promotion actually
    be used in a long-term, strategic way to build brands and not
    just temporary increments in sales volume?

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Consumer Promotion
    Goals Of Sales Promotion
    • Increase immediate customer sales.
    • Support from marketer’s sales force.
    • Gain the support of the trade in
    marketing the product.

    • Price Deals: E.g. “More for Less”, 50% Off, Buy
    One Get One Free offer.
    • Coupons: E.g: VLCC coupons for discount.
    • Contests: E.g: Answer a simple question and win a
    Color TV
    • Sweepstakes: E.g: Name is selected for query
    form for lucky draw.
    • Premiums: E.g: Buy Pepsodent & collect G.I
    Joes’; Win a Mercedes Benz, the more you use
    your ICICI credit card.
    • Sampling: E.g: Consumer sample new products
    for free.

    Drivers of SP in Marketplace
    • Consumer Behavior: Consumers better educated,
    low brand loyalty & Selective.
    • Pricing: Festivals, major events in sports still draw
    a huge crowd. Indians are still price conscious.
    • Market Share: Brand switching, the name of the
    game.
    • Parity Products: Differentiation strategy in a world
    of ‘me too’ product.
    • Power of the Retailer: The place where it all
    happens. Consumers directly in touch with them.

    Trade Promotions
    Goals



    Stimulate in store merchandising.
    Manipulate the inventory held by a retailer.
    Expand product base geographically.
    To create a high level of excitement for the
    product

    Trade Promotion

    Types of Promotions
    • Consumer Promotion
    • Trade Promotion

    18

    • Point of Purchase (POP): E.g: Banners,
    Danglers & Posters at the retail outlet.
    • Dealer/Retailer Kit: All the information
    about the product that the retailer should
    know.
    • Contests & Sweepstakes: Specials offers to
    the retailer so that he pushes that brand.
    • Trade Shows & Exhibits: E.g: Auto Expo at
    Pragati Maidan in Delhi.
    • Trade Incentive: The more ‘cut’ is given to
    the retailer, the more he pushes your
    product.

    • 3 broad objectives:
    ØStimulate demand by consumers
    ØImprove marketing performance of resellers
    ØTo supplement and coordinate advertising,
    personal selling & public relations
    activities.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Promotion Strategies

    Difference Between
    Advertising
    Sales Promotion
    • Creates an Image over
    time
    • Relies on Emotional
    appeals
    • Adds Intangible value
    to the product / service
    • Contributes
    Moderately to short
    term profitability

    • Creates immediate
    Action
    • Relies on Rational
    appeal
    • Adds Tangible value
    to the product / service
    • Contributes Greatly to
    short term profitability

    Promotion Strategies




    Help in creating & sustaining brand value.
    Managing brand image
    Cut into brand loyalty of other brands.
    Promotion to be more brand focused.
    Co-branding, a key tool.

    (Custom mouse pad by L&T)
    P
    R
    O
    M
    O
    T
    I
    O
    N
    E
    F
    F
    O
    R
    T

    Manufacturer

    Advertising and Movement Toward Action
    Related behavioral
    dimensions

    Conative
    Reseller

    Consumer

    Push
    Strategy

    Realm of motives.
    Ads stimulate or direct
    desires.

    Affective
    Realm of emotions.
    Ads change attitudes
    and feelings

    Movement
    toward purchase

    Purchase

    Types of promotions and
    advertising at each step

    Point of purchase
    Retail store ads, Deals
    “Last-chance” offers
    Price appeals, Testimonials

    Conviction
    Preference
    Liking

    Competitive ads
    Argumentative copy
    “Image” copy
    Status, glamour appeals

    Cognitive

    Knowledge

    Realm of thoughts.
    Ads provide
    information and facts.

    Announcements
    Descriptive copy
    Classified ads
    Slogans, jingles, skywriting

    Awareness

    Teaser campaigns

    19

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Inverted Pyramid of Communications Effects

    90% Awareness
    e
    itiv
    gn
    Co

    70% Knowledge
    40% Liking
    e
    tiv
    fec
    Af

    25% Preference
    20% Trial
    e
    tiv
    na
    Co

    5% Use

    “The manufacturer who finds himself up the creek is the
    short-sighted opportunist who siphons off all his
    advertising dollars for short-term promotions.”
    – David Ogilvy, Ogilvy on Advertising (1985), New York:
    Vintage Books, p. 169.

    Introduction to Branding

    I bet you must be telling your friends that you wear a Gucci or a
    Parx or that you prefer to go to McDonalds than to Nirulas.
    What exactly are these names? Why do we distinctly relate to
    them? Why do we say that I prefer to wear brand ‘X’? So my
    question but naturally is, what is a brand?
    Brand is the proprietary visual, emotional, rational, and cultural
    image that you associate with a company or a product. When

    20

    you think Volvo, you might think safety. When you think Nike,
    you might think of Michael Jordan or “Just Do It.” When you
    think IBM, you might think “Big Blue.” The fact that you
    remember the brand name and have positive associations with
    that brand makes your product selection easier and enhances the
    value and satisfaction you get from the product. While Brand X
    cola or even Pepsi-Cola may win blind taste tests over Coca
    Cola, the fact is that more people buy Coke than any other cola
    and, most importantly, they enjoy the experience of buying and
    drinking Coca Cola.
    “A name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of
    them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or
    group or sellers and to differentiate them from those of
    competitors”.
    The fond memories of childhood and refreshment that people
    have when they drink Coke is often more important than a little
    bit better cola taste. It is this emotional relationship with
    brands that make them so powerful. What makes up a brand
    identity? Brand identity includes brand names, logos, positioning, brand associations, and brand personality. A good brand
    name gives a good first impression and evokes positive
    associations with the brand. A positioning statement tells, in
    one sentence, what business the company is in, what benefits it
    provides and why it is better than the competition. Imagine
    you’re in an elevator and you have 30 seconds to answer the
    question, “What business are you in?” Brand personality adds
    emotion, culture and myth to the brand identity by the use of a
    famous spokesperson (Bill Cosby – Jello), a character (the Pink
    Panther), an animal (the Merrill Lynch bull) or an image (You’re
    in good hands with Allstate). Brand associations are the
    attributes that customers think of when they hear or see the
    brand name. McDonalds television commercials are a series of
    one brand association after another, starting with the yellow
    arches in the lower right corner of the screen and following with
    associations of Big Mac, Ronald Mcdonald, kids, Happy Meal,
    consistent food quality, etc. The first step in creating a brand for
    your company or organization is a branding workshop.
    Is branding just for large companies? No, our process can be
    applied to any business, organization or product. The techniques of branding have been kept secret for many years because
    they provided a competitive advantage to those companies that
    used them. Our process takes the proven principles of branding
    used by companies like P&G, Disney, and Coca Cola and puts
    them into a simple, understandable and easy to use process.
    Retailers, service businesses, manufacturers and businesses of
    all types and sizes can use this process. How do we determine
    our brand identity? Brand has been called the most powerful
    idea in the commercial world, yet few companies consciously
    create a brand identity. Do you want your company’s brand
    identity created for you by competitors and unhappy customers? Of course not, my advice to executives is to research their
    customers and find the top ranked reasons that customers buy
    their products rather than their competitors. Then, pound that
    message home in every ad, in every news release, in communications with employees and in every sales call and media interview.
    By consistent repetition of the most persuasive selling mes-

    Practically this involves managing the tangible and intangible
    aspects of the brand. For product brands the tangibles are the
    product itself, the packaging, the price, etc. For service brands
    (see Service Brands), the tangibles are to do with the customer
    experience – the retail environment, interface with salespeople,
    overall satisfaction, etc. For product, service and corporate
    brands, the intangibles are the same and refer to the emotional
    connections derived as a result of experience, identity, communication and people. Intangibles are therefore managed via the
    manipulation of identity, communication and people skills.
    So you must understand that branding is all about making
    individual products distinctive. Branding can add value to a
    product and is therefore an intrinsic aspect of product strategy.
    Pharmaceutical companies were the first ones to brand their
    products. Now the scene is such that even salt and sugar is
    branded.
    Branding essentially involves the cost where packaging, labeling
    and legal protection is concerned. Branding it is opined brings
    about loyalty. This is so because people associate with your
    product due to some benefits that you might be offering. That
    connection which the product has made with the target market
    is what branding is all about. In regards to segmentation
    brands carry out a specific task of catering to a certain segment,
    and the message design is made keeping in mind that segment.
    Distributors prefer to handle branded products, which represents a particular quality and preferred by the buyers. Different
    brands represent different quality levels. In fact the growth in
    advertising is due to the presence of brands. Competitive
    advertising has come to age due to the emergence of brands.

    Strategic Awareness
    The presence of the brand – a process that moves travelers from
    being unaware about America’s Byways to recognition to recall
    to top of mind to dominance – their only choice.

    Perceived Quality
    It is the promise of the brand. Travelers equate America’s
    Byways with a consistent, quality experience. They trust they are
    making the right decision to drive on a NSB or AAR.

    Singular Distinction
    ‘The positioning of the brand. The only choice to
    make…without reservation.’
    The value of qualities and attributes implied by the brand name
    and reflected in choices in a competitive marketplace, i.e. the
    ability of a brand to “shift demand” (travelers will choose
    America’s Byways over Readers Digest or AAA scenic drives)
    While brands exist as objective entities, brand equity resides
    only in the minds of consumers and key influencers
    Brand equity is measured relative to existing and future
    competitors
    The level of brand equity varies among segments and can be
    positive or negative

    Brand Strategy
    It is a method to capitalize on the value of the brands to
    achieve profitable growth (i.e. positive economic impact on
    byway communities). The focus is a long term perspective and
    must be closely linked to business strategy

    Brand Portfolio

    Is it necessary to brand the product?

    Who will be sponsoring the brand?

    What quality level should go into the making of a brand?

    Should there be individual brand names, or should there be
    a family brand?

    Brand architecture involves the management of brand portfolio.
    Brand portfolio includes all the types of brand viz. Brands and
    sub brands as well as co-brands with other firms. For e.g., the
    brand portfolio of Hindustan Lever Ltd. Consisting of 110
    brands with 950 of different types of packs, which are operating
    under different market context like healthcare, personal care,
    beverages, etc. The decision parameters are should one or more
    brands be added or deleted? A brand portfolio can be strengthened by the addition of brands keeping in view the portfolio
    perspective. Similarly brands can be deleted by identifying the
    superfluous brands, which are contributing nothing to the
    brand portfolio

    How about having some product versions in same product
    category?

    Branding: yes, you need a Brand
    First, branding is a key defense against:

    Is it necessary to reposition the brand?

    Commoditization
    a situation in which a company’s products and services become
    perceived by buyers as being interchangeable with those of
    other companies, so buying decisions become driven by price.
    With the trend toward instantly and globally searchable
    competition across all product and service categories, the pull
    toward commoditization is now an elemental force in marketing. The value of branding – intelligent, relevant, branding that
    effectively differentiates you from your competition – has never
    been higher.
    Branding is also a way to leverage success, expand market share,
    and fend off competition. Indeed, companies with established
    brands often rebrand as a way to penetrate perceived new

    So what are the branding decisions that one must take? The
    following are few of the decisions that marketers and advertisers must take in order that they can give a new image to a
    product in terms of branding.

    Brands are a means of differentiating a company’s products and
    services from those of its competitors.
    There is plenty of evidence to prove that customers will pay a
    substantial price premium for a good brand and remain loyal to
    that brand. It is important, therefore, to understand what
    brands are and why they are important.

    Brand Equity
    BE = SA + PQ + SD (Brand equity equals strategic awareness
    plus perceived quality plus singular distinction)

    21

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    sages, customers will think of you and buy from you when they
    are deciding on whether to buy from you or your competitor.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    markets or defend core markets. This rebranding is often a
    costly mistake.
    Branding – or “brand-building” – has become the El Dorado of
    corporate marketing departments, advertising agencies, design
    firms, and consultants. However, branding goes beyond an
    attitude, or a logo, or a slogan, or an advertising campaign.
    Branding is a long-term holding in which your marketing
    communications are relatively short-term investments. Your
    brand is a tangible corporate asset – an end toward which all
    your business efforts should work.
    No less a forward-thinker than Tom (“Destruction is Cool”)
    Peters in The Circle of Innovation says “An obsession with
    branding isn’t simply a “marketing department” issue. It’s an
    accounts receivable issue. It could be a purchasing issue or could
    be an information systems issue. Heaven knows, a human
    resources issue. Every decision … every system … should
    reflect, visibly, the specific attention to (obsession with). In
    other words, brand management is corporate management, in
    the deepest, truest, sense of the term. The problem is, companies are turning to branding as a panacea. Equally problematic,
    are the self-proclaimed “branding experts” who are happy to sell
    you this expensive snake oil. In inexpert hands, branding
    becomes a way to obfuscate relative sameness, instead of to
    communicate relevant uniqueness.
    Let us further understand why does a brand come about in the
    presence of a product.

    Product & Branding Strategy
    What is Product Mix
    A product mix also called, as product assortment is the set of
    all products & items that a particular seller offers for sale.
    A Company’s Product Mix has certain concepts:
    • Width: The width of a product mix refers to how many
    different product lines the company carries. E.g.: HLL, P&G
    • Length: The length of a product mix refers to the total
    number of items in the mix.
    • Width: The width of a product mix refers to how many
    variants are offered of each product in the line.
    • Consistency: It refers to how closely relate, the various
    product lines are in end use, production requirements,
    distribution channels or some other way.
    Above 4 product mix dimensions permit the company to
    expand its business in four ways:
    • It can add new product lines, thus widening its product mix.
    • It can lengthen each product line.
    • It can add more product variants to each product and deepen
    its product mix.
    • Finally, a company can pursue more product line consistency
    Fine I say, a company has managed to create a product portfolio
    and we are expecting the company to do well in the coming year.
    All very fine, but there is another gentleman who has come up
    with the same product, and then what do you do? Especially
    when you really felt that you could have possibly taken the
    entire market by storm. The key, my dear friend lies in differentiating your offer. Why do you feel the customer should buy your
    22

    product and not the other person’s? So, you associate certain
    attributes to your product (including all the widths and lengths)
    and you touch your customer’s heart. All of a second he feels
    that, ‘oh my God, how did he know that I wanted that?’ That
    my friend is what positioning is all about. You were able to
    reach out to the customer and able to relate to him. God bless
    positioning. So, what is positioning after all?
    ‘Positioning’ is one of the most widely bandied-about (and
    least well-defined!) buzzwords in Marketing. We quite often
    hear people say ‘positioning’ when they actually mean ‘advertising strategy’ or ‘research concept’. Other times we hear people
    refer to ‘brand values‘ when they really mean ‘positioning’.
    “The positioning is a strategic statement of what differentiates
    your brand competitively in the market– and inside the mind
    of the target customer. It’s what gives him/her reasons to buy
    you, to be loyal to you, to be an advocate for you. Tangible
    (product & service) features form the scaffolding that supports
    your positioning and makes it believable – but a truly strong
    positioning goes beyond these tangible factors, making
    powerful and emotive connections”.
    Positioning can have many different ‘starting places’ depending
    on the psychology of the market concerned:

    User imagery & badging: “The precise, stylish brand of office
    technology which says you’re really creative in the way you run
    your business”

    Usage occasion: “The wholesome toaster-snack, which
    warms, satisfies and comforts when you’ve just come home
    after a really hard day“

    Mood transformation: “The drinks brand which brings out
    what’s most cool, adventurous and attractive inside the secret
    you”

    Brand Positioning
    Running a brand is like conducting an orchestra. Positioning is
    the heart of competitive strategy. The messages transmitted by
    everything from the advertising to phone calls with your
    customer care department all need to be kept in harmony and
    on brief. Without a clear, single-minded definition of what the
    brand is about the messages rapidly become discordant and
    confusing. The positioning statement is therefore a focusing
    device, which helps brand management to keep everything
    sharp and relevant.

    Prospecting for Positioning
    In marketing the consumer is king – but the idea that consumers alone should dictate brand positioning has always been an
    over-simplification! Customer feedback via research is vital – but
    to this has to be added analysis of the company and its inherent
    capabilities, plus an sharp understanding of the competitors
    already in the market – their strengths and weak spots

    Positioning Key Points
    • It is a strategic, not a tactical, activity

    It is aimed at developing a strategic, sustainable competitive
    advantage

    It is concerned with managing perceptions

    Brand image and reputation are the result of the positioning
    process

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Notes

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 3:
    TUTORIAL
    You are the Brand Manager of Chevrolet Optra. What do you
    think the brand stands for?
    Mr. Jaiswal comes to the Trade fair and is interested in purchasing the vehicle. How would you integrate the principle and
    components of IMC in order to market the brand to him?
    Secondly, it comes as grapevine to Mr. Jaiswal that the car has
    poor suspensions, how would you use the concept of Public
    Relations to counter this rumor doing the damage to your
    brand and relationship?

    Notes

    24

    Objective

    You will get to understand the different types of
    advertisements.

    You will be able to differentiate the different types of
    advertisements

    Based on the types you will also understand the message
    strategy along with the objectives to be followed.

    Well, now we are at an interesting part of our course pack. That
    is you will understand as to the types of advertisements which
    are made which cater to a certain target market. To start off with,
    let us take retail advertising for starters,

    Retail Marketing

    Store retailing is the traditional form of retailing wherein a
    customer physically goes to the store to buy goods or services.
    Some of the types of store retailing are:

    a. Specialty Stores
    This would typically specialise in selling one product. It has a
    highly targeted market segment that this type of retailing is
    trying to attract. . However, some specialty stores also include
    allied products targeted at the same marketing segment.

    b. Department Stores
    A department store is a store where multiple items are stocked
    and sold. These stores service all kinds of needs of the
    customers such as clothing, shoes, cosmetics, gift items,
    luggage, and other household goods.

    c. Supermarkets
    These are similar to department stores but with a focus on food
    and household maintenance products. This is more of a selfservice operation wherein a customer just goes and picks what
    he wants.
    d. Convenience Stores
    The differentiating factors for these types of stores are that they
    are open for relatively long hours and mostly on all the days of
    the week thus making it accessible to the customer. Typically this
    kind of retailing stores would be located in residential areas.
    Retail Management is a very important part of the distribution
    process. It is the last link in the chain and is the direct interface
    of the process with the customer.
    What is retailing? Philip Kotler defines retailing as all activities
    involved in selling good or services to the final customer for
    personal use. In today’s scenario our retailer does not exist in
    the brick and mortar form alone. S/he can do it by using the
    telephone, by direct mails, by using television in the form of
    teleshopping networks, by e-mails, by using the Internet or
    absolutely impersonally by using vending machines.
    We will broadly cover both the store form of retailing and the
    non-store form of retailing.

    e. Discount stores
    A discount store sells products at a lower price by reducing its
    own margins. This type of stores target high volumes to ensure
    profitability.
    The various non-stores kind of retailing are:
    a. Direct Selling
    This is a scenario in which a sales person goes from door to
    door or from office to office and meets the customer directly to
    close a sale. A very good example is that of vacuum cleaners,
    wherein a representative goes to the homes of a customer at
    their convenience and demonstrates the utility of his products
    so that the customer can make a purchase decision based on the
    performance of the vacuum cleaner.
    b. Direct Marketing
    This is a scenario in which instead of directly visiting the
    customer, product information is supplied through other
    sources. These include sending mails, providing information
    over the telephone(also called as Telemarketing) and other
    media.
    c. Television Shopping
    Today, television has become more popular means of selling
    products. Various channels have teleshopping programs
    through which marketeers demonstrate the usability of the
    products. The customer can then order the product through email, Internet or the telephone.

    25

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 4:
    ADVERTISING AND ITS TYPES

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    d. Cataloguing
    In this a booklet enlisting all the products on offer is sent to the
    customer. Based on the information provided, the customer
    can then make his buying decision and order it via the telephone, email the Internet.

    scenario all has to be taken into consideration. Although
    rational appeals are not rejected but essentially there is an
    overdose of emotional appeal. Both negative and positive
    message is used. There could be major mud slinging too.

    e. Net marketing

    Within the context of the 4 Ps of marketing we have the
    Product. Be it an FMCG product or an industrial good, we need
    to understand that advertising plays an important role in
    promoting the product. Be it at any stage of the product life
    cycle, every product needs to be communicated for varied
    reasons to its target customer as to why they ought to go for
    that product.

    This is the latest trend in marketing. Here the products are
    detailed on the website of the retailer and the customer can
    order it right way with the help of a few mouse clicks. The other
    electronic tool that is used is the email facility. E-Mailers are sent
    to prospective customers by providing the details of the
    products. This medium is also used to provide information
    about new products to existing customers.
    In India, retailing has caught up in a big way. Today one finds
    the presence of huge retail stores like Crossroads, Shoppers
    Stop etc who are doing well. It has a bright future and looks all
    set to grow. Currently it is an urban phenomena, present in the
    metropolises like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore etc. However
    this trend is moving into the smaller towns and these present
    the market of the future.

    Political Advertising
    1. Political advertising includes communications supporting or
    opposing a candidate for nomination or election to either a
    public office or an office of a political party (including county
    and precinct chairs).
    2. Political advertising includes communications supporting or
    opposing an officeholder, a political party, or a measure (a
    ballot proposition).

    Product Advertising

    A product has to be good and should give satisfaction to the
    needs of the consumer only then will the advertising objective
    can be a success. Even a bad product could be sustained in the
    market place with a good advertising, but what matters in the
    long run is the ability of the product to seemingly stand out in
    the minds of the consumers. If the consumer knows the brand
    and the associated benefits attached with the product the
    advertising objective can easily be achieved thereby bringing
    about an increase in the sales.
    Product or brand knowledge coupled with a clear positioning,
    derived from a well thought out marketing strategy, is essential
    to every successful advertising program. The other elements in
    good product advertising are packaging, trademark, and such
    other physical and psychic attributes of the product like taste,
    color, texture, aroma, style and design. The saleabilty influence
    of these product attributes is to be analyzed before incorporating them in the advertising messages delivered through various
    advertising media.

    Now, Product Advertising is of 3 Types, Namely
    Pioneering or Informative Advertising

    Here an attempt is made to stimulate the primary demand of
    the product category rather than a specific brand. For example
    the advertisement Malaysia Tourism, with their picturous TV
    commercial and the slogan ‘Malaysia – Truly Asia’ made an
    indelible mark where pioneering advertisement was concerned.
    Here the product category is introduced first, educative in intent
    and it appeals to the consumer’s rational as well as to his
    emotional being. At the introductory stage of the PLC this type
    of advertising is beneficial. Generating awareness is the main
    function of advertising here.

    Part B. Where Does It Appear
    1. Political advertising includes communications that appear in
    pamphlets, circulars, fliers, billboards or other signs, bumper
    stickers, or similar forms of written communication.
    2. Political advertising includes communications that are
    published in newspapers, magazines, or other periodicals in
    return for consideration.
    3. Political advertising includes communications that are
    broadcast by radio or television in return for consideration
    The task of political advertising is a formidable one that is it
    reaches out to the whole country. The campaign must have over
    a dozen advertisements. The mood of the people, the current
    26

    1. Smaller percentage as compared to consumer advertising.

    Here selective demand of a specific product brand is stimulated.
    By now the product is established in the market and has reached
    the growth in the market and has reached the growth or
    maturity stage of the PLC. Very competitive to market forces.
    Competitive advertising is again of two types:

    2. Elaborate buying process is involved.

    Direct type, where it seeks to stimulate immediate buying
    action.

    Indirect type, here the benefit of the product is emphasized
    in the anticipation of the consumer’s final action of buying.

    Retentive or Reminder Oriented

    The product is now having a firm footing in the market
    place. Its sales may start to decline at a later point. The buyer
    must be reminded about the product to sustain his loyalty.
    It is a soft sell approach where the buyer is judged to
    continue the usage of the product. The essence here is to
    keep the brand name in front of the eye of the viewer. Used
    at both the maturity as well as the declining stage.
    Now let us try to understand the types of products and
    thereby the advertising needs of them.

    Products can be Classified as Under

    Products

    Industrial Products

    Consumer Products for direct consumption.

    Consumer durables

    Consumer non durables

    3. Main objectives of this class is to Inform, get Orders, to
    stimulate queries, to empanel the marketer’s name on the
    buyer’s panel of sources.
    4. Trade journals and lay press are the most sought after media
    vehicles.
    5. Seeks to build the corporate image.
    6. Rational appeal is used here. The copy gives facts and figures.

    Service Advertising
    I would like to ask you a very simple question. What do you
    mean by services? Well, the following essential points about
    what constitutes a service are to be remembered.

    They are activities, benefits or satisfaction offered for sale

    They are Intangible, Inseparable, Variable and Perishable in
    nature.

    Require strict quality control, supplier credibility and
    adaptability.

    Specialized services like consulting; being a doctor even an
    advertising agency is an example of advertising. They may talk
    about congenial environment, quickness and promptness of
    service, economy, exclusiveness, and status significance. Hotels
    and airlines, when advertising their services, attach greater
    importance to service with a smile, courtesy, thoughtfulness and
    claim that they offer a home away from home.

    In the case of consumer advertising the following points
    should be taken into consideration:
    1. Most of them are in competitive field and engaged in
    advertising.
    2. Non-durables are frequently bought.
    3. Non-durables are appliances, which serve for a long period
    of time.
    4. Both rational as well as emotional appeals are used.
    5. Use of celebrity endorsement is heavy.
    6. Major chunk of advertising business.
    Banks also advertise the services that they offer to their clientele,
    like the personalized banking, computer banking, or maybe just
    the sheer experience of banking being a pleasure.

    Whereas the salient points to be remembered in the case of
    industrial advertising are:

    Services like physical goods also use channels to make their
    output available and accessible, e.g., location of particular
    hospital to cater to a particular catchment area. Promotion of
    services also emphasizes the locational aspect. Retail services,
    which are growing at a good rate use promotion as a major
    tool. In this respect I want you to think of the advertisement
    of ICICI bank who have roped in Amitabh Bachan to be their
    brand ambassador.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Competitive or Persuasive Advertising

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Corporate Advertising

    Public Services Advertising
    “School Chalen Hum”, “Mille Sur Mera Tumhara”, these
    advertisements have become very popular and have seemed to
    touch the public. During the Kargil war there were a lot of
    advertisements, which focused on the Indian soldiers fighting
    on the front. The advertisement was for the Prime Minister’s
    Fund for the Kargil war. The print advertisements had won a
    lot of awards. This, my dear student is an example of what
    public service advertising is all about. The headline for the
    advertisement that you see goes some thing like this, : “The
    cyclone was terrifying. But, one look at her face was all the
    courage I needed”. The body copy reads, Mother India: Cyclone
    Victim? Or Saviour?

    In this form of advertising an institution presents its own story
    to build up an image of itself in the minds of the public. It is
    more like a public relations approach advertising. It could talk
    about how it is associating with a cause, like the Star TV
    Network putting the cause for girl child education in the
    forefront. It may emphasize on its contribution to the society
    and it could also talk about the mission of the organization.
    That way it could show all the products of the organization,
    like the Hero Honda’s “Desh Ki Dharkan”, where they show all
    the brands of the organization. Sahara by saluting the Indian
    cricket captains is associating with cricket. There are number of
    corporate advertisements. I want you to think of at least 3
    corporate advertisements and discuss them in the classroom.

    The institutional advertisement is very subtle in nature and
    affects our basic attitudes. It may build upon its history and
    may try to build awareness about itself. The ad copy could be
    focused at the general public or may be directed towards specific
    group like its shareholders. Take the example of the ad of
    Hindustan Petroleum here. Now the advertisement talks about
    powering India since 25 years. Especially where locomotives are
    concerned. Hence focusing on the fact that they power the
    Indian Railways.
    So it is building a favorable image for itself in the minds of the
    public. It is more of telling the public as to how socially
    responsible they are. So their overall objectives are in tune with
    social issues. So the basis is to create goodwill in the minds of
    its internal as well as external customers. So the objectives of
    this type of advertising are:

    To make the company known

    To make its products / services known.

    To make its achievements known.

    To make its values known.

    To make socio-political / economic / moral statements.

    To give an identity to a faceless organization is what institutional advertising does. When designing a corporate ad we must
    pay heed to the type of response we want. It purely asks for an
    approval and not any action from the target audience.

    28

    It was heel unleashed from heaven. Monster winds tore into
    fragile houses. Exploding walls of tidal water smashed Orissa
    into smithereens. In the eye of this merciless savagery, one
    malnourished woman stood welded to the ground. Not for her
    sake, but for the terrified five year old who was screaming in her
    arms. The little girl wasn’t hers. She was a Hindu girl orphaned
    by the super cyclone. But at that moment, religion was the last
    thing on her mind It was Nature at its worst, against a Mother
    at her best. And sure enough, they survived. The indomitable
    spirit of motherhood triumphed.
    In a land that give rise to this nameless yet photographically true
    mother, there are thousands more with similar courage.
    As India’s equal children, this then is the spirit that’ll find us
    storming into a future already resilient and resurgent.

    Baseline: My Resilient India my
    Resurgent Pride
    Moving wasn’t it, well that can be the power of a good
    advertisement. Please understand that public service advertising
    is identified with national cause, even in the promotion of soap
    or insurance there could be elements of public service. There
    should be a thorough knowledge of the target market,
    especially if we are talking about adult education, AIDS,
    national calamity relief fund, birth control, etc. So keep the
    message short, dramatic and single minded. In fact it would be
    nice if you could think of an issue and create an advertisement
    on it.

    Financial Advertising
    It is an advertising activity which is undertaken by companies,
    firms, or organization involved in financial markets, such as
    Unit Trusts, Assurance, Building Societies, or Banks.

    Financial Advertising on Satellite Television (ST), It is an
    financial advertising which accompanies financial programmes
    since the viewers of such programmes form the target audience.
    Financial programmes are niche audience directed programmes,
    and are not dependent on TRP ratings. The message becomes
    focused.
    Middle class, upper-income bracket people, views satellite
    channels and these are the people who invest. The satellite
    channels and financial advertising have the go well with each
    other since the viewership fits the target audience of financial
    advertising.
    The influences are felt in securities buying the financial consultant, brokers, sub-brokers and merchant bankers.
    Business-based programmes are watched by this influence.
    It reaches NRI’s and with NRI reservation the satellite channel
    proves to be an effective medium for financial advertising.
    Satellite channels offer special packages for financial advertisers.
    JAIN TV claims that 30 per cent of its ads revenue comes from
    financial programmes. Besides, certainly some financial advertising requires more than 30-seconds and corporate films lasting
    10 minutes are the way out. They may prove expensive as per
    tariff card rate, and so special package is offered. JAIN also
    offers to make ad films for advertisers.

    “The world is smaller than you think”, so goes the advertisement for the British Airways. We are living in a global village
    and now we are not just catering to the local environment but
    to a total global environment. So let me tell you what is global
    advertising.
    “It is any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of Ideas, Goods or Services by an identified global
    sponsor of a product to a global customer.”
    The objectives are as under:

    To keep the world wide corporate image

    To reduce production and creative costs

    To avoid message confusion in international areas of media
    overlap.

    Normally we have 3 types of themes to be followed:
    1. Universal campaigns if the target market is the same all over
    the world
    2. I would call this ‘Glocal’, wherein the foreign product is
    shown but in the local setting.
    3. Thirdly, complete execution is locally adapted, “Thanda
    Matlab”….

    The advertisement was of Chrysler Brasil. Baseline: There’s only
    one, agency: Giovanni Foote Cone & Belding / Sao Paulo.
    Globalization of advertisement is to bring about economies of
    scale, global coverage and the speed with which the companies
    want to influence the market.

    The media used for financial advertising is normally the print.
    The visuals used are graphics of turnover and financial data.
    Appropriate headlines should be framed in order to catch
    attention. There are 2 types of advertisements in this context.
    One which focuses on the bigger picture and the other on the
    nitty gritty of let’s say an issue. Copy is purely on the gains and
    financial aspects of the company.

    We can also see the adaptation of international campaign. For
    example, Camay soap’s international visual was that of a
    beautiful woman bathing in the bathroom. Whereas the Indian
    adaptation was that of the man walking into the commercial
    well after the woman was dressed. This is done in order to
    adapt to the local cultural aspects. It should not hurt the
    sentiments of the people of a particular nation.

    Headline: A Quality Product Always Ensures Sweet
    Returns

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Global Advertising

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Please write down a few examples of the above at the right
    hand side of the slides.

    Major Types of Advertising
    Institutional
    Institutional
    Advertising
    Advertising

    Designed
    Designed to
    to enhance
    enhance aa company’s
    company’s
    image
    image rather
    rather than
    than promote
    promote aa
    particular
    particular product.
    product.

    Product
    Product
    Advertising
    Advertising

    Designed
    Designed to
    to tout
    tout the
    the benefits
    benefits of
    of aa
    specific
    specific good
    good or
    or service.
    service.

    Major Types of Advertising
    Institutional
    Institutional
    Advertising
    Advertising

    Enhance
    Enhance
    corporation’s
    corporation’s identify
    Advocacy
    Advocacy
    advertising
    advertising
    Pioneering
    Pioneering

    Product
    Product
    Advertising
    Advertising

    Competitive
    Competitive
    Comparative
    Comparative

    Product Advertising
    Pioneering
    Pioneering

    Competitive
    Competitive

    Comparative
    Comparative

    30

    • Stimulates primary demand for
    new product or category

    • Influence demand for brand in the
    growth phase of the PLC.
    • Often uses emotional appeal.
    • Compares two or more competing
    brands’ product attributes.
    • Used if growth is sluggish, or if
    competition is strong.

    Now I would like you to take 3 different advertisement types
    and discuss them very critically in the classroom.

    Notes

    Objective

    You will understand the relevance of comparative advertising

    It will give you an idea as to why it is resorted to?

    You will understand the issues in the case study taking into
    consideration two strong players viz, Pepsi and Coca Cola.

    The second case study focuses on the negative usage of the
    concept.

    Comparative advertising, as the name suggests, is advertising
    where a party (the advertiser) advertises his goods or services by
    comparing them with the goods or services of another party.
    Such other party is usually his competitor and is often the
    market leader in the particular trade. The comparison is made
    with a view towards increasing the sales of the advertiser. This
    is typically done by either suggesting that the advertiser’s
    product is of the same or a superior quality to that of the
    compared product or by denigrating the quality of the compared product.

    The more blatant form of comparative advertising refers to the
    product by name and this is generally known as comparative
    brand advertising. However using or referring to a specific
    trademark or brand name does not always do this. Comparative
    advertising can, however, also occur without any use of the
    trademark at all, for example, a motorcar manufacturer might
    compare his product with the “luxury German cars” on the
    market. Captain Cook for example when it first launched on the
    Indian market used an advertisement that made an overt
    reference to Tata Salt by showing a package that looked exactly
    like it. As such advertising does not contain any trademarks it is
    not relevant to the law of trademarks (it may, however,
    constitute a breach of the code of ethics of the ASA (the
    Advertising Standards Agency)).
    Comparative brand advertising does not have to be limited to
    the use of the identical trademark, as imaginative advertisers will
    often rely on a play of words.

    There is also the possibility that comparative advertising could
    constitute infringement where the registered trademark is well
    known. A more classic example of comparative advertising
    constituting dilution would be “XYZ shoes, the Rolls Royce of
    shoes”. Accepting that Rolls Royce is a well-known trademark,
    the fact that there is no similarity between shoes and motor
    vehicles would not preclude the proprietor of the trademark
    Rolls Royce from objecting to the use of its well-known
    trademark in this context.
    In conclusion, virtually any misuse of a person’s registered
    trademark in advertising can constitute trademark infringement
    and advertisers are advised to be well aware of this fact.
    Although the ASA now has many laws governing advertising
    codes, a simple benchmark that has often been held up in a
    court of law is that a business would be permitted to use the
    name of a competitor and describe the competitor’s products in
    an ad, even though the comparison will likely point out the
    competing product’s or service’s inferiority, as long as there is no
    likelihood that a consumer would believe the advertiser is also
    selling the competing product or service and as long as the
    statements made are accurate.
    In a landmark case where a famous art critic stated that a
    particular painting was a forgery and the sale of that painting fell
    through, the critic was sued successfully for the painting owner’s
    lost profits. It should be noted that for a disparaging remark to
    be actionable, it must be both untrue and believed by a
    reasonable person. If the statement made was so outlandish as
    to be unbelievable, it is unlikely the owner whose product was
    disparaged will be able to prove any injury. Thus, if a car
    manufacturer claimed its competitor’s vehicle was so poorly
    constructed that it literally fell apart within the first week of use,
    the likelihood is that this gross exaggeration would not be
    believed and, therefore, would not be actionable. Disparaging
    of existing products is common in the Indian context especially
    in the case of FMCG products where a crowded market forces
    manufacturers to use comparative advertising to distinguish
    and differentiate their product from others. Ariel used its launch
    advertisement to portray a modern “bahu” who preferred a
    pinch of Ariel vs. a traditional mother-in-law who preferred the
    “older” method of scrubbing with a cake of soap that no
    consumer had any difficulty recognizing as Rin.

    Is it Really All that Bad
    But all this does not mean that comparative advertising is not
    without its advantages. What is the case for comparative
    advertising?
    One of the most effective methods for advertising a product is
    to compare it with competitive offerings. Side-by-side or “A-B”
    comparisons can provide prospective customers with compelling reasons to buy from the company. They can also help build
    credibility for its product. Subconsciously, the prospective

    31

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 5:
    COMPARATIVE ADVERTISING

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    customer says: “Who would risk making a direct comparison if
    they didn’t have something truly superior?” Johnson and
    Johnson found this out the hard way when Proctor and
    Gamble introduced Whisper with a direct comparison of the
    various features that were new in their product as opposed to
    Carefree without once naming Carefree directly.
    Comparative advertising is especially effective when the company concentrates on unassailable and meaningful points of
    difference. Suppose, for example, a product is fabricated with
    heavy gauge steel while a competitor uses aluminum or thinner
    gauge steel. If durability and strength are important sales issues,
    by all means the company should show the difference and spell
    out the benefits. The facts speak for themselves.
    Comparison advertising gets tricky when the issues aren’t quite
    as matter of fact. For example, if a company displays its
    product along side a competitors and claims it to be 35% faster
    based on independent laboratory tests, it could be headed for a
    false advertising suit under federal law. There have been
    hundreds of cases in which the courts have found a claim to be
    invalid based on some seemingly minor technicality such as a
    flaw in a comparative testing. Intangible cases are harder to
    defend as well. Pepsi and Coke bear testimony to many legal
    battles – the latest a controversy about a Pepsi spoof on the
    current Coke model, Hrithik Roshan. An angry Roshan has
    sued by Coke as well as Pepsi!
    In one such interesting example, an oven manufacturer tried to
    prove its product cooked faster than a competitor’s comparably
    priced brand. Independent tests were conducted and the results
    confirmed the claim. Yet, the opposing manufacturer won a suit
    that included significant damages. Why? Because, a cherry pie
    with a lattice type crust was used to test the claimant’s oven
    while a solid-crusted cherry pie was used in the competitor’s
    oven!

    Let us Understand Some Basic Points Regarding
    Comparative Advertising
    1. Comparative advertising is a form of advertising in which
    two or more named or recognizable brands of the same
    product class are compared and the comparison is made in
    terms of one or more product attributes
    2. The comparisons can be implicit (brands implied but not
    named), or explicit (brands named); the comparisons can be
    verbal or visual; and the claims can be of complete
    superiority, of superiority on some attributes but not on
    others, or of parity; and the advertised brand can have a
    market share smaller than, roughly equal to, or greater than
    the comparison brand.
    3. Regulations and norms about comparative advertising vary
    around the world, however, and such ads are still not
    allowed in several countries

    Effectiveness of Comparative Ads
    Is a comparative advertisement more effective than a
    noncomparative one? Much research has focused on this
    question, and the evidence on greater effectiveness is often
    equivocal. The results seem to vary not only upon the specific
    kind of comparative ad used and the brands involved, but also
    on the measure of effectiveness used (attention/recall, perceived
    32

    similarity, or persuasion) and even the specific questionnaire
    scales used to measure effectiveness.
    The effectiveness of comparative ads sometimes lies not in
    raising the preference ratings of the advertised brand, but in
    lowering the preference ratings of the comparison brands, or
    even in simply increasing the perceived similarity of the
    advertised and comparison brands without affecting any
    preference measures at all. It is thus important, in copy testing
    or tracking the effectiveness of comparative ads; to measure
    beliefs and preferences not only toward the advertised brand
    but also toward competition, as well as measure perceived
    similarities among these brands.
    If attention and recall are used as the measures of ad effectiveness, various studies have shown that comparative ads do
    usually get more attention and higher recall than non-comparative ads. Pontiac used comparative advertising for its Grand Am
    in 1992, comparing it to the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord,
    because they found focus groups reacted more strongly to
    comparisons with specific competitors than to unnamed
    imports. Naveen Donthu found the gain in recall was highest
    if the comparisons being made were more “intense” (naming
    explicit competitors, making comparisons on specific attributes,
    and only making a one-sided claim).

    Some Areas of Comparative Advertising
    The increased information in comparative ads should be
    beneficial to consumers and increase the chances for better
    decision making, so it is opined. Many researchers have,
    however, found that comparative advertising that names
    competitors can lead to greater consumer confusion about
    which brand is sponsoring the ad (thus creating awareness and
    preference for the compared-to brand), especially if the ad is
    being run on TV or radio, where more confusion is likely.
    Indeed, the frequent occurrence of such “sponsor
    misidentification” is one the major criticisms against “direct”
    comparative advertising (where the comparison brand is
    explicitly named). It is one reason why many companies prefer
    to run indirect comparative ads, in which they do not name
    comparison brands directly but imply them by showing
    packaging colors or shapes (such as Coke & Pepsi).

    Leaders versus Followers
    Interestingly, research supports the logic that a direct comparative ad from a small-share market follower is least likely to lead
    to higher awareness for the compared-to market leader (because
    the market leader already has high awareness), whereas a marketleading high-share brand has the most to lose from a direct
    comparative ad (by creating “free” awareness for the comparedto smaller brand). This leads to the conclusion that while
    low-share brands ought to use direct comparative ads; market
    leaders perhaps ought to use noncomparative or indirectly
    comparative ads (those that don’t name competitors).
    Smaller-share market follower brands also stand to gain more
    from direct comparative ads in another way: such ads have the
    effect of getting consumers to put both the advertised and the
    comparison brand in the same “consideration set,” by increasing the degree to which they are perceived as similar to each
    other. A study found that comparative advertising was much

    However while a comparative did bridge the perceived “distance” between the “leader” and the “challenger” brand, it did
    not significantly raise the attitude toward the advertised brand.
    Many other studies have also failed to find such attitudeenhancing effects. These failures could be due, in part, to the fact
    that these studies often failed to measure (and could not
    therefore find) possible decreases in consumers’ attitudes
    toward the comparison brand. It has also been shown,
    however, that comparative ads often fail to sway attitudes and
    preferences because, while people may indeed notice them more,
    they nonetheless may consider a comparative ad offensive, less
    credible and less informative (especially if they happen to like
    the brand being shown in a negative light.) The consumers’
    liking for a brand does go up due to comparative advertising
    but only upto a certain point.

    Two-Sided versus One-Sided Comparative
    Ads
    It is argued that there is more counter arguing if the message is
    one-sided instead of two sided. (A message is one-sided if it
    presents only positive arguments or attributes and two-sided if
    a few qualifications, usually about relatively minor attributes, are
    presented.) Two-sided ads are seen as more credible, because
    they admit that the advertised brands have some shortcomings.
    However, not all two-sided ads beat one-sided ads in credibility:
    research has shown that two-sided ads are especially credible
    when the attribute on which the weakness is admitted is
    a. Relatively unimportant, but not trivial, to consumers;
    b. Perceived to be negatively correlated with the attribute on
    which superiority is claimed (e.g., “we are more expensive
    (weakness), but only because we give you higher quality”);
    c. One that would not otherwise be known to consumer’s
    prior to purchase, so that the advertiser gains some “brownie
    points” for honesty.
    Other research has also shown the general superiority of twosided appeals, especially with more educated audiences, and with
    those consumers initially opposed to the brand making the
    claims, and on attitudes rather than purchase intentions. These
    results suggest that comparative ads are more likely to be
    persuasive in changing brand attitudes if they are two-sided
    rather than one-sided.

    Open-Ended versus Close-Ended
    Comparisons
    Another relevant issue is whether conclusions and arguments
    should be spelled out explicitly in a comparative advertisement
    or whether the receiver should be left to draw his or her own
    conclusions about the superiority of the brand sponsoring the
    comparison. It is often advantageous to leave something out
    of a message. Leaving something out can stimulate curiosity
    and motivation to seek additional information about the brand
    and lead to a consumer-generated belief that is relatively more
    powerful than a belief created by an explicit statement in the ad.

    This would argue for not making explicit claims of the
    sponsoring brand’s superiority.
    However, there is some risk in assuming that a receiver will
    “draw his own conclusions.” Research suggests that conclusions should be stated explicitly when there is a significant
    chance that the audience will not be motivated or unable to
    draw their own conclusions, or when there are real risks of
    having them draw the wrong conclusions. It was found that if
    the audience is involved in the message, and if the message is
    one where a conclusion can be easily drawn, an open-ended
    message (where no explicit conclusion was drawn) led to greater
    brand attitudes, intentions, and choice than a close-ended
    message (there was no difference for an uninvolved audience).
    It was also found that comparative ads gain in relative effectiveness when aimed at more expert consumers and when they
    make comparison with specific, well known brands, because the
    comparative ad can be interpreted more ambiguously under
    these conditions.
    Attempt the following case study on the cola war, which had
    defined the concept of comparative advertising.

    Case Study 1
    The proper study of war is the study of history focusing on
    why things happened rather than what happened. One way to
    test the validity of marketing warfare principles is to look at the
    history of an industry and then analyze key competitive moves
    in terms of those principles. And what better example than the
    cola war that has raged for decades between the Coca-Cola
    amnies of Atlanta; and the Pepsi-Cola battalions of Purchase,
    New York.

    A Fresh Start
    Coca-Cola is a 100-year-old soft drink that started out as
    anything but soft. Invented by a pharmacist and former
    confederate officer, John Styth Pemberton.
    It was, first and foremost, a medicine. “A delicious, exhilarating,
    refreshing, invigorating beverage in addition to being a cure for
    all nervous afflictions, sick headaches, neuralgia, hysteria,
    melancholy,” said an early advertisement.
    By 1902, with an ad budget of $120,000, Coca-Cola had become
    the best-known product in America. Fanned by advertising and
    the temperance movement, Coca-Cola grew rapidly. By 1907
    some 825 of the 994 counties of the ex-Confederate states had
    gone dry. “Great National Temperance Drink,” said the ads. In
    1915, a designer from Terre Haute, Indiana, came up with a new
    6 ½ ounce bottle that captured the uniqueness of Coca-Cola.
    The new bottle design arrived just in time. Imitators were
    springing up all over the country. In 1916 alone, the courts
    struck down 155 imposters, including Fig Cola, Candy Cola,
    Cold Cola, Cay Ola, and Koca Nola. In the twenties, Coca-Cola
    had no real competition.
    The company’s only problem was to increase the consumption
    of soft drinks, which rose slowly from 2.4 gallons per capita in
    1919 to 3.3 gallons in 1929. (Compared with more than 40
    gallons today.) Coca-Cola advertising tried to stimulate consumption. “Thirst knows no season” (1922) and “The pause
    that refreshes” (1929) are the best examples.

    33

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    more effective than noncomparative advertising in increasing the
    perceived similarity of the challenger and leader brands,
    particularly when the leading brand was explicitly named in the
    ad.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Twice as Much for a Nickel, Too
    The depression of the thirties helped Coca-Cola’s competition,
    especially Pepsi-Cola and Royal Crown, get off the ground. The
    key concept was the 12-ounce bottle that would sell for the
    same nickel that would buy only 6 ½ ounces of Coca-Cola.
    Pepsi-Cola hit on the idea in 1934, but it wasn’t until 1939 (and
    the arrival of Waiter Mack) that the idea was brought to life.
    It was brilliant strategy executed in a spectacular way. It hit the
    mark, especially with the young. In candy and cola, kids went for
    quantity rather than quality.
    And it was done with a limited advertising budget. In 1939
    Coca-Cola spent $15 million on advertising, Pepsi-Cola just
    $600,000. Now Coca-Cola was on the spot. They couldn’t
    increase the quantity unless they were willing to scrap a billion or
    so 6 ½ ounce bottles.
    They couldn’t cut the price because of the hundreds of
    thousands of nickel soft drink machines on the market. PepsiCola had launched a classic flanking attack at the low end. But it
    was more than that.
    Pepsi turned a successful flanking move into an offensive attack
    against the heart of Coca-Cola’s strength. Offensive principle
    No. 2: Find a weakness in the leader’s strength and attack at that
    point.
    The folks in Atlanta obviously felt that the Coke bottle itself
    was their greatest strength. They used it in every ad and even
    trademarked it. Raymond Loewy dubbed it “the most perfectly
    designed package in use. “ Pepsi-Cola promotion turned that
    strength into a weakness.
    That perfectly designed GX ounce bottles that fit the hand
    couldn’t he scaled up to 12 ounces. Not unless you had the
    hand of a 7 foot center for the New York Knicks.
    During World War II, Pepsi-Cola passed both Royal Crown
    and Dr. Pepper to become No. 2 to Coca-Cola itself.

    What Coke could have Done
    Defensive principle No. 2: The best defensive strategy is the
    courage to attack yourself Coca-Cola should have attacked
    themselves with a second brand long before Pepsi did it to
    them.
    And the ideal time to launch a second brand with a low cost
    Pepsi type theme would have been early in the thirties when the
    depression was just getting started. (Double Cola, a brand on
    the market today, would have been a good name to use.)
    Coke started the decade of the fifties 5 to 1 ahead of Pepsi.
    As 1960 rolled around, Pepsi had cut that lead in half. How
    long could Coca-Cola hold out against the larger size containers!
    The moment of truth was the year 1954. Coke’s sales fell 3
    percent and Pepsi’s rose 12 percent.
    The following year, Coca-Cola launched a bottle blitz kreig: 10,
    12, and 26 ounces. As supplies were used up, the 6-½ ounce
    Coke trademark slowly disappeared into the history books.
    Besides this, there were definite signs of confusion down in
    Atlanta with Coke’s advertising theme changing every year as the
    company grappled with ways to counteract the Pepsi push.
    1956: “Coca-Cola makes good things taste better.” 1957: “Sign

    34

    of good taste.” 1958: “The cold, crisp taste of Coke.” 1959: “Be
    really refreshed.”

    The Pepsi Generation
    The larger container was the “one” and the Pepsi generation was
    the “two” in Pepsi’s one two punch, which put Coke on the
    ropes. Finding weakness in the leader’s strength is the key
    offensive principle of a marketing war.
    Where is Coca-Cola strong! It was the first cola drink. It had
    been on the market much longer than Pepsi. This authenticity
    was an obvious strength of Coke, but it had another less
    obvious result.
    Older people were more likely to drink Coke. Younger people
    were more likely to drink Pepsi. Furthermore, the larger size
    containers also held youth appeal. What adult could swig down
    a 12 ounce bottle the way a teenager could!
    The first expression of this concept was 1961’s “Now it’s Pepsi
    for those who think young.” By 1964 this idea found wings
    with the classic “Come alive, you’re in the Pepsi generation.”
    The intent of Pepsi’s new strategy was to reposition the
    competition as “out of step, out of touch, and out of date.”
    Which it did, but it also had another psychological benefit of
    equal value. It took advantage of natural sibling rivalry among
    the target audience.
    Since more people drank Coca-Cola than Pepsi, older siblings
    were also more likely to drink Coke. Pepsi also wisely used
    music, a traditional form of teenage rebellion, as a key component in its strategy.
    The current Pepsi theme, “The choice of a new generation,” is
    another expression of its youth strategy, which is the key point
    of attack against the “older” Coca-Cola product. The overall
    effect of Pepsi’s efforts was to steadily erode Coke’s leadership.
    From 2.5 to 1 in 1960 to 1.15 to 1 in 1985.
    Coca-Cola’s Comeback Attempt
    Over the years, Coca-Cola had missed the opportunity to block
    Pepsi by not introducing a second brand in a larger bottle.
    “Twice as much for a nickel, too” would have worked just as
    well for a Coke brand as it did for Pepsi.
    Coca-Cola sold soft drinks while Pepsi sold Pepsi. “The pause
    that refreshes” being a typical example. “Things go better with
    Coke” being another. But in 1970 Coca-Cola finally found the
    best defensive strategy for a leader.
    That is, leadership itself. “It’s the real thing.” By implication,
    everything else is an imitation of Coca-Cola. Which, of course,
    is exactly what the other colas are. But the real thing didn’t last
    long. 1975: “Look up, America.” 1976: “Coke adds life.” 1979:
    “Have a Coke and a smile.”
    By 1982 Coke had hit bottom in insipidness with the slogan:
    “Coke is it.” Even though Coke deep sixed “the real thing”
    years ago, they can’t kill the idea. Mention “the real thing” and
    most people will say Coca-Cola. Ask them “Who’s it” and see
    how many people say “Coke is it.”

    The Pepsi Challenge
    One other Pepsi strategic move in the mid seventies deserves
    comment. Called the “Pepsi challenge,” it involved blind taste
    tests between two unnamed colas, In the tests, tasters preferred

    Perhaps, because it exploits a weak point in the competitive
    product. Since Pepsi is about 9 percent sweeter than Coke, the
    first taste favors Pepsi.
    But not good strategy, as a second front to the major Pepsi
    effort. A No. 2 product can’t afford two campaigns. But then
    Coca-Cola did the one thing a leader should never do.
    After years of fighting the Pepsi challenge, Coca-Cola suddenly
    and publicly changed their formula to match the sweetness of
    Pepsi-Cola.
    Now the real thing was no longer the real thing anymore. In
    one stroke Coca-Cola had undermined their own position. The
    issue was not whether to change the formula or not. The issue
    was whether or not to announce the change.
    To many companies “new, improved” is a marketing way of
    life. What makes the Coca-Cola situation different is its “real
    thing” position.
    In a rapidly changing world, the taste of Coca-Cola was a
    constant that reassured consumers that they weren’t getting
    older. The loss of the Coke bottle was bad enough. Now the
    formula is gone too.
    The idea is to use as many of the weapons as are feasible for
    your business and affordable to your budget.
    My average client uses forty-seven of them. In the true spirit of
    guerrilla marketing, many of the weapons require time, energy
    and imagination rather than the brute force of a mega budget.
    With small businesses starting up at the rate of 800,000 per year
    in America, you’re going to need all the weaponry you can
    possibly use.
    To surpass the stiffest and most sophisticated competition
    you’ve ever seen, you’re going to have to know your beans
    about such weapons as word of mouth marketing, sales
    training, electronic brochures, catalogs, telemarketing scripts and
    testimonials.
    You’re going to be forced to learn the truth about public
    relations, the power of fusion marketing and the way that
    neatness is part of marketing.
    The need for guerrilla marketing can be seen in the light of three
    facts: Because of big business downsizing, decentralization,
    relaxation of government regulations, affordable technology,
    and a revolution in consciousness, people around the world are
    gravitating to small business in record numbers.
    Small business failures are also establishing record numbers and
    one of the main reasons for the failures is a failure to understand marketing. Guerrilla marketing has been proven in action
    to work for small businesses around the world.
    It works because it’s simple to understand, easy to implement
    and outrageously inexpensive. Guerrilla marketing is needed
    because it gives small businesses a delightfully unfair advantage:
    certainty in an uncertain world, economy in a high priced world,
    and simplicity in a complicated world, marketing awareness in a
    clueless world.
    You’re going to have to knock yourself out making your
    company one that is “easy to do business with” a reputation

    that few companies enjoy, but one that is crucial for your
    financial survival. Many weapons of guerrilla marketing are
    designed to give you that kind of reputation.
    Some people think that marketing means advertising. But
    guerrillas know that advertising is only one of the one hundred
    marketing weapons, and not even the most effective one at that.
    I urge you to call for a free list of the one hundred guerrilla
    marketing weapons. Then, do as much as you can about as
    many as you can. Guerrillas do. That’s why guerrillas succeed.

    Case Study 2
    The car war is intensifying. Manufacturers and their dealers fight
    this time the battle through media campaigns —at times going
    beyond limits of corporate values —.
    While comparative advertising and playing with words like
    “Santro ends Ikon’s Josh” are not new, what has stirred the
    hornet’s nest is the series of advertisements released by some
    Hyundai Motors northern dealers questioning the future of its
    close competitor, Daewoo Motors India Ltd. “Car at your
    homes, company on the roads”, screamed the ads released by
    Hyundai Motors dealers some time back in some Hindi
    publications. With the Korean conglomerate Daewoo in dire
    straits back home and in the process of restructuring its
    operations, even scouting for partners for its automobile
    business, there are no prizes for guessing whom the dealers of
    Hyundai Motors are referring to here.
    “Such an action is highly deplorable. It didn’t happen in Korea
    nor anywhere in the world,” fumes S. G. Awasthi, chairman,
    Daewoo Motors. “And the Hyundai Motors’ dealers wouldn’t
    have released such ads without the consent of their principal.”
    Welcoming healthy competition in the market place, he says, “It
    is for the first time in India that the car market is witnessing real
    change and competition, and we are positive towards that.” But
    others, according to him, don’t seem to share his views; they
    resort to unethical media campaigns. “It is unethical on two
    counts: the values of Indian corporate systems are thrown out
    and in fair competition, no one would woo a buyer by levelling
    the charge of a competing company going bankrupt. And
    remember, it will boomerang in the long run. Awasthi is not
    against comparative advertising per se. As a matter of fact, it
    was Daewoo Motors, which introduced the concept in the
    Indian automobile industry. His advocacy is that such campaigns should be based on relevant facts and authentic facts.
    “One should not hit below the belt, as Hyundai Motors did to
    us,” he says.
    “The strange thing is that Hyundai Motors, Korea, is said to be
    a serious contender for acquiring Daewoo Motors back home.
    At this juncture, questioning our future in India makes one
    wonder about how serious the Hyundai group is about its bid
    for our parent company,” wonders Awasthi. According to him,
    Hyundai Motors, in its ads, has been giving out wrong
    information about Matiz. “The engine for Matiz was actually
    developed at Daewoo’s German technical center in 1997,
    contrary to what Hyundai Motors claims: that Matiz’s engine is
    of 1980 vintage.” Byung Soh Min, deputy managing director,
    communications & services division, adds, “Hyundai Motors is
    yet to try out 40 per cent of set crast test and 50 kilometers per
    hour (kph) side impact test on its Santro in Europe. Whereas
    35

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Pepsi 3 to 2 over Coke, a fact which was trumpeted in television
    commercials. Good strategy?

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    we have done the above successfully. Similarly, Matiz scores over
    Santro in terms of engine power, average fuel efficiency, fuel
    flow system…” What such ads clearly show is the car makers’
    desperation. A look at the March 2000 sales figures of the small
    car segment will explain the intense and interesting competition
    that rages in the segment. While Tata’s Indica clocked a sales
    figure of 7,270 units during March, Hyundai Motors’ Santro
    and Daewoo’s Matiz registered a sales figure of 6,418 and 6,064
    units respectively. On the other hand, Maruti Udyog sold 7,510
    units of Zen and 4,838 units of Wagon R. Except for Maruti
    Udyog’s Zen and Tata’s Indica, all other models are in the 4,0006,000 unit sales band.”In this scenario, our sales graph has been
    steadily going up, unlike others whose graph goes up and down
    every month,” says Awasthi. Given the market trend that
    Maruti is no longer the first choice of the car buyers, the fight
    amongst the new manufacturers to gain market share is
    understandable

    Notes

    36

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 6:
    TUTORIAL
    A political party has hired you to advertise them. Please select a
    party of your choice and mark their achievements of one year.
    Make a print advertisement using all the elements of a print
    advertisement to make the advertisement, as to why the people
    should vote for them.
    Ideally this tutorial should be given 2 days in advance to the
    students, so that they could do their research and present their
    findings.
    Create an advertisement of two brands within the same
    product category. The idea is to refute the claims made by the
    other. It should all be done in good humor and not too show
    the other brand in a demeaning way.

    International Advertising
    Based on your understanding of the various elements of the
    print advertisements, can you scribble on the right hand side of
    the pictures as to why you think these advertisements could be
    considered great?

    Notes

    37

    CHAPTER 2
    COMMUNICATION IN ADVERTISING

    LESSON 7:
    COMMUNICATION MODELS IN
    ADVERTISING

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the relevance of
    communication.

    This lesson will expose you to the communication with
    respect to the advertising field.

    Different models will attempt to show you the effectiveness
    of each in reaching out to the target market.

    Well another chapter and we are moving ahead. You all know
    what communication is all about. Is it just about talking? Ok,
    tell me the difference between talking and speaking.
    The word communication comes from the Latin word communis, meaning common. When we communicate we try to
    establish a ‘commonness’ with someone, that is we try to share
    information, an idea or an attitude.
    Man is a social animal and communication is essentially a social
    affair. ‘No man is an island or an entire in himself ’, ‘We cannot
    not communicate’ are some of the common sayings in
    communication. Communication is what makes human
    relationships possible.
    Speech, writings, gestures are some of the means of communication, or our means of social interaction. Comm can be in
    terms of conventions of dress, mannerism, institutions etc.
    In communication there are various schools of thought. The
    process of communication has been explained through
    different models and theories as per the changing times.
    Aristotle was among the first to develop a communication
    model. According to Aristotle, in a communication event, there
    are three main elements, the speaker, the speech and the
    audience. Subsequently, many other experts have developed
    other models.
    Shannon and Weaver developed a model based on technical
    aspect of communication. They introduced the concept of
    ‘noise’ and the idea that meaning lies in people. Noise could be
    the culture, value etc of the society.
    The Berlo’s model brought ‘encoder’ ‘decoder’ elements in the
    communication process. Further Harold Laswell’s model
    emphasised on the effect of communication and the response
    of the receiver. In the Wilbur Schramm model, the focus is on
    the signal from the two sides of the source and receiver. Further
    there are various theories such as the Bull’s eye theory, spiral
    theory etc explaining the process of communication.
    Communication is no longer viewed as simply a way to reach
    out to people. Comm is a field that has been growing in diverse
    directions, therefore it is to be studied not only at interpersonal,
    organisational levels, but also at various other levels such as the
    inter-cultural context.
    Therefore to understand communication at any level we study
    any event, process or system under four main categoriesContext, Technology, Representation and Social relation. These
    38

    are the four analytical dimensions of communication. Each of
    them is co-determinant. These four dimensions can be studied
    as the broad framework of the communication process.
    George T. Vardaman, of the College of Business Administration, University of Denver, USA, suggests following a simple
    formula in acronym TRIM. In this he suggests definition and
    planning the to whom, what, when and where of communications:

    Target or Mission or purpose of communication.

    Receiver to whom the message is directed at, based on his
    needs

    Impact or result that is desired.

    Method of media that must be employed to get the desired
    results.

    The TRIM formula can give you very effective communications
    and presentation control, so that your time and efforts can be
    productively channeled and bring you results you want.
    Putting ideas together is about organizing and developing your
    communication. The way you put together your ideas determines how you will give out the information and how well
    your target audiences will receive your message – with what
    impact and result. This is vital to the success of business
    communications. It is worthwhile to examine methods for
    putting ideas into a communicable form. For instance:
    1. Structuring ideas for the target group they are for.
    2. Building logical sequences.
    3. Building psychological sequences.
    4. Developing core ideas from the lot.
    5. Having proper introductions and conclusions.
    However, in any situation success of the communication will
    directly depend on the quality of the ideas and their development within the larger objectives.
    While communication can be better if you know your objective,
    greater effectiveness lies in hitting the right target audience in
    conjunction with their predominant communication needs. In
    this, there are five receiver types, which need to be understood
    and tackled:
    1. Apathetic
    2. Sophisticated
    3. Hostile
    4. Credent
    5. Critical
    You may have the most important message, delivered in the
    most creative manner, but if strikes the wrong chord in the
    audience the communication will fail. You must overcome
    receiver apathy, draw attention and sustain interest.

    Social Relations
    Social relations comprise of the relationship and role of the
    players in the communication process. Communication can be
    said to be a process of information handling, including
    activities of production, dissemination, reception and storageall within a social system. Social relations deals with how the
    changes in the relationship between the players come to bring
    about an effect in the information process.

    Representation

    Some of the techniques used by professional communicators
    are:
    1. Shock – startle, shake or surprise the audience.
    2. Suspense – keeping them guessing.
    3. Humor – in language or situation to overcome apathy.
    4. Novelty – something new or innovative or creative.
    5. Familiarity – keeping audience interest through something
    known.
    6. An inside story – something to do with behind the scene
    activities.
    Visual and other devices – in presentation, like demo, audiovisual, case-studies, and anecdotes.
    In doing this one must at the same time be careful in selecting
    appropriate techniques, avoid talking down to the audience, be
    natural and avoid being condescending towards people. Try and
    monitor communications.
    If it exposes weaknesses it is essential that corrective action be
    taken. Monitoring must be dependent on feedback received
    from the audience through formal and informal channels.

    Representation is the projection of content. It is the image, idea
    or message that is conveyed through the communication. The
    way a fact is projected is representation. Media by means of
    representation can give meaning in a particular manner. Media
    representation is one of the means of achieving hegemony,
    which is achieving popular consent.
    Each one of these factors affects the other, and in turn the
    entire communication process. Thus communication can be
    described as, ‘The articulation of social relations between
    individuals in a society.’
    Advertising as a communication tool is an integral part of
    marketing. We have already discussed about what communication entails. Now I would like to take you to the understanding
    of the process itself.
    Essentially it is the transmission of message from the sender to
    the receiver. But you must understand that the receiver must
    understand the message, else the entire exercise will not be
    termed as a communication process. I am now diagrammatically
    presenting it to you.
    Sender

    Feedback

    Message

    Context
    Communication can take place in literally hundreds of different
    contexts. Therefore it is important to view communication
    from a contextual point of view. Context keeps on changing. It
    affects ideas, technology etc.
    Media products at one level are products of complex organization, and at still another level they reflect the economic
    arrangements of media industries and other institutions. The
    work of individual communicator cannot be understood
    outside these organizational, industrial and institutional
    contexts.

    Technology
    In today’s world, the very word communication brings to the
    mind technical and electronic means of communication, such as
    the telephone, television, computer etc. These are the means of
    communication through which the entire systems in the world

    Channel/Media

    Receiver

    This is precisely what happens in the case of an advertising
    message. The sender could be the media like your TV, radio,
    newspaper, etc and the receiver is you. You see the ad on
    channel V, well if you saw the ad then the sender was successful
    in reaching out to you. Diagrammatically this could be as
    follows,

    39

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    are functioning, be it trade, business, education and even
    keeping in touch with friends and the family members.
    Articulation is dependent on the medium involved, or it can be
    said communication is dependent on a channel to transmit a
    message. Therefore technology largely determines communication.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Advertiser

    Advertisement
    Sales Report/Favorable
    Response
    Media

    Target Audience

    Elements of Advertising/marketing
    Communication
    You will now be made to understand the various elements in
    the communication process.
    Advertiser: It could be an individual or an organization that
    wants to communicate to the target audience. It could be about
    the communication about its products/services.
    Advertisement: It is meant for information. It goes on to make
    the target audience be favorably inclined towards its products. It
    may ask people to act on the message. Both rational and
    emotional appeals could be used to do so.
    Media: The channels of communication are the media. They
    convey the ad message to the target audience. Newspapers,
    magazines, TV, etc are the common or few of the media tools
    used. The media have their own strengths and weaknesses.
    Target audience: The readers of the print media, or the listeners
    of radio or the viewers of TV make the audience. The product
    could be for the mass audience or for a targeted audience.
    Audience could be both users and nonusers of the product.
    Now let us come down to certain models that primarily have
    their roots within the context of advertising. The basic principle
    you must understand relates to communication principle itself.

    AIDA Model
    The design and development of advertising follows the AIDA
    formula. The effectiveness of advertising depends upon to
    what extent the advertising message is received and accepted by
    the target audience.
    Research has identified that an advertisement to be effective has
    to
    i. Attract Attention
    ii. Secure Interest
    iii. Build Desire for the product and finally
    iv. Obtain Action.
    All advertisements obviously do not succeed on these counts.
    This is one solitary reason behind the great divergence between
    the number of people exposed to the advertisement and those
    who ultimately take the purchase decisions. At this stage,
    however, other elements of the marketing mix, especially
    distribution become crucial.
    Advertisement communicates an idea, a message or a belief. An
    advertisement would be effective only if the media audience
    accepts that message and is motivated to take the required
    40

    action. Several models have been developed which have
    specifically identified the sequence of events, which must take
    place between receipt of the message and desired action.

    AIDA Model
    A somewhat simplified model based on the identical principle
    of sequential stages of consumer action is known as AIDA
    model.
    Advertising as a communication medium can in most cases
    effectively perform the first three functions. In the case of directaction advertising, it also must translate the desire into action,
    unaided by any other promotional instruments. In the case of
    indirect-action advertising, however, the action can be aided at
    the time of purchase by two-way communication between the
    intending buyer and the sales staff.
    Let us examine the attention, interest, desire and action
    components in more detail.
    Attention
    The layout is the most important factor that directs attention to
    an advertisement. Typography and colors used in the layout can
    rivet us. The size of the advertisement also compels us to get
    attracted to it. Contrast by white space is a good attentiongetter. Movement is a vital element for getting attention.
    Movement can be physical or emotional. The position of the
    advertisement also adds to its attention value. Celebrities in the
    advertisement, dramatization; model selection, illustration all
    this contribute to attention.
    Interest
    Ad seen does not mean ad read. Mostly people see the illustrations and do not read the copy. Here illustrations have to work
    hard. They should, together with headlines must provoke
    further reading. The selection of the illustrations and its
    integration to life are thus very important. Even copy format is
    important for interest creation. A humorous copy works some
    people on by a scientific copy, and some. Here there is a
    dilemma for a copywriter. He has to satisfy maximum number
    of people so he has to search for a common denominator of
    interest.
    Desire
    The basic purpose of advertising is to create a desire for the
    product or service being advertised. It is a function of appeals
    used for the motivation of people. Vivid description or copy
    always helps. Buying motives, physiological as well as psychological, make people purchase products. The copy of the
    advertisement must kindle these motives. There are certain
    barriers here – certain reservations in the mind of customers. We
    have to overcome them. We have to convince by giving
    evidence, testimonials, endorsements, and facts and figures. On
    arousal, people become prone to buy the product.
    Action
    The logical end of the desire aroused is to buy the product.
    1. Products are associated with company.
    2. The message is repeated.
    3. Certain immediate action appeals are used.

    The next two steps in the movement towards purchase are
    liking and preference. These have been linked with the affective
    sphere, which is the realm of emotions wherein the advertising
    changes attitudes and feelings. Advertisements falling in this
    category are: competitive advertisements, argumentative
    advertisements, advertisements with a strong rational message
    and image advertisements with status and glamour appeals.
    The final two steps in the movement towards purchase are
    conviction and purchase. This is related to behavioral realm of
    motives. Here the advertisements stimulate or direct desires.
    Advertisements falling in this slot are: POP, retail store advertisements, last chance offers, price reduction appeals,
    testimonials, and prize scheme advertisements.
    This is called Hierarchy of Effect (HOE) model.
    Three models of message design and development: They are 1.
    AIDA model, 2. HOE: Hierarchy of Effects model, and 3.
    Communication model of Advertising.
    Stages

    Cognitive

    AIDA

    HOE

    Model

    Model

    Attention

    Awareness

    Communication
    Model
    Exposure

    (Thoughts)
    Knowledge

    These goals may pertain to sales, image, attitude, and awareness.
    Some of the goals are:

    Persuade a prospect to visit a show room and ask for a
    demonstration.

    Build up the morale of the company’s sales force.

    Facilitate sales by correcting false impression, misinformation
    and other obstacles.

    Announce a special reason for buying now’s (price, discount,
    premium and so on).

    Make the brand identity known and easily recognizable.

    Provide information or implant attitude regarding benefits
    and superior features of brand.

    According to DAGMAR approach, the communication task of
    the brand is to gain (a) awareness, (b) comprehension, (c)
    Conviction, (d) image and (e) action.
    Advertising goals should be consistent with these communication tasks. Later performance on these counts and projected
    goals is compared. For example, a company setting a goal of 15
    per cent increase in sales advertises and achieves this objective.
    Its ad then is successful and effective.
    It presupposes the understanding of the dynamics of consumer behavior without these goals cannot be set. Besides, a
    thorough acquaintance of market environment is called for.
    DAGMAR is a planning and control tool. It may guide the
    creation of advertising. However, as will as appreciated, the basic
    inputs of DAGMAR are not so easily to formulate and may
    also inhibit creativity.

    Awareness

    Reception
    Cognitive

    Comprehension

    Response

    Conviction
    Affective

    Interest

    Liking

    Attitude

    (Feeling)
    Preference
    Desire

    Intention

    Image

    Conviction

    Action
    Behavior

    Action

    Purchase

    Behavior

    DAGMAR Approach
    Dagmar Approach is the task of measuring ad effectiveness will
    not be daunting if we clearly spell out the advertising goals.
    Russel H. Colley (1961) pioneered an approach known by the
    acronym DAGMAR – Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results, where to establish an explicit link
    between ad goals and ad results, Colley distinguished 52
    advertising goals that might be used with respect to a single
    advertisement, a year’s campaign for a product or a company’s
    entire advertising philosophy.

    Lavidge and Steiner propounds the second model. This gives
    much importance to the cognitive evaluations. With an increase
    in competition and an enhancement in discerning abilities of
    potential buyers and users, information would play a greater
    role. The persuasive power of advertising could in itself be a
    function of the information content. This model takes the
    competition in to account. This competition arises between
    brands of a product and between substitutive product categories also as perceived by prospects constituting the target
    audience. The stage of liking following those of awareness and
    knowledge may refer to the advertising, thus emphasizing the
    creative aspects. Preference for the product or the brand may be

    41

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    There are six steps or movements towards the purchase of a
    product or service. The first two, awareness to knowledge, fall in
    the cognitive sphere of related behavioral dimension. It deals
    with the realm of thoughts. Advertising here provides essential
    information and facts. These advertisements are announcements, descriptive slogans, jingles, and sky writing and teaser
    campaigns.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    the combined effect of product characteristics and their relevance
    to the target audience and of advertising.
    Rogers propounded the third model, which is known as
    Innovation –Adoption Model. This model has relevance to
    new product introductions and particularly useful for adoption
    of non-commercial services or practices in developing countries.
    The stages of evaluation and trail before adoption (or purchase)
    are considered significant in the design of advertising program.
    The decision in favor of making an evaluation is likely to be
    influenced by information available from various sources
    including advertising. Evaluation constitutes a major step
    towards the adoption of the product or service.

    Marketing Communication
    Categories
    Categories of
    of
    Communication
    Communication

    Interpersonal
    Interpersonal
    Communication
    Communication

    Mass
    Mass
    Communication
    Communication

    I do hope you have gone over the various models and are trying
    to understand the relevance of them in the context of advertising. It is basically how you register an advertisement after seeing
    it and the course of action as in the purchase that takes place.

    The Communication Process
    As Senders

    As Receivers

    uInform

    uDevelop messages

    uPersuade

    uAdapt messages

    uRemind

    uSpot new
    communication
    opportunities

    Communication
    The process by which we
    exchange or share
    meanings through a common set
    of symbols.

    42

    The Sender and Encoding
    Sender
    Sender

    The
    The originator
    originator of
    of the
    the message
    message in
    in the
    the
    communication
    communication process.
    process.

    Encoding
    Encoding

    The
    The conversion
    conversion of
    of aa sender’s
    sender’s ideas
    ideas
    and
    and thoughts
    thoughts into
    into aa message,
    message, usually
    usually
    in
    in the
    the form
    form of
    of words
    words or
    or signs.
    signs.

    NNooiissee

    SSeennddeerr

    EEnnccooddiinngg
    M
    Meessssaaggee

    M
    Meessssaaggee
    CChhaannnneell

    DDeeccooddiinngg
    M
    Meessssaaggee

    RReecceeiivveerr

    M
    Meessssaaggee
    CChhaannnneell

    “The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you, and they
    can’t believe you if they don’t know what you’re saying, and
    they can’t know what you’re saying if they don’t listen to
    you, and they won’t listen to you if you’re not interesting,
    and you won’t be interesting unless you say things
    imaginatively, originally, freshly.”
    – William Bernbach, quoted in Bill Bernbach said . . . (1989),
    DDB Needham Worldwide.
    “It is insight into human nature that is the key to the
    communicator’s skill. For whereas the writer is concerned
    with what he puts into his writings, the communicator is
    concerned with what the reader gets out of it. He therefore
    becomes a student of how people read or listen.”
    – William Bernbach, quoted in Bill Bernbach said . . . (1989),
    DDB Needham Worldwide.

    Shannon-Weaver Model
    If you have looked through the examples of typical everyday
    forms of communication, you will have noticed that some of
    the examples refer to less immediate methods of communication than face-to-face interaction, e.g. using the radio,
    newspapers or the telephone. In these cases, technology is
    introduced.
    When, for instance, the telephone is used, you speak, the phone
    turns the sound waves into electrical impulses and those
    electrical impulses are turned back into sound waves by the
    phone at the other end of the line.

    Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver Produced a
    General Model of Communication

    The Shannon-Weaver Model (1947) proposes that all communication must include 6 elements:

    Source

    Encoder

    Message

    Channel

    Decoder

    Receiver

    These six elements are shown graphically in the model. As
    Shannon was researching in the field of information theory, his
    model was initially very technology-oriented. The model was
    produced in 1949, a year after Lasswell’s and you will immediately see the similarity to the Lasswell Formula.
    The emphasis here is very much on the transmission and
    reception of information. ‘Information’ is understood rather
    differently from the way you and I would normally use the
    term, as well. This model is often referred to as an ‘information
    model’ of communication. (But you don’t need to worry about
    that if you’re just starting.)
    Apart from its obvious technological bias, a drawback from our
    point of view is the model’s obvious linearity. It looks at
    communication as a one-way process. That is remedied by the
    addition of the feedback loop.
    A further drawback with this kind of model is that the message
    is seen as relatively unproblematic. It’s fine for discussing the
    transformation of ‘information’, which might be, say
    &Hui9%/? PLM, but, when we try to apply the model to
    communication, problems arise with the assumption that
    meanings are somehow contained within the message.

    Shannon-Weaver: The Source
    All human communication has some source (information
    source in Shannon’s terminology), some person or group of
    persons with a given purpose, a reason for engaging in communication.

    Shannon-Weaver: The Encoder
    This is now known after them as the Shannon-Weaver Model.
    Although they were principally concerned with communication
    technology, their model has become one which is frequently
    introduced to students of human communication early in their
    study. However, despite the fact that it is frequently used early in
    the study of human communication, I think it’s worth bearing
    in mind that information theory, or statistical communication

    When you communicate, you have a particular purpose in
    mind:

    You want to show that you are a friendly person.

    You want to give them some information

    You want to get them to do something

    You want to persuade them of your point of view

    43

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    The Communication Process

    theory was initially developed to separate noise from information-carrying signals. That involved breaking down an
    information system into sub-systems so as to evaluate the
    efficiency of various communication channels and codes. You
    might ask yourself how viable the transfer of Shannon’s
    insights from information theory to human communication is
    likely to be. The concepts of information theory and cybernetics
    are essentially mathematical and are intended to be applied to
    technical problems under clearly defined conditions. After
    you’ve read this section, which, I think, is a reasonable attempt
    to loosely apply Shannon’s ideas to human communication, ask
    yourself whether you feel enlightened.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    and so on. You, as the source, have to express your purpose in
    the form of a message. That message has to be formulated in
    some kind of code. How do the source’s purposes get translated into a code? This requires an encoder. The communication
    encoder is responsible for taking the ideas of the source and
    putting them in code, expressing the source’s purpose in the
    form of a message. It’s fairly easy to think in terms of source
    and encoder when you are talking on the phone (transmitter in
    Shannon’s terminology). You are the source of the message and
    the ‘phone is the encoder which does the job of turning your
    sounds into electrical impulses. The distinction is not quite so
    obvious when you think of yourself communicating face-toface.
    In person-to-person communication, the encoding process is
    performed by the motor skills of the source – vocal mechanisms
    (lip and tongue movements, the vocal cords, the lungs, face
    muscles etc.), muscles in the hand and so on. Some people’s
    encoding systems are not as efficient as others’. So, for example,
    a disabled person might not be able to control movement of
    their limbs and so find it difficult to encode the intended nonverbal messages or they may communicate unintended
    messages. A person who has suffered throat cancer may have
    had their vocal cords removed. They can encode their messages
    verbally using an artificial aid, but much of the non-verbal
    messages most of us send via pitch, intonation, volume and so
    on cannot be encoded.
    Shannon was not particularly concerned with the communication of meanings. In fact, it is Wilbur Schramm’s model of
    1954, which places greater emphasis on the processes of
    encoding and decoding. The inclusion of the encoding and
    decoding processes is very helpful to us since it draws our
    attention to the possibility of a mismatch between the operation of the encoding and decoding devices, which can cause
    semantic noise to be set up. With good reason, the source of
    the message may wonder whether the picture in the receiver’s
    head will bear any resemblance to what’s in his/her own.
    Schramm went on to introduce the notion of a ‘field of
    experience’, which shows a much greater awareness of the
    subtleties involved in human-to-human communication,
    drawing our attention to the numerous shared socio-cultural
    factors which are necessary for successful communication to take
    place.

    message transmitted? That’s where all the other factors in the
    communication process come into play.

    Shannon-Weaver: The Channel
    You tap on a membrane suspended above a steadily flowing jet
    of water. The air under the membrane causes slight deflections
    in the jet of water. A laser is aimed at a receiver. The jet of water
    flows through the laser beam, deflecting it from its target. Every
    time the movement of the air deflects the water jet, the laser
    beam hits its target. The laser receiver is connected to a computer, which takes each ‘hit’ and turns it into a 1 and each miss
    and turns it into a 0. The computer sends these etc. etc……
    You get the idea: the air waves, the jet of water and so on are all
    channels. The words channel and medium are often used
    interchangeably, if slightly inaccurately. The choice (a pretty
    stupid one above) of the appropriate channel is a vitally
    important choice in communication. It’s obvious that you
    don’t use the visual channel to communicate with the blind or
    the auditory channel with the deaf, but there are subtler
    considerations to be taken into account as well. A colleague of
    mine was clearly much more responsive to visual communication than I. To elucidate his arguments he would inevitably grab
    a pencil and a piece of paper and sketch out complex diagrams
    of his arguments. Though they may have helped him to clarify
    his ideas, they merely served to confuse me, who would have
    preferred a verbal exposition. It’s curious that in the college
    where I work many students who are dyslexic or have other
    learning difficulties end up studying information technology in
    so-called flexible learning centers. Bearing in mind the statement
    above that “the choice of the appropriate channel is a vitally
    important choice in communication”, it’s less than obvious
    how a student who has difficulty reading and writing can have
    their needs met by a learning model which boils down in
    essence to ‘read this; it will tell you what to write’.

    Shannon-Weaver: Physical Noise
    Shannon is generally considered to have been primarily concerned with physical (or ‘mechanical’ or ‘engineering’) noise in
    the channel, i.e. unexplained variation in a communication
    channel or random error in the transmission of information.
    Everyday examples of physical noise are:

    A loud motorbike roaring while you are trying to hold a
    conversation.

    Your little brother standing in front of the TV set

    Shannon-Weaver: The Message

    Mist on the inside of the windscreen

    The message of course is what communication is all about.
    Whatever is communicated is the message. Denis McQuail
    (1975) in his book Communication writes that the simplest way
    of regarding human communication is ‘to consider it as the
    sending from one person to another of meaningful messages’.

    Smudges on a printed page

    Snow on a TV set

    The Shannon-Weaver Model, in common with many others
    separates the message from other components of the process
    of communication. In reality, though, you can only reasonably
    examine the message within the context of all the other
    interlinked elements. Whenever we are in contact with other
    people we and they are involved in sending and receiving
    messages. The crucial question for Communication Studies is:
    to what extent does the message received correspond to the

    44

    It might seem odd to use the word noise in this way, unless
    perhaps you’re a hi-fi buff, in which case you’ll be familiar with
    looking up the claimed ‘signal-to-noise ratio’ for the various
    bits of equipment you buy. In this technical sense, ‘noise’ is not
    necessarily audible. Thus a TV technician might speak of a
    ‘noisy picture’. Generally speaking, in this kind of everyday
    communication, we’re fairly good at avoiding physical noise: we
    shout when the motorbike goes past; you clout your little
    brother; cars have demisters.

    Although physical noise and how to avoid it is certainly a major
    concern of scholars of communication, the Shannon and
    Weaver model turns out to be particularly suggestive in the
    study of human communication because of its introduction of
    a decoding device and an encoding device. The possibility of a
    mismatch between the two devices raises a number of interesting questions. In technological communication: I give you a PC
    disk and you stick it into a Mac – the Mac can’t decode it; I give
    you an American NTSC video tape and you stick it into a
    European PAL video recorder – the recorder won’t decode it.
    Transfer this notion of a mismatch between the encoding and
    decoding devices to the study of human communication and
    you’re looking at what is normally referred to as semantic noise.
    That concept then leads us on to the study of social class,
    cultural background, experience, attitudes, beliefs and a whole
    range of other factors, which can introduce noise into communication.

    Shannon-Weaver: Semantic Noise
    Semantic noise is not as easy to deal with as physical noise. It
    might not be an exaggeration to say that the very essence of the
    study of human communication is to find ways of avoiding
    semantic noise. Semantic noise is difficult to define. It may be
    related to people’s knowledge level, their communication skills,
    their experience, their prejudices and so on.
    Examples of semantic noise would include:

    Distraction
    You are physically very attracted to the person who is talking to
    you. As a result, your attention is directed to their deep blue
    eyes rather than what they are saying. There is no physical noise
    which prevents the message from reaching you. You hear it, but
    you don’t decode it. Equally, your attention could be distracted
    by the other person’s peculiar tics and so on. Or think of when
    you watched the TV news: the reporter was standing outside
    No.10 Downing Street, but behind him the policeman outside
    the door was picking his nose. As soon as the report’s over you
    realize you haven’t a clue what it was about.
    Differences in the Use of the Code
    The other person is waffling on in Aramaic about fishes and
    loaves. You don’t understand. There is nothing which physically prevents the elements of the message from reaching you,
    you simply can’t understand it.
    Emphasising the Wrong Part of the Message
    Maybe you can think of an advertising campaign which has
    been so successful with some new style or gimmick that

    everyone is talking about it. However, no one has actually
    noticed what product is being advertised.

    Attitude Towards the Sender
    You’re talking to someone a lot older than you. On the basis of
    their age, you make a lot of assumptions about the kind of
    code appropriate to them – and the conversation goes wrong
    because they were the wrong assumptions.

    Attitude Towards the Message
    I may have a very positive attitude to the Aramaic-speaking
    bearded chap in the flowing robes. But, despite that, I’d be
    unlikely to find him very persuasive even if he were talking to
    me in English about his fishes and his loaves. He believes in
    transcendent beings and I don’t.

    Shannon-Weaver: The Decoder
    Just as a source needs an encoder to translate her purposes into
    a message, so the receiver needs a decoder to retranslate. If you
    take a look at our discussion of the receiver, you’ll see that we
    considered how, for example, a blind person would not have
    the equipment to receive whatever non-verbal messages you
    send in the visual channel.
    The notion of a decoder reminds us that it is quite possible for
    a person to have all the equipment required to receive the
    messages you send (all five senses, any necessary technology and
    so on) and yet be unable to decode your messages.
    An obvious example would be:
    You can see it. You probably guess that it’s a language, maybe
    even that it’s Arabic. You probably don’t understand it, though.
    In fact, it is Arabic and it does mean (but nothing very interesting). You cannot decode my message, encoded to you in that
    short sentence, by you. You have the appropriate receiving
    equipment, but no decoder. You don’t understand the code.

    Shannon-Weaver: The Receiver
    For communication to occur, there must be somebody at the
    other end of the channel. This person or persons can be called
    the receiver. To put it in Shannon’s terms, information transmitters and receivers must be similar systems. If they are not,
    communication cannot occur. (Actually Shannon used the term
    destination, reserving the term receiver for what we have called
    decoder. However, I think the terminology I have been using is
    more common in the broader understanding of ‘communication theory’ as distinct from Shannon’s information theory.)

    Shannon-Weaver: Feedback
    Feedback is a vital part of communication. When we are talking
    to someone over the phone, if they don’t give us the occasional
    ‘mmmm’, ‘aaah’, ‘yes, I see’ and so on, it can be very disconcerting. . This lack of feedback explains why most of us don’t like
    ansaphones. In face-to-face communication, we get feedback in
    the visual channel as well – head nods, smiles, frowns, changes
    in posture and orientation, gaze and so on. Advertisers need
    feedback, which they get in the form of market research from
    institutions. How else would they know if their ads are on the
    right track? Broadcasters need feedback, which they get from
    agency ratings. Politicians need feedback, which they get from
    public opinion polls and so on.

    45

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    However, it is possible for a message to be distorted by channel
    overload. Channel overload is not due to any noise source, but
    rather to the channel capacity being exceeded. You may come
    across that at a party where you are holding a conversation
    amidst lots of others going on around you or, perhaps, in a
    Communication lesson where everyone has split into small
    groups for discussion or simulations. Shannon and Weaver
    were primarily involved with the investigation of technological
    communication. Their model is perhaps more accurately referred
    to as a model of information theory (rather than communication theory). Consequently, their main concern was with the
    kind of physical (or mechanical) noise discussed above.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Perhaps one of the main reasons for the model’s popularity
    amongst communication theorists in the ‘humanities’ has been
    that it provides them with a ready-made jargon that ordinary
    mortals are not likely to be familiar with, as well as conferring
    on the subject a kind of pseudo-scientific respectability.

    Notes

    46

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 8:
    TUTORIAL
    Critically examine the Shannon Weaver model and explain the
    entire model in not more that 150 words.
    Communication is all about reaching out to the public with
    your message being understood. In our age of a viewer getting
    the option of choosing between 50 channels, how do you
    ensure that communication via advertising can effectively reach
    the target market?
    Take a product / brand of your choice and explain the concept
    of the AIDA model.
    The faculty concerned could change the tutorial. I leave it up to
    the discretion of the faculty.

    Notes

    47

    UNIT II
    INTEGRATED ADVERTISING PROGRAM
    LESSON 9:
    UNIT – 2
    CHAPTER 3
    OBJECTIVE SETTING & DETERMINING
    ANALYSIS OF MISSION & MARKET
    TARGET AUDIENCE

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the goal and objective of
    an advertising campaign.

    This lesson will expose you to the different types of
    objectives.

    Understand as to how to go about formulating the
    objectives.

    In understanding that objectives are closely linked to the
    communication process.

    Understanding the bases for Targeting.

    users, generating more sales leads, increasing brand awareness,
    increasing repeat purchases and supporting the personal selling
    efforts. Some of the broad advertising goals are explained as per
    the following:

    Launch of New Products and Services
    In a saturated market, the introduction of new products and
    brands can give the seller a tremendous opportunity for
    increasing his sales. In the case of innovative products (totally
    new to the market) such as Laptop Computers, a great deal of
    advertising has to be done over an extended period of time to
    make people aware of “What the product is” and What it does”
    and “How the customers would find it useful”. In addition,
    the advertisement also carries information about the availability
    of
    the product and facilities for demonstration/trial etc. Similarly
    new brands of existing product categories are also promoted
    quite aggressively. Two recent examples are the launching of
    “Pepsi Blue” soft drinks during the world cup and launch of
    “Mountain Dew” in subsequent period.

    Expansion of the Market to Include the
    New Users

    Well, friend, now we come to an important topic that is the
    objective setting where advertising is concerned. Essentially it
    deals with what our basic aim is all about. What do we really
    want to achieve in our advertising plan. So let me start the
    lesson.
    Advertising is a method of communication with a specified
    objective. The Objectives of advertising as explained before are
    grouped as sales objectives (measured in terms of increase in
    sales, increase in market share and return on investment) and
    communication objectives. The communication objectives of
    advertising can be grouped in to the following

    Building awareness (informing): The first task of any
    advertising is to make the audience appreciate that the
    product or service exists and to explain exactly what it is

    Creating favorable attitudes (persuasion). The next stage and
    the one that preoccupies most advertisers, is to crate the
    favorable attitude to the brand which will eventually lead the
    consumers to switch their purchasing pattern

    Maintenance of loyalty (reinforcement) One of the tasks
    which is often forgotten is that of maintaining loyalty of
    existing customers who will almost always represent the
    main source of future sales

    There are general objectives of advertising that covers goals like
    encouraging increased consumption of a product by current

    48

    Advertising can be used to tap a new segment of the market,
    hitherto left unexplored. For example TV and Video Camera
    manufacturers who have been concentrating on domestic users
    and professionals can direct their advertising to the government
    institutions and large organization for closed circuit TV
    networks, security systems and educational purposes. Another
    way of expanding the consumer base is to promote new uses
    of the product. For example, Johnson’s baby oil and baby
    cream were originally targeted to mothers. The same products
    have now been directed towards the adult market for their
    personal use. Similarly, Milkmaid was originally promoted as a
    substitute for milk. It is now being advertised as an ingredient
    for making sweet dishes and also as a sandwich spread for
    children.

    Announcement of a Product
    Modification
    For such advertising, generally, the terms “new”, “improved”,
    “Excel” etc. is used as prefixes to the brand name. For example,
    “Surf Excel” gives the impression of an advanced detergent
    powder, although there may be no tangible difference between
    the earlier brand and the new one. Sometimes the customer as a
    modified product e.g. “a new refill pack for might perceive a
    minor packaging change Nescafe”

    Announcement of a Special Offer
    Because of competition, slack season, declining sales, etc,
    advertising is used to make a special offer. For example, Colgate
    Dental Cream campaign about 20% extra was to increase
    volumes through a sales promotion campaign. Hotels offer
    special rates during off- season. Similarly many products like

    Defining Advertising Objective you must proceed from:

    To Announce Location of Stockiest and
    Dealers

    b. The Competition.

    To support dealers, to encourage selling of stocks and to urge
    action on the part of readers, space may be taken to list the
    names and addresses of stockiest and dealers.

    To Educate Customers
    Advertisement of this type is “informative” rather than
    persuasive”. This technique can be used to show new users for a
    well-established product. It can also be used to educate the
    people about an improved product e.g. Pearl Pad odor free jars
    and bottles. Sometimes societal advertising is used to educate
    people on the usefulness or harmful effects of certain products.
    For example, Campaigns against unsafe sex and AIDs are
    sponsored by government and voluntary agencies. Similarly,
    advertisements discourage the consumption of liquor and
    drugs.

    Reminder Campaigns
    This type of advertising is useful for products, which have a
    high rate of repeat purchase, or those products, which are
    bought frequently e.g. blades, cigarettes, soft drinks, etc. The
    advertisement is aimed at remaining the customer to ask for the
    same brand again. The campaign of “Dil Maange More” during
    television breaks of cricket matches is to have a top of mind
    recall.

    To Sought Dealer Cooperation and
    Motivation
    A successful retail trader depends upon quick turnover so that
    his capital can be reused as many times as possible. Dealer
    support is critical, particularly for those who have limited shelf
    space for a wide variety of products. Advertisers send “display”
    material to dealers for their shops, apart from helping the
    retailer with local advertising.

    To Create Brand Preference
    This type of advertising does two things: (I) it creates a brand
    image or personality (ii) It tells the target audience why Brand X
    is better than Brand Y. In this type of advertisement, the
    product or brand acquires a ‘personality’ associated with the
    user, which gives the brand a distinctive ‘image’. The second
    type of advertising also known as ‘comparative advertising’,
    takes the form of comparison between two brands and proves
    why one brand is superior.

    Few Other Objectives
    Advertising also helps to boost the morale of sales people in
    the company. It pleases sales people to see large advertisements
    of their company and its products, and they often boast about
    it. Other uses of advertising could include recruiting staff and
    attracting investors through “Public Issue” advertisements
    announcing the allotment of shares etc.
    You must understand that an Advertising Objective is a
    Communication Objective

    a. The Product and its virtues.
    c. The segment of the Market aimed at all of which should be
    set down in the marketing objective.

    Step I: Define the Audience
    Issues like Social class, Income, Occupation, Values and
    ambitions, Attitudes to Product.
    Step II: Define the Stage of the Communication Task
    What is the Specific Communication task? Communication is a
    process of acting on the mind of your audience. “We must
    create a state of mind conducive to purchase”.
    Step III: Define Consumer Preference or Resistance
    What do consumers like about Brand? What do they dislike?
    This is where you need research into consumer attitudes.
    Step IV: Define the Product Promise or Claim
    1. It must be meaningful and of value to consumer
    2. It must be a distinctive – unique claim.
    3. It must concentrate on this unique claim or the Unique
    Selling Proposition (USP).
    “Advertising is the art of getting a Unique Selling Proposition
    into the heads of the most people at the lowest cost”
    Step V: Define the Brand Image
    What will be the brand’s ‘Personality?’ i.e. What character or
    association does it evoke?
    After you have answered the above questions it is then that we
    are moving ahead where the setting of objectives are concerned.
    The important thing to understand about setting advertising
    objectives is that most advertisers do not set sensible ones. But
    then these same advertisers are not sure if their advertising is
    paying off either. If you ask them how their campaign is going,
    you get answers like, “All of our people like it very much” or
    “It’s a bit early to tell, but we think it’s going to be very
    successful”.
    The truth is that if you are spending Rs 10 lakhs or Rs 10
    crores, you ought to be able to tell with a much greater degree
    of accuracy what it is doing for you, or you shouldn’t be
    spending it. To do this, you need parameters that can be
    measured, such as increasing advertising objectives with specific
    goals, share of mind or brand awareness.
    Advertising campaigns are in one sense like military campaigns.
    In a military campaign, you set an objective like “Capture the
    Kargil back” or “March through McMohan Line”. Then you
    know when the campaign is over and whether you have won or
    lost. Successful advertising campaigns have the same kind of
    criteria. They start with objectives, so you can tell how the
    campaign is going and whether you are winning or losing. So,
    perfect campaigns insist on an attainable objective as a prerequisite.

    “An Advertising goal is a specific communication task, to be
    accomplished among a defined audience to a given degree in a
    given period of time”.

    49

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    room heaters, fans, air-conditioners, etc, offer off-seasons
    discounts to promote sales.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Advertising Objectives Are a Strategy Decision

    Now let us take objectives a degree higher. Let us incorporate
    the elements of planning within this lesson. This will take you
    to easily understand the subsequent chapters and lessons.

    Position
    Position Brands
    Brands

    Strategic Planning: Making
    Intelligent Decisions

    Introduce
    Introduce New
    New Products
    Products
    Obtain
    Obtain Outlets
    Outlets
    Ongoing
    Ongoing Contact
    Contact

    Advertising
    Objectives
    Should be
    Specific

    Support
    Support Sales
    Sales Force
    Force
    Get
    Get Immediate
    Immediate Action
    Action
    Maintain
    Maintain Relationships
    Relationships

    • Strategic planning is the process of determining
    objectives (what you want to accomplish), deciding on
    strategies (how to accomplish objectives), and
    implementing the tactics (which make the plan come to
    life).
    • An objective is a goal or task to be accomplished – the
    destination.
    • A strategy is the means by which the goal is
    accomplished – the route to the destination.
    • Possible tactics could be: a demonstration, a
    testimonial, or an emotional or funny story.

    Advertising
    Objectives

    The Business Planning Process

    Objectives Determine the Kinds of Advertising
    Advertising
    Advertising
    Objectives
    Objectives

    • Business Mission Statement
    – supports the corporate mission and includes the broad goals
    and policies of the business unit.

    Product
    Product
    Advertising
    Advertising

    Institutional
    Institutional
    Advertising
    Advertising
    Pioneering
    Pioneering
    Advertising
    Advertising

    Competitive
    Competitive
    Advertising
    Advertising

    The Business Planning
    Process
    • External Environment

    Reminder
    Reminder
    Advertising
    Advertising

    – opportunities: area for the company to develop an advantage
    over its competition.
    – threat: trend or development in the business environment that
    will erode business unless the company takes purposeful
    marketing action.

    • Internal Environment
    Direct
    Direct

    50

    Indirect
    Indirect

    Comparative
    Comparative

    – Strength and weaknesses: could revolve around financial
    conditions, personnel issues, or technical expertise.

    The Advertising Plan

    • The entire procedure is called a SWOTs Analysis.
    • Next step is to develop specific objectives and goals for
    the planning period.
    • Follow this with outlines of specific strategies that
    relate to each goal.
    • Next, work out specific supporting programs (tactics)
    for carrying out strategies formulated.
    • Implement the plans, then evaluate the results and
    make any needed adjustments.

    An Advertising Plan Matches the Right
    Audience to the Right Message and Presents
    It in the Right Medium to Reach That
    Audience & Has Three Elements.

    Steps in the Marketing Plan

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    The Business Planning Process

    Targeting the Audience: Whom are you trying to
    reach?
    Message Strategy: What do you say to them?
    Media Strategy: When & where will you reach them?

    My dear student, it was important to give these slides here at
    this point of time, since this is a strategic junction. With the
    help of these you will be able to relate to the preceding chapters
    and will be able to understand the relevance of the subsequent
    chapters and their linkage.
    I want you to discuss at least 10 objectives of brands in the
    context of advertising and marketing. You could take 2 such
    brands and make a presentation about the reason why it chose
    that objective at that point of time.

    Determining Target Audience
    Let us say that I want to market a brand of jeans. The price of
    the jeans is Rs. 1000/ and I would like college-going people to
    wear that jeans. In addition I see a person to be confident and
    knows what he / she wants out of life. Tell me can I look at
    you to be my target audience? Of course I can. So does that
    mean you are to be my target audience for the pair of jean?
    You must understand that we are not merely manufacturing
    and selling, rather, we are manufacturing what the needs of the
    people are about. For every product there is a specific people,
    which are to be kept in mind while marketing the product.

    Steps in the Marketing Plan
    Marketing
    MarketingObjectives
    Objectives

    Select
    SelectObjectives
    ObjectivesSuch
    Suchas
    asDesires
    Desiresfor
    foraaPercentage
    Percentage
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    In order to tailor your marketing and advertising strategies to
    appeal to the tastes and interests of your market, you must first
    identify your customer. In order to do this, you it is necessary to
    conduct thorough research of the consumer marketplace. Keep
    in mind, the more information you have about your target
    market, the better able you will be to develop a successful
    marketing plan.
    A market profile typically uses primary and secondary sources to
    answer key questions about a potential market. A profile is a
    picture or an outline. Information that makes up the social
    profiles of the people in your target market is called demographic information, and includes:

    Age, usually given in a range (20-35 years)

    Sex

    Marriage/partner status

    Location of household

    Family size and description
    51

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Income, especially disposable income (money available to
    spend)

    Education level, usually to last level completed

    Occupation

    Interests, purchasing profile (what are consumers known to
    want?)

    Cultural, ethnic, racial background

    A clothing manufacturer may consider a number of possible
    target markets—toddlers, athletes, grandparents (for grandchildren), teenagers, and tourists. A general profile of each of these
    possible markets will reveal which ones are more realistic, pose
    less risk, and which are more likely to show a profit. A test
    market survey of the most likely market groups, or those who
    buy for them, such as parents for babies and toddlers, can help
    you separate real target markets from unlikely possibilities.

    Halley suggests a benefit sought as a useful base for identifying
    a target audience. It cuts across all other bases. The example of
    toothpaste users illustrates this. Toothpaste market has four
    identifiable segments, e.g.,

    Tooth decay prevention

    Brightness of the teeth.

    One with flavor.

    Mouth freshness.

    Targeting, you must understand, makes the marketing mix all
    the more effective within the context of integrated advertising
    program. The product matches the consumer profile. The
    promotional program remains in tune to the consumers’
    willingness to receive, assimilate and react positively to the
    communication. It is recognition of the fact that the market is
    not a single cohesive unit but it is rather seething in its very
    essence. It being desperate, pulsating, antagonistic, infinitely
    varied sea of differing human beings – here everyone being
    distinct from the others as fingerprints; everyone of them living
    in certain circumstances and in countless ways from those in
    which everyone of them is living.
    In a country like India where unity is in diversity, identifying
    target audience for a product is a formidable task. To optimize
    targeting, the potential of the target market, its needs, its
    effective demand and accessibility needs must be considered.
    A marketing communication starts with a clear target audience
    in mind. The audience critically influences the communicator’s
    decision on:

    So basically we sub divide the market on the basis of geography,
    demographic, socio-economic, psychographic bases and the
    market conditions. The most common descriptions of the
    target audience are in terms of geographic, demographic and
    socioeconomic terms. If we take into consideration a simple
    product like a cycle, within this a normal cycle may be target at
    the rural community, whereas a sports cycle would focus more
    on young urban kids.
    Insurance, you would ideally think would be for the older
    generation, but you have to start working now. So what do you
    think is the target audience for that product? Yes, they are, I
    mean the companies, focusing on the younger generation.
    Basically people in the age group of 30 to 45 years are the
    focused target group. Also the profiles of these people is that
    of senior executive, upwardly mobile and are concerned about
    their family about their future.
    What do you think about the following advertisement? What
    do you think the age of the man is?

    52

    What is to be said?

    How it is to be said?

    When it is to be said?

    Where it is to be said?

    Who is to say it?

    Suppose you were to advertise a product like Burgers. How
    would you integrate the above questions in your attempt to go
    on to identify the target market?
    The communication objectives emerge from the analysis of the
    target market. In fact I would say that they sometimes could
    have an irreversible role to play in advertising. You should
    remember that no matter which stage of the campaign you
    might be in, looking at the objectives and subsequently the
    target market is an important means to be in touch with where
    your campaign is heading.
    The quantitative research of consumers socio-economic and
    demographic conditions, user-status, use frequency, etc, along
    with the qualitative research of image analysis of the object in
    consumer’s perception goes a long way in setting communication objectives. Image I need to tell you is a set of beliefs, ideas
    and impressions that a person holds of an object. It is a
    precondition for any communication planning. The familiarity
    of the target audience is first measured against the following
    scale:

    Never heard of

    Just heard

    Know a little

    Know fairly well

    Know very well

    If most of the respondents tick the first two options, the
    communication objective would be to build awareness. Those
    who are familiar are tested for their attitudes towards the
    product:

    Very unfavorable

    Somewhat unfavorable

    Neutral

    Somewhat favorable

    Very favorable

    Negative attitudes must be overcome before undertaking
    further promotion. Hence we could in addition say that,
    analyzing the image of a product in the mind of the consumer
    is a crucial step to bring about differentiation in the market
    place. This differentiation would help us in understanding the
    relevant target audience to be targeted at. For example in the case
    of Freedom bike from LML, we are looking at not only the bike
    loving community or an age group which is 18 +, but importantly we are targeting at the people who want their spirits to be
    free. The independent person is basically what we are looking at.
    Similarly the fair and lovely advertisement for example, previously and to an extent till date they were looking at targeting the
    girls who would get married if they use the fair & lovely fairness
    cream. Of course the advertisement came under much flak
    because it hurt the sentiments of the women who were of a
    darker complexion. As a result the next advertisement focused
    on the confident young woman who becomes a TV commentator despite all odds. So the point my dear student is that we
    have to understand the complete profile of the consumer
    before we can actually go on to make the target audience
    analysis.
    Now I want you all to analyze the target market for the
    following brands:

    Whirlpool Washing Machine

    Titan Watches

    Reliance Mobile Service

    Airtel Mobile Service

    Bagpiper

    In the subsequent lessons we would understand the concept of
    segmentation. But you must not confuse the two. Segmentation is a broader palying field where the consumer profiles are
    concerned. You could say that it is the prelude to targeting. The
    marketing man carries out several other tasks besides segmentation In order to focus on his target market. Essentially he carries
    out a thorough evaluation of the various segments and selects
    those segments that are most appropriate to him. This
    segments should be relevant, accisible, sizeable and very
    importantly profitable.
    The evaluation of the different segments has to be actually
    based on these criteria and only on the basis of such an
    evaluation should the target segments be selected. The marketing man or the advertiser must understand the assessment of
    the sales potential and profit potential from these segments.

    You must realize that if the message that you formulate and
    the money that you spend on the campaign does not connect
    with the right people where sales growth is concerned then I am
    afraid we are not going in the right direction.
    I addition we must also analyze whether it would be profitable
    to select the entire market. We can also look at certain segments,
    which may have consumers who are not too satisfied with the
    current offering by the competitors. It could also be possible
    that you target a few segments separately and design your
    objectives accordingly. Even your message strategy will have to
    change. But you must understand your company’s resources
    and accordingly choose a target market. You might find all
    segments attractive but you have certain constraints to work
    along with.
    Let us take the example of soaps in India to understand the
    issue here.

    Consists of 2 Segments

    Preference for premium soaps

    Preference for popular soaps

    Size Wise
    1. Popular segment bigger than premium category.
    2. Premium segment just 15% of the total soap market in
    terms of tonnage.
    3. Large volume of business in Popular segment.
    4. However value is higher in the premium segment. The size
    also being considerable.
    Future Position
    1. High growth sectors are in mind by the business firms.
    2. Popular segment is growing at the rate of 10% per annum,
    whereas the premium segments at 30 % per annum.
    Profitability
    1. Price range for premium segment is placed at between Rs.
    10/ to Rs. 50/.
    2. Price range for the popular segment at less than Rs. 10/.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    3. Although volume selling in the popular segment would
    bring about sales, and the profitability factor would be low.
    4. Whereas the profitability factor is high where the premium
    segment is concerned.
    5. Launching a brand is competitive and especially when the
    competition is growing by the day.
    6. Expensive media like TV would have to be used to get in
    touch with the target group.
    7. Selling and marketing costs to be taken into consideration.

    Accessible
    1. The various market shares of the brands of the competitor
    would determine this. If the market share were on the rise
    per annum then it would mean that the market is accessible.
    Resources & Objectives to be matched:
    1. Position of the firm in terms of competency and relative
    experience would determine this.
    2. Firm to look at areas like internal culture, marketing styles
    and strong organization along with a strong hold where
    resources are concerned.
    Please understand that this is a very strategic decision, which a
    firm has to undertake in order that the right customer group is
    reached.
    Now let me come to another fascinating part whereby we can
    further focus on our target market. Namely:
    • Undifferentiated strategy
    • Differentiated strategy
    • Concentrated strategy
    It will look very easy to you with the following diagrams.
    Firm’s IMC
    &
    Objectives

    The differentiated strategy on the other hand comes about
    when the firm decides to target several market segments and
    designs separate offers for each. For example you could have a
    company manufacturing cars keeping in mind let us say 3 things
    as purse, purpose and personality. In fact I would urge you to
    kindly look at the brands that Maruti has in its portfolio and
    you will realize the above point.
    Thirdly coming down to concentrated marketing; it is a strategy,
    which comes into play when a form goes after a large share of
    one or a few sub markets. This is especially true when the firm’s
    resources are limited in nature. So instead of going after a small
    share of a large market it rather goes for a large share of a small
    market or a few markets or if I could say niche markets. This is
    especially true for smaller firms trying to make a mark in the
    market. For example, in the case of Tiger biscuits, you mus
    realize that they introduced the Re.2/ pack purely because they
    could cater to the rural segment. The chai biscuit, so the
    Britannia people called it, had different segments having the
    biscuits.
    So dear student let me now come to the gist of a good target
    market:

    Measurable: Inclusive of size, purchasing power and profiles
    of the segment can be measured.

    Accessible: Effectively reached and served.

    Substantial: Large or profitable enough to serve.

    Differentiable: Conceptually distinguishable and respond
    differently to different marketing mix elements and
    programs.

    Actionable: Effective programs can be designed for attracting
    and serving the segments.

    Market

    The issue in target market is not who is targeted but rather how
    and what for. So you must understand the profile of the
    people and their needs in order to reach out to them.

    A. Undifferentiated Target Market
    IMC 1

    Segment 1

    IMC 2

    Segment 2

    IMC 3

    one offer. This is commonly referred to as mass marketing. You
    are reaching out to one and all, irrespective of any segmentation
    differences.

    Please read the following article, which came out in the Financial
    Express. This will give you a clear picture on targeting.
    “Quote-Unquote what few stalwarts have to say about Targeting.”

    “There is no such thing as a Mass Mind. The Mass Audience
    is made up of individuals, and good advertising is written
    always from one person to another. When it is aimed at
    millions it rarely moves anyone.”
    – Fairfax Cone, of Foote Cone & Belding, quoted in John
    O’Toole, The Trouble with Advertising . . . 1981, New York:
    Chelsea House, p. 48.

    “There is no such thing as national advertising. All
    advertising is local and personal. It’s one man or woman
    reading one newspaper in the kitchen or watching TV in the
    den.”
    – Morris Hite, quoted in Adman: Morris Hite’s Methods for
    Winning the Ad Game, 1988, Dallas, TX: E-Heart Press, p.
    204.

    Segment 3

    B. Differentiated Target Market
    Segment 1

    Firm’s IMC

    Segment 2

    Segment 3

    C. Concentrated Target Market
    In the case of undifferentiated strategy a firm decides to ignore
    market segment differences and go after the whole market with
    54

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 10:
    TUTORIAL
    Explain, what would be the Advertising objectives that you
    would set for the following situations:

    Brand of health drink only for the urban market and that
    too be concentrated in the metro cities.

    Brand of apparels that is wrongly perceived as a low purchase
    item.

    Your brand of cold drink has been negatively targeted in
    your competitor’s advertisements.

    You have tied up with a bank that will provide the loan for
    the purchase of your brand of automobile.

    Festival season means marketing opportunity for your brand
    of fast food. You want to make it a family affair and give
    some add on’s to your customers, but for a limited period
    of time.

    Identify the audience profile for the following products:

    A 5 star hotel.

    555 washing detergent.

    Deodorant for men.

    Home theater system

    Monetary aid for cancer patients

    Sachets of tea.

    Select 5 Print advertisements and understand the profile of the
    customer at which the product or the service is aimed for.

    Notes

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 11:
    UNDERSTANDING SEGMENTATION
    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the need for
    segmentation

    The segregation on the basis of the target market.

    Understand the bases of segmentation.

    Demographic & Psychographic Segmentation.

    Markets comprise of heterogeneous segments of consumers.
    Market segmentation refers to process of identifying a group of
    buyers with similar buying desires and requirements. The
    marketeer with a distinct marketing mix targets each segment.
    Companies, whether they are big or small experience a similar
    challenge. In such a confused situation, ‘Segmentation’ comes
    in handy! Segmentation is defined as the process of dividing a
    market into distinct sub-sets of consumers with common
    needs or characteristics and selecting one or more segments to
    target.
    Segmentation is the first step in a marketing strategy. Once
    marketers divide the market into various groups, they can then
    select their ‘targeted segments’ and design products that suit
    their requirements. For instance, companies like BPL have
    resorted to market segmentation as a strategy to beat its
    competitors. Its products like: BPL Loewe (digital designer
    televisions for the premium-end of the market); Matrix
    Flatscreen TV (for technology lovers); Studioline (who are
    performance seekers); and Prima (for the lower-end of the
    market) are a case in point. Each of them has been designed to
    cater to the requirement of a particular segment.

    Basis of Segmentation
    The first step in developing a segmentation strategy is to
    identify the basis on which the market segmentation is done.
    There are eight categories of customer characteristics that form
    the basis for segmentation. The categories are:
    Did you notice the coupon on the above advertisement? Make
    sure you keep that in mind. Well, now we shall proceed to
    segmentation. A market is defined as individuals, organizations
    with purchasing power, and desire/ willingness to purchase.
    Markets can be categorized based on the buyers as follows:
    Producers market trade in raw material, equipment, supplies,
    machines etc.
    Reseller market trade in finished goods, services from producers
    Consumer market : refers to market where end consumer buys
    the products for personal or household use. Consumer market
    can be bifurcated into durables and non-durables markets. The
    non-durable products are also known as fast moving consumer
    goods.
    The principal means of classification are:
    a. By geographical spread, such as national, regional and local
    b. By target group, such as consumer advertising, industrial
    advertising or trade advertising
    c. By type of impact such as
    i. Primary demand or selective demand advertising,
    ii. Direct or indirect action advertising, and
    iii. Institutional advertising.

    56

    1.Geographic Segmentation
    The market is divided according to the location. The classification is based on the assumption that people living in the same
    area share similar habits and wants. However, there’s a difference
    in the purchasing patterns of the consumer living in urban,
    semi-urban, and rural areas. For instance, as an Electrolux
    dealer, having a showroom in Hyderabad, you can advertise
    your company in and around Hyderabad via local newspapers,
    TV, radio, and other magazines.
    On the basis of geographical spread, advertising can be classified
    as (a) national, (b) local and (c) global.
    a. National Advertising

    Some manufacturers may think that their target is the entire
    country. They select media with a countrywide base. Generally
    large, established firms belong to this category. Among them
    are Hindustan Lever, Brooke Bond, Larsen & Toubro, Escorts,
    Associated Cement Companies and the like.
    b. Local Advertising

    Small firms may like to restrict their business to State or regional
    level. Some firms first localize their marketing efforts and once
    success has been achieved, they spread out to wider horizons. A
    classic example ‘is Nirma washing powder, which initially was
    sold in Gujarat and subsequently entered the other markets.

    Sometimes large firms may also go in for local advertising, e.g.,
    when they undertake pretest of a product, especially consumer
    product in selected areas before embarking promotional
    campaign on a national level.
    c. Global Advertising

    Multinational firms treat the world as their market. Firms like
    National, IBM or Sony or Ford advertise globally, e.g., in
    periodicals like Times, Reader’s Digest.
    However, with the increase in the popularity of the television
    and satellite communications, marketers strongly believe that
    the geographic segmentation can be replaced by a single global
    marketing strategy.

    2. Demographic segmentation
    The segmentation is based on characteristics like age, sex, marital
    status, income, occupation, and education. It’s the most
    accessible and cost-effective way to identify your target market.
    3. Psychological/Psycographic Segmentation
    Psychological characteristics refer to the inner qualities of a
    person. For instance, consumers are divided on the basis of
    their needs and motivations, personality, perceptions, learning,
    level of involvement, and attitudes.
    As an executive dealer you can provide a questionnaire to the
    people residing in the area with questions like: Do you like
    book reading or not? How often you go out for movies and
    picnics? What channels do you prefer watching etc. Depending
    on these questions you can segment the consumers and offer
    products that matches their lifestyle.
    4. Sociocultural Segmentation
    This is another basis for segmentation. Markets are divided
    depending on factors like family life cycle, social class, cultural
    values, and cross-cultural affiliations. Culturally distinct
    segments offer excellent growth avenues for marketers.
    However, care should be taken while advertising the products.
    For instance, if you are selling the Whirlpool refrigerator with
    the ‘instant cool’ feature, sell it as a means of convenience for a
    workingwomen family. However, the same should appeal as a
    ‘status symbol’ for the upper class.

    5. Use-Related Segmentation
    It’s the most popular method of segmentation. Consumers are
    divided into different categories depending on the product,
    service, or brand usage characteristics like the rate of usage
    (consumers are divided depending on the number of times
    they use a product); Awareness status (Consumers are divided
    based on their knowledge level of a product. For instance, if a
    consumer instantly recalls all the features and models available/
    yet to be launched in the market, his awareness level is high);
    and brand loyalty.

    6. Usage-Situation Segmentation
    This classification is based on the products/ services that the
    consumer uses depending on the situation. For instance, if you
    buy red roses to your wife on her birthday, you fall under one
    category.
    7. Benefit-segmentation
    The market is divided into segments depending on the benefits
    of the products. This sort of segmentation is used to communicate the product features to consumers. For instance, Bausch
    and Lomb advertises its disposable lenses as a form of
    convenience.
    8. Hybrid Segmentation
    Instead of sticking to one particular segmentation style,
    marketers combine one or two segmentation variables and
    arrive at another segmentation. This style is referred to as
    Hybrid segmentation.
    Coming back to the Target advertising on the other hand is:
    Segmentation on the basis of target groups aimed at, advertising can be classified as –
    a. Consumer Advertising,
    b. Industrial Advertising,
    c. Trade Advertising,
    d. Professional Advertising.

    a. Consumer Advertising
    A very substantial portion of total advertising is directed
    towards the consumers who purchase them either for their own
    use or for their household. The main point to be remembered
    here is that buyers of consumer items are generally very large
    and are widely distributed over a large geographical area, which
    enhances the importance of advertising as a marketing tool.
    Looking into at random any general print media, such as
    newspapers, magazines etc, can see such advertising. These
    advertisements are intended to promote sale of the advertised
    products appealing directly to the buyers/consumers. Such
    advertising is called consumer advertising.
    b. Industrial Advertising
    Industrial advertising on the other hand refers to those
    advertisements, which are issued by the manufacturers/
    distributors to the buyers of industrial products. This category
    would include machinery and equipment, industrial intermediates, parts and components, etc. Because of the unique
    characteristics of industrial buying decision process, the
    importance of industrial advertising is comparatively lower than
    that of consumer advertising.
    c. Trade Advertising
    Advertisements, which are directed by the manufacturers to its
    distribution channel members, such as wholesalers or retailers,
    are called trade advertising. The objective of such advertising is
    to promote sales by motivating the distribution channel
    members to stock or to attract new retail outlets.
    d. Professional Advertising
    There are certain products for which the consumers themselves
    are not responsible for the buying choice. The classic examples
    are pharmaceuticals where doctors make decision while the

    57

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Retail stores also undertake local advertising the area to be
    covered would generally be a city or a town and media would be
    selected t principally relates to that area. In recent years, several
    magazines have appeared which focus on a particular city and are
    of direct relevance to its inhabitants like the Bombay and
    Iskl11d.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    consumers are the patients. Almost similar situation exist in the
    field of construction where architects, civil engineers and
    contractors are the decision makers. Firms operating in such
    market segments, therefore, have to direct their advertising to
    these decision makers, who are professional people. Such
    advertising is called professional advertising.
    With increasing competition, players try out to carve separate
    niche, which leads to greater segmentation of the market. As
    each brand needs significant investment for launch as well to
    sustain equities, the plethora of brands become unmanageable.
    The process of restructuring and cost engineering results in
    consolidation and phasing out of weaker brands and thereby
    reducing the market segmentation.

    Levels of Segmentation
    Mass
    Marketing
    Segment
    Lo

    Marketing
    N iche
    Marketing
    M icro
    Marketing
    Hi

    Segmentation as a tool is effective in understanding the
    consumer and the market associated with your brand. Only a
    proper understanding of it will give you an understanding as to
    how to make your advertising campaign.

    Segment marketing
    S e g m entation
    • It is the dividing of a m arket into distinct
    groups of buyers on the basis of needs,
    c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , o r b e h a v i o r w h o m ig h t
    require separate products or m arketing
    m ix e s .

    • Isolating broad segments that make up a
    market and adapting to match the needs of
    one or more segments

    Segmentation
    • Identify bases for segmenting the market
    • Develop segment profiles

    Niche Marketing
    • Focusing on sub-segments or niches with
    distinctive traits that may seek a special
    combination of benefits.

    58

    • The practice of tailoring products and
    marketing programs to suit the tastes of
    specific individuals and locations – includes
    local marketing and individual marketing

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    M icro Marketing

    Types of Segmentation
    • Geographical: India, Delhi, Lajpat Nagar
    • Demographic: 24 Yrs old Married woman
    working and earning 15K P.M, is an MBA
    • Psychographic: Upper class, golfing, CEO.
    • Behavioral: Rohit is a Regular shopper,
    believes in Quality, Brand loyal and likes to
    wear those brands which exudes Positivity.

    Local marketing
    • Tailoring brands and promotions to the need
    and wants of local customer groups – cities,
    neighborhoods, and even specific stores.

    Individual M arketing
    • Tailoring products and marketing programs
    to the needs and preferences of individual
    customers – also labeled one -to-one
    marketing, customized marketing and
    markets –o f-one marketing.

    Demographic Segmentation.

    59

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    It is the division of the market into groups based on certain
    demographical variables such as:
    a. Age
    b. Gender
    c. Income
    d. Geographic location
    e. Usage
    f. Occupation
    g. Education
    h. Generation
    i. Family size
    The basis of this type of segmentation is:
    1. That the groups of buyers are not being served well
    presently by competition, and are therefore likely to try the
    brand advertised (eg. Life Insurance advertisements focusing
    on the young salaried class instead of stereotyped older
    generation)
    2. That the buyers are large enough, or growing in size (eg.
    Advertisements for women office wear)
    3. They are most likely to respond positively to the benefits
    offered by the brand advertised (eg. Advertising luxury to the
    existing high-end brands of car owners).
    Let us take the above demographic variables one by one:

    Age
    A very basic but useful a priori demographic segmenting
    variable is age. People often seek different features or benefits
    depending upon their age (and, relatedly, their family life-cycle
    stage). Consequently, people in different age groups often differ
    in which brands they prefer within a product category, and it is
    sometimes possible to target particular brands at particular age
    groups. Researchers have found that a person’s “cognitive age”
    is a much better predictor of purchase patterns than “actual”
    (chronological) age. For instance, a forty-year-old man may still
    feel as if he was in his thirties, in terms of interests and
    activities. Therefore, it is useful to learn as much as possible
    about prospective target segments.

    What kinds of products and services will your target age group
    want to buy, what kinds of features will they seek, what kinds
    of advertising appeals and personalities will they be most
    responsive to?
    The answers to the above will give you a fair amount of insight
    into the designing of your offering to the particular age group.
    For example, the advertisements for cosmetics will invariably
    show a young woman even if it aims at marketing at all the age
    group. ‘I am a complan girl”, is an advertisement focused at the
    young teens & adolescents, where as an advertisement about
    liquor is about a matured age group.
    So segments of different age groups often need different
    advertising approaches, both in terms of message and execution. Some advertisers argue that today’s teenagers, used to
    rapidly edited music videos, also need ads with such quick-cut,
    “jazzy” shots’ to have any hope of appearing “cool”. Both
    young children (under age five), and elderly (over sixty-five)
    consumers have special needs in the way information is
    communicated to them, because of differences in the way they
    process information compared to other consumers.

    Gender
    Much research suggests that men and women process information from ads differ-ently. For instance, it has been shown that
    women process more detailed informa-tion than do men,
    possibly because they are more attuned to paying attention to
    external cues than men are (they are but generalizations!). The
    woman manager who headed Nike’s marketing campaigns to
    grow its women’s’ markets agrees, and claims that women are:
    1. More discerning buyers than men, and
    2. That they research many products and weigh several factors
    before they buy.
    3. Women unlike men-find ads using celebrity endorsements to
    be unpersuasive because they don’t like being preached at.
    4. Women are responsive instead to ads that portray women as
    powerful, capable people who hate being told they can’t do
    things simply because they are women.

    Income
    Another useful a priori demographic variable is income. Not
    surprisingly, higher income households tend to be less pricesensitive, placing a higher value on buy-ing higher-quality
    merchandise. Because of the growth in dual-income households, there has been a dramatic growth in the proportion of
    total spending in the econ-omy coming from such households,
    implying that the market for high-end prod-ucts and services
    should increase substantially.
    It is seen that low-income people prefer beedis for smoking.
    Middle-income buyers smoke Wills Filter, and high-income
    buyers like 555 cigarettes.
    Even sometimes the choice of celebrity endorser is considered
    while targeting at a certain income category. Amitab Bachchan
    for Parker Pen and not Govinda.

    Geographic Location
    The questions you should be asking yourselves are:

    60

    Geographic location can often provide the basis for an effective a
    priori segmenta-tion strategy. A firm with modest resources can
    dominate, if it so chooses, a small geographic area. Its distribu-

    In recent years, it has become increasingly possible to learn
    something about a company’s target consumers simply by
    knowing the postal zip code in which they live. Census-based
    demographic data on households has been analyzed by various
    companies to yield “average profiles” for house-holds in
    different segments, or groups, of zip codes. In fact the cities
    and towns in India have been classified on certain basis. So a
    classification of Delhi might be classified as be-longing to the
    same cluster as the classification of Mumbai, because they are
    very similar to each in terms of their scores on these variables.
    An advertiser can examine these scores of each classification
    cluster and iden-tify which ones are most likely to respond to an
    advertising or direct marketing effort.

    an IIT coaching institute. Whereas the graduates and the
    postgraduates would grasp the ads which would offer them a
    job or a professional course. This type of advertising is
    especially there in recruitment advertisements.

    Generation
    Pepsi with its ads on ‘Gen X’, were able to understand the
    relevance of generation advertising. Be it the baby boomers of
    the 60s and the high energy level Generation Y, the brands and
    the companies’ focus on certain generations for marketing their
    products. Each set of generations has their own values, beliefs
    and attitudes and focusing on these variables the brands could
    be positioned towards them.

    Family Size
    Following are certain classifications and the type of products
    that they are likely to purchase:

    Young & single: Personal consumption items,
    entertainment, bikes, clothing and love to go on a vacation.

    Newly married couples: Households durables like furniture,
    TVs, refrigerators, etc.

    Young married with child: Toys, medicines, tonics, baby
    food, formula milk, etc.

    Older married with children: Food products, music,
    educational services and wide variety of other products.

    Older married with dependant children: Rational purchases
    more on replacement buying.

    Older married with no children: Self-education, saving
    schemes, hobbies, luxury appliances, magazines, health
    products, etc.

    Old single retired: Economic lifestyle, healthcare and other
    services and have budget constraints.

    Young married with child dual income: Convenience goods
    like washing machines, microwave ovens, costly garments for
    the kid along with games. Expenditure on instant food and
    crèches, etc.

    Single parent families: Buying physical, psychological and
    financial securities, like insurance, alarms, boarding school
    expenses.

    Divorced: Money saving products, rental housing, childcare,
    time saving appliances, etc.

    Older people married or single: Cash poor and health
    conscious. They need security and recreation.

    Middle age: Children’s lesson on dance and music, dental
    care, furniture, autos, houses, dining out, etc.

    Middle aged with no children: Luxuries, travels, gift
    products, etc.

    Usage
    A natural and powerful a priori segmentation variable is
    product-class usage. Who are the heavy users of the product or
    service? In many product categories, the heavy users (who are
    usually 20 to 30 percent of the users) account for almost 70 to
    80 percent of the volume consumed: this is sometimes called
    the “80:20” rule. It is obviously extremely valuable for a brand
    to have most of its users from the heavy-user category, for that
    should lead to disproportionately higher share of units sold.
    One segmentation scheme might thus involve heavy users, light
    users, and nonusers. This particular segmentation scheme is
    likely to be useful wherever the focus is on building up the
    market. Each person is classified according to usage, and a
    program is developed to increase the usage level. The segments
    defined by usage usually require quite different marketing
    programs. So a program tailored to one of these segments can
    generate a substantially greater response than would a marketing
    program common to all segments. Of course, designing and
    implementing several marketing programs is costlier than
    developing one, but the resulting market response will often be
    significant enough to make it worthwhile.
    A somewhat different aspect of usage segmentation is the
    possibility that consumers may seek different benefits from the
    same product (e.g., soft drinks) de-pending on the nature of
    the usage-occasion (e.g., social use versus food-enhance-ment).
    Different ad campaigns to address these different occasionbased segments are therefore also possible.

    Occupation
    We have the professionals who are MBAs, CA, etc; we have the
    Technical, the Government servants, businessman, farmers, and
    housewives, unemployed, the list seems to go on. Of late there
    are insurance firms who are targeting at the housewives and
    even at the unemployed to sell their policies.

    This is one of the segmentation variables to be considered
    while understanding the target audience. The other one equally
    important is the Psychological segmentation, which we shall
    study in the next lesson.

    Education
    The different academic qualification would mean how people
    are receptive to the content of the advertisement. The school
    going kids would be able to grasp any advertisement given by

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    tion within the limited area can be Internet. Local me-dia such
    as newspapers or spot television can be employed, and it is
    possible to buy space in regional editions of major national
    magazines. In fact Coca Cola with the inclusion of different
    Indian cultures in their advertisements with Amir Khan is a
    wonderful example of “think globally and act locally”.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Bases of Demographic
    Segmentation





    Age: 18yrs – 24yrs.
    Gender: Male / Female
    Family Size: Young, single
    Family Life Cycle: 1-2
    Income: Less than 1,20,000 P.A
    Occupation: Manager

    provide a very rich and meaningful pic-ture of a person. It can
    indicate whether the person is interested in outdoor sports,
    shopping, culture, or reading. It can include information
    concerning attitudes and personality traits. Lifestyle also can be
    used to define a segment empirically; this is often called
    psychographic (as opposed to demographic) segmentation.
    Lifestyle is particularly useful as a segmentation variable in
    categories where the user’s self-image is important, such as
    fragrance. As an example of lifestyle segmentation in fragrances,
    Revlon’s Charlie cosmetic line was targeted at a lifestyle segment
    profiled as follows:

    Is irreverent and unpretentious.

    Doesn’t mind being a little outrageous or flamboyant.

    Breaks all the rules.

    Has her integrity based on her own standards.

    Can be tough; believes rules are secondary.

    IS a pacesetter, not a follower.

    IS very relaxed about sex.

    Is bored with typical fragrance advertising.

    Mixes Gucci and blue jeans; insists on individual taste,
    individual judgment.

    Has a sense of self and sense of commitment.

    Cont…




    Education: MBA
    Religion: Hindu
    Race: Asian
    Generation: Generation X
    Nationality: Indian

    Psychographic Segmentation

    Various typologies of consumers exist that use personalities,
    values, lifestyles, and attitudes as variables, among them VALS
    and the more recent VALS 2, values and lifestyles typologies.
    In its first version, VALS fo-cused on the distinction between
    inner-directed consumers, driven by their convic-tions, passions,
    and need for self-expression, and outer-directed consumers,
    driven by their responses to signals from other people. Using
    this distinction, it grouped people into nine categories (called
    Survivors, Sustainers, Belongers, Emulators, Achievers, I-AmMe, Experiential, Societally Conscious, and Integrateds).
    VALS 2 uses the additional classifying dimension of the
    “resources” people have (educa-tion, income, etc.) to create eight
    categories (called Fulfilleds, Believers, Achiev-ers, Strivers,
    Experiencers, Makers, Strugglers, and Actualizers).

    So why VALS
    Today, most marketers in India use segmentation models based
    on Demographics, Geo-demographics, SEC data & Benefits
    and usage. However, these models are still inadequate in their
    description & analysis of a person since they generate only
    isolated fragments.
    This is where Values And Lifestyles segmentation plays such a
    pivotal role. Because lifestyle characteristics and values provide a
    rich view of the market and a more lifelike portrait of the
    consumer, they meet the demands of management practice for
    increasingly sophisticated and actionable marketing information.
    The basic premise here is therefore – the more you know and
    understand about your customer the more effectively you can
    communicate and market to him.

    Values And Lifestyles
    A person’s pattern of interests, opinions, and activities combine
    to represent his or her lifestyle. Knowledge of lifestyle can

    62

    A Value refers to a single belief that transcends any particular
    object, in contrast to an attitude, which refers to beliefs
    regarding a specific object or situation. Values are more stable

    To gain insight into why the target group acts the way it
    does.

    To improve and introduce products that speaks to
    customers’ values.

    To target the marketing and advertising campaigns more
    effectively and accurately.

    To position products more accurately in the marketplace.

    A lifestyle is a distinctive mode of living in its aggregate and
    broadest sense. They deal with everyday behaviorally oriented
    facets of people as well as their feelings, attitudes, interests &
    opinions. It embodies the patterns that develop and emerge
    from the dynamics of living in a society.

    Instrumental Values are everyday ideal modes of behavior. For
    example values like Ambition, Cheerful, Honest, Imaginative,
    Logical and Polite are Instrumental Values.

    Value and Lifestyle segmentation unlike traditional segmentation begins with people instead of products and classifies them
    into different types, each characterized by a unique style of living
    – it then determines how marketing factors fit into their lives.
    This perspective provides a three-dimensional view of the target
    consumer.

    The Inception and Evolution of VALS

    The ‘Rokeach Value System (RVS)’ is a universally accepted and
    reliable tool to test value systems of people. The RVS classifies
    values into Instrumental and Terminal Values.

    Terminal Values are ideal end states of existence that an
    individual aspires to have. Comfortable Life , Equality, Family
    Security, National Security, Pleasure and Wisdom are Terminal
    Values.
    We must however understand that this type of segmentation
    either singly or in combination with demographic segmentation
    divides the buyers on the basis of:

    Social class: For example: Lower class, Middle class and
    Upper class.

    Lifestyle and/or personality traits.

    Lifestyle segmentation is all about the mode of living of the
    buyers. Products often sold by this approach are cars, women’s
    clothing, cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, cosmetics and furniture.
    You could have two types of spots where automobile marketing is concerned.

    Small family car emphasizing safety, compactness and
    economy.

    Sport minded individuals who love maneuverability.

    One such approach to measure the segment is through AIO
    inventories, which is Activities, Interest and Opinions.
    You have the following categories under the heads:

    Activities: Work, liking, hobbies, recreation, entertainment,
    shopping

    Interest: Job, home, food, media, community.

    Opinions: Culture, social issues, politics, education.

    By combining the demographic variables along with AIO we
    could get an example of a lipstick user as:
    VALS is a relatively new concept, pioneered by SRI International, a Management Consulting firm in California that
    conducted a nationwide survey of the US consumers based on
    values and lifestyles first in 1979. This model was later modified
    in 1989 and renamed VALS-II, which segmented the American
    consumers into 8 consumer profiles.
    Some of the uses to which Values and Lifestyles segmentation
    has been put are:

    To identify whom to target and find niche markets much
    more easily.

    To locate where concentrations of your target group lives.

    ‘Someone younger, better educated, working woman who is
    appearance conscious, cosmopolitan and future oriented.’
    Media selection and advertising content could easily be framed.
    In addition we can identify likely uses of related products that is
    the products, which are consistent with this lifestyle.

    Personality
    Marketers have identified personality variables to segment the
    market. Motor-cycle buyers can be identified as ‘independent,
    impulsive, macho, ready to change, confident people.’ ‘Charms
    cigarettes are smoked by young people who love the spirit of
    freedom.’ Lipsticks are for ‘young, out-going, beauty-conscious
    women.’ Other products, which cater to personality traits, are
    liquor and insurance. The marketers try to adjust the brand’s
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    and occupy a more central position in a person’s cognitive
    system. Values are determinants of attitudes and behavior and
    provide a stable and inner oriented understanding of consumers. Values within a system refer to a wide array of individual
    beliefs, hopes, desires, aspirations, prejudices etc. Values provide
    potentially powerful explanations of human behavior as they
    serve as standards or criteria of conduct. These tend to be
    limited in number & are remarkably consistent over time. The
    value construct can therefore be used to segment the population
    into homogenous groups of individuals who share a common
    value system.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    personality to the personality, traits of buyers for whom it is
    meant. Consumers of different brands are subjected personal
    preference tests to measure their different needs, and the
    differences in personality traits are recorded.

    Whether it is demographic study in the previous lesson or
    behavioral and psychographic analysis in this lesson, we must
    learn to integrate in order to understand our buyer all the more
    clearly.
    Benefit
    Sought

    Demographic
    Characteristic

    Behavioral
    Characteristic

    Psychographic
    Characteristic

    Favored
    Brand

    Low
    Price
    Decay
    Prevention
    Brightness
    of teeth

    Males,

    Heavy users

    Babool

    Big
    Families
    Teenagers
    Youngsters

    Heavy users

    Price-conscious
    Independent
    Traditional
    Health-conscious
    Outgoing
    Fun loving
    Active
    Self-involvement

    Good Flavor

    Children

    Mint lovers

    Mouthwash

    Youngsters
    Teenagers
    Children
    Between 2’/2
    To 7’12 years

    Want intimacy
    and togetherness
    Loves to taste

    Self-involvement

    Families

    Multiple benefits

    Value for Money

    Gentler
    Toothpaste

    Personality characteristics, especially the self-image that ideally
    should correspond to the brand-image, are the basis of
    advertising appeals made to certain types of personality. Other
    personality characteristics used are changeability, adaptability,
    thriftiness, prestige consciousness, self-confidence, masculinity,
    conservativeness and sentimentalism.
    Since it is difficult to reach targets on the basis of traits like
    sociability, self-reliance or assertiveness, the classifications based
    on slots as given above become useful.

    Fresh Breath
    Whiter Teeth
    Germi Check

    Attitudes and Benefits
    Attitudes, preferences, and many related psychological constructs such as moti-vations, perceptions, beliefs, product
    benefits, and so on, can also be used to seg-ment markets
    through the second empirical segmentation approach. Consumers differ in the “need” for which they buy the same product, so
    the fact that buyers will tend to place different degrees of
    importance on the benefits obtained from that type of product
    leads logically to the fact that they represent different seg-ments.
    The idea of segmenting on the basis of important attributes
    has been termed benefit segmentation by Russell Haley. For
    example, lowest price, durability, use on special occasions. In the
    case of toothpaste we could use elements like flavor, price,
    product appearance, brightness of teeth and decay prevention.
    Considering the different advertising approaches that will be
    appropriate for each segment sees the value of benefit segmentation for advertising. The following chart will give you a good
    understanding of the subject matter.

    64

    Fun
    Dependent on
    mother for good
    habits

    B a s e s o f P s y c h o g r a p h ic
    S e g m e n ta t i o n
    • Social Class: U p p e r – M iddle C lass
    • L ifestyle: A chiever
    • Personality: A m b itious

    We shall include a few other segmentation techniques, which to
    an extent could be a part of psychographic understanding of
    the buyers. The need is to understand segmentation from all
    angles rather than understanding it from a single point of view.

    Behavioral Segmentation
    In behavioral segmentation, buyers are divided into groups on
    the basis of benefits sought from the product, user-status,
    usage-rate, loyalty-status, attitude and readiness to use state.
    With in this let us understand the study of Attitudes.

    Smokers

    Notes

    Pepsodent
    Colgate
    Promise
    Colgate
    Close-up
    Gel
    Just for Kids

    Aquafresh

    Learning Objectives

    The key idea is how you should make a mark for yourself in
    the mind of the consumer.

    This lesson will tell you the different ways of going about it.

    Understand the strategic way of going about it.

    There is an appendix which tells you the view of two
    Positioning ‘Gurus’.

    A brand’s-position is the set of associations the consumer has
    with the brand. These may cover physical attributes, or lifestyle,
    or use occasion, or user image, or stores that carry it.
    A brand’s position develops over years, through advertising and
    publicity and word of mouth and usage experience, and can be
    sharp or dif-fuse, depending on the consistency of that brand’s
    advertising over the years.
    A brand’s position in a consumer’s mind is a relative concept, in
    that it refers to a comparative assessment by the consumer of
    how this brand is similar to or different from the other brands
    that compete with it. Think of every consumer as having a
    mental map of the product category. The location of your
    brand in that map, relative to that of your competitors, is your
    position, and the locations of all the brands in that map are
    determined by the associations that the’ consumer makes with
    each brand. If all this sounds rather abstract, several examples
    are pro-vided here which should clarify the concept.
    A positioning strategy is vital to provide focus to the development of an ad-vertising campaign. The strategy can be conceived
    and implemented in a variety of ways that derive from the
    attributes, competition, specific applications, the types of
    consumers involved, or the characteristics of the product class.
    Each repre-sents a different approach to developing a positioning strategy, even though all of them have the ultimate objective
    of either developing or reinforcing a particular image for the
    brand in the mind of the audience.

    Just as segmentation involves the decision to aim at a certain
    group of customers but not others, our next concept-positioning-involves a decision to stress only certain aspects of our
    brand, and not others.
    The key idea in positioning strategy is that the consumer must
    have a clear idea of what your brand stands for in the product
    category, and that a brand cannot be sharply and distinctly
    positioned if it tries to be everything to everyone.

    Seven approaches to positioning strategy will be presented:
    1. Using product characteristics or customer benefits,
    2. The price-quality approach,
    3. The use or applications approach,
    4. The product-user approach,
    5. The product-class approach,
    6. The cultural symbol approach, and

    Such positioning is achieved mostly through a brand’s marketing communications, although its distribution, pricing,
    packaging, and actual product features also can play major roles.

    7. The competitor approach.

    It is often said that posi-tioning is not what you do to the
    product, but what you do to the consumer’s mind, through
    various communications. Many products in the over-thecounter drug market, for instance, have identical formulas but
    are promoted for different- symp-toms, by using different
    names, packaging, product forms, and advertising?

    Probably the most-used positioning strategy is to associate an
    object with a prod-uct characteristic or customer benefit.
    Imported automobiles illustrate the variety of product
    characteristics that can be employed and their power in image
    creation. Honda and Toyota have emphasized economy and
    reliability and have become the leaders in the number of units
    sold. Sometimes a new product can be positioned with respect
    to a product char-acteristic that competitors have ignored.
    Sometimes a product will attempt to position itself along two
    or more prod-uct characteristics simultaneously. Sometimes
    different models of a product may be positioned towards
    different segments by highlighting different attributes.

    The strategic objective must be to have segmentation and
    positioning strategies that fit together: a brand must be
    positioned in a way that is maximally effective in at-tracting the
    desired target segment

    Using Product Characteristics or
    Customer Benefits

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 12
    POSITIONING

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    It is always tempting to try to position along several product
    characteristics, as it is frustrating to have some good product
    characteristics that are not commu-nicated. However, advertising
    objectives that involve too many product character-istics can be
    most difficult to implement. The result can often be a fuzzy,
    confused image, which usually hurts a brand.
    Myers and Shocker have made a distinction between physical
    characteris-tics, pseudophysical characteristics, and benefits, all of
    which can be used in po-sitioning. Physical characteristics are the
    most objective and can be measured on some physical scale such
    as temperature, color intensity, sweetness, thickness, distance,
    dollars, acidity, saltiness, strength of fragrance, weight, and so
    on.
    Pseudophysical characteristics, in contrast, reflect physical
    properties that are not easily measured. Examples are spiciness,
    smoky taste, tartness, type of fra-grance (smells like a . . .),
    greasiness, creaminess, and shininess. Benefits refer to advantages that promote the well being of the consumer or user.

    Positioning by Price and Quality
    The price-quality product characteristic is so useful and pervasive
    that it is appropriate to consider it separately. In many product
    categories, there exist brands that deliberately attempt to offer
    more in terms of service, features, or perfor-mance. Manufacturers of such brands charge more, partly to cover higher costs
    and partly to help communicate the fact that they are of higher
    quality. Conversely, in the same product class there are usually
    other brands that appeal on the basis of price, although they
    might also try to be perceived as having comparable or at least
    adequate quality. In many product categories, the price-quality
    issue is so im-portant that it needs to be considered in any
    positioning decision.

    position for the brand, a position that deliberately attempts to
    expand the brand’s market.

    Positioning by Product User
    Another positioning approach is to associate a product with a
    user or a class of users. Michael Jordan, for example, was used
    by Nike. Many cosmetic companies have used a model or personality to position their product. The expectation is that the
    model or personality will influence the product’s image by
    reflecting the characteristics and image of the model or personality com-municated as a product user.

    Positioning by Product Class
    Some products need to make critical positioning decisions that
    involve product-class associations. For example, Maxim freezedried coffee, the first one in the market, needed to position
    itself with respect to regular and instant coffee. Some margarines position them with respect to butter. Dried milk makers
    came out with instant breakfast positioned as a breakfast
    substitute and a virtually identical product po-sitioned as a
    dietary meal substitute. The toilet soap Dove positioned itself
    apart from the soap category as a cleansing cream product, for
    women with dry skin.
    The soft drink 7-Up was for a long time positioned as a
    beverage that had a “fresh clean taste” that was “thirst quenching.” However, research uncovered the fact that most people did
    not regard 7-Up as a soft drink but rather as a mixer bev-erage;
    therefore, the brand tended to attract only light soft-drink users.
    The posi-tioning strategy was then developed to position7-Up
    as a “mainline” soft drink, as a logical alternative to the “colas”
    but with a better taste. The successful “Uncola” campaign was
    the result.

    Positioning by Cultural Symbols
    Many advertisers use deeply entrenched cultural symbols to
    differentiate their brand from competitors. The essential task is
    to identify something that is very meaningful to people that
    other competitors are not using and associate the brand with
    that symbol.

    Positioning by Competitor

    It is usually very difficult to compete successfully using both
    quality and price. There is always the risk that the quality
    message will blunt the basic “low-price” position or that people
    will infer that if the prices are low, the quality must be low, too.

    Positioning by Use or Application
    Another way to communicate an image is to associate the
    product with a use, or application. Products can, of course, have
    multiple positioning strategies, although in-creasing the
    number involves obvious difficulties and risks. Often a
    positioning-by use strategy represents a second or third

    66

    In most positioning strategies, an explicit or implicit frame of
    reference is one or more competitors. In some cases the
    reference competitor(s) can be the dominant aspect of the
    positioning strategy. It is useful to consider positioning with
    respect to a competitor for two reasons. First, the competitor
    may have a firm, well-crystallized image developed over many
    years. The competitor’s image can be used as a bridge to help
    communicate another image referenced to it. If someone wants
    to know where a particular address is, it is easier to say it is next
    to the Bank of America building than to describe the various
    streets to take to get there. Second, sometimes it is not important how good customers think you are; it is just important
    that they believe you are better than (or perhaps as good as) a
    given competitor.
    Perhaps the most famous positioning strategy of this type was
    the Avis “We’re number two, we try harder” campaign. The
    message was that the Hertz company was so big that they did
    not need to work hard. The strategy was to po-sition Avis with
    Hertz as major car-rental options, and therefore to position

    Positioning with respect to a competitor can be an excellent way
    to create a position with respect to a product characteristic,
    “especially price and quality. Positioning with respect to a
    competitor can be accomplished by compara-tive advertising,
    advertising in which a competitor is explicitly named and compared on one or more product characteristics.
    So how should you go about formulating your positioning
    plan? There are essentially 2 ways of going about it.
    a. Market Positioning.
    b. Psychological Positioning

    Market Positioning
    It is a three-step process:
    i. Identify market opportunities.
    ii. Segment the market and select the right segment.
    iii. Devise a competitive strategy.
    The whole idea is to meet market requirements better than the
    competitors can.

    1. Explore the Market
    Ask which are the areas where the company has distinctive
    advantage over the competition. Study the sales potential of the
    new market and its growth rate. Do financial calculations like to
    produce, profits, pricing etc. Understand market dynamics and
    channels of distribution.
    Put the key factors that may contribute to success on paper.
    2. Segmentation and Targeting
    Markets can be segmented on different bases, e.g., users,
    products. Further segmentation be on the basis of end-use.
    The marketer targets his product to a particular segment. While
    doing so, competitor’s positions are kept in mind, by drawing a
    product space map (PSM).
    3. Competitive Strategy
    Identify the competitor’s weaknesses and your company’s
    strengths. Emphasize your strengths to differentiate your offer.
    The company identifies the most important differences to
    develop strategy.
    Consider factors like:
    i. Market share
    ii. Profitability
    iii. Product range
    iv. Corporate profile
    v. Financial strength
    vi. Cost position
    vii.Product differentiation
    viii.Quality of management, technology, distribution
    ix. Reputation.
    Find out the gaps between you and your competitors against
    the above-listed factors. It will give you an offer that distinguishes you – a benefit bundle or value package consisting of
    price, distribution and service mix.

    These days many products are technologically so similar to each
    other and distinctions are not possible. The other possibilities
    to distinguish the offer are so many – warranties, after-salesservice, installment offers, price-offs, discounts, strong
    distribution, responsiveness etc.

    Psychological Positioning
    Basically, psychological positioning is a communication exercise
    that follows AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action
    model. It is derived from market positioning and tells who the
    company is, what the product does, and what to expect from
    the purchase.
    The brand name, the look and the packaging must complement
    the psychological positioning. Consumer behavior is driven
    more by feelings than rationale, and even the most aptly
    positioned brand might fail if it does not strike the right chord.
    Brand ultimately has to build a relationship with the customer.
    Benefits and benefit gaps are easy to identify through research.
    Feelings are more difficult to get to. Coffee, for instance, is
    about intimacy, romance and togetherness. Titan is a gift of
    appreciation. Lakme and Vareli touch a streak of narcissism in a
    woman. Brand positioning is thus not just occupying a slot in
    the mind of the consumers. It is about ruling the heart also.
    Another interesting area worth understanding is Perceptual
    Mapping for Positioning
    Perceptual Space Map (PSM) shows the perceived relative
    positions of products along different dimensions. To do this,
    the attributes or dimensions of a product are identified by
    qualitative research like depth interviews. The consumers are
    then asked to rank each brand along each of the dimensions
    identified. Statistical techniques are used to reduce a very large
    number of dimensions to a few significant dimensions.
    To illustrate, price and the degree of automation have been
    identified as the significant dimensions of the washing
    machines’ market. The perceptual map showing existing brands
    along these dimensions is given below.
    Degree of Automation
    High Automation
    Sumeet
    Videocon Automatic
    Taffy
    Low Price

    Videocon 200NT
    High Price

    Bajaj
    Low Automation

    Consider the Following
    1. Videocon semi-automatic is moderately priced washing
    machine, and so is Taffy by Rallies. The closer brands on
    PSM are competing with each other.

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    Avis away from National, which at the time was a close third to
    Avis.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    2. Video con automatic fills a market niche by being high on
    automation and moderate on price.
    3. Bajaj is not competing with Videocon and Sumeet since it is
    low-priced non-automatic Manual model.
    4. The low price, high automation niche is still vacant, and
    offers distinct possibilities. PSM is used to cluster brands
    into competing groups to define market segments.
    5. When more dimensions are used, a technique called multiple
    dimensional scaling (MDS) is used. The computer software
    is now available.
    This concept is a wonderful tool to understand where your
    brand lies in comparison to other brands in the same category.
    You could understand their positioning and the positioning of
    the leader. That would be the benchmark for you to know how
    consumer perceive that brand.

    Advertising and Positioning
    Research has shown that there is a very real limit to how much a
    mind set can handle, According to George A. Miller, Harvard
    psychologist; the average person can rarely name more than
    seven brands. This is where positioning comes in. Advertising
    has to establish the brand in a commanding position in the
    mind-sets if consumers.
    The image and appeals must be related to the way consumers
    possibly think about a brand and thus position it in their
    minds. In order to develop a clear position, the communicator
    must somehow put together all aspects of product, consumer,
    trade, competition and communication situation in a distinctive
    way for that brand. Good positions are difficult to maintain,
    and a company must be prepared to defend its position
    sometimes at great cost.
    The competitors relate their brand to a brand that is in’ a
    dominating position. Positioning doesn’t require a head-on
    collision with the leading competing brand. This is quite risky.
    It is better to maneuver around the leader’s position.
    Sacrifice is the essence of positioning: For effective positioning,
    a brand has to stand for one quality or benefit in the mind of
    consumers, instead of being all things to all people. This
    involves sacrifice of opportunity to different market segments.
    Positioning in the consumer’s mind is the end product of the
    process of filtering information about:

    The product attributes,

    The packaging,

    The pricing, and the image of the product created by
    advertising.

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    This may be different from the product’s functional or physical
    attributes. This subtle distinction is increasingly important in a
    competitive market place where thousands of advertisements
    fight for the attention of the consumer.
    In the 50s there used to be hard sell, with a focus on product
    features and customer benefits. The USP became a popular
    concept, thanks to Ted Bates Ad Agency in 40s. Rosser Reeves
    later popularized it. The Unique Selling Proposition is a unique
    or specific consumer benefit offered by a brand. It is an integral
    part of the brand’s position.
    But brand position, however, goes beyond that. It is a fusion
    of product class, target consumer, brand proposition and
    distance from competing brands.
    In the 60s attention was diverted to image. Reputation or image
    was more important than specific product features. As Ogilvy
    aptly puts it, “Every advertisement is a long term investment in
    the image of a brand.” The result was creative advertising.
    In the 70s, as we have already seen, the positioning era dawned.
    Rosser Reeves discusses this in Reality in Advertising (1960).
    Positioning is really, to quote Prof. Sen Gupta, a crusade against
    the slothful marketing philosophy of offering me-too products.
    In each of these steps one can employ marketing research
    techniques to pro-vide needed information. Sometimes the
    marketing research approach provides a, conceptualization that
    can be helpful even if the research is not conducted.

    Positioning research starts with the study of the market to
    identify the factors, which are most important to various users
    of the product category. Here we have to ignore all assumptions
    about product category. How is this done?
    First, investigate what consumers do with the products. It
    reflects their perceptions or understanding of various categories
    and brands. To illustrate for positioning a cream, ask what
    people use on their bodies. How various brands are used?
    When are they used? Last but not the least, the purposes for
    which the brands are used.
    Secondly, attitudinal information should be developed according to the purposes for which the brand is to be used and not
    just for any two brands. If one brand is used for relaxation and
    one for refreshment, it is pointless to compare them.
    Thirdly, it is important to ask why a product or brand is not
    being used.
    Fourthly, when there are existing brands, it is important to
    identify where they are placed in the consumer’s mind. Early in
    the product development, it is important to uncover new
    psychological dimensions. The emphasis then moves to
    physical attractiveness – how perceptions are related to physical
    features and why physical features have to be offered to match
    the psychological positioning.
    Lastly, positioning is creative. It is helped by complete information. It is not necessary to carry out always attitudinal and
    quantitative research all the time. Good strategists do fact
    gathering research to come up with fairly decent estimates of
    market perceptions on relevant attributes, and location of
    various brands along these attributes. Once these are identified,
    alternative-positioning strategies could be considered.

    Positioning Summed Up
    Positioning is amenable to the following definition:
    1. The position of a brand is the perception it brings about in
    the mind of the target consumer.
    2. This perception reflects the essence of the brand in terms of
    its functional benefits in the judgement of that consumer.
    3. It is relative to the perception held by a consumer of
    competing brands. The competing brands can be denoted as
    points or positions in perceptual space of the consumer and
    together to make up a product class.

    Appendix to Positioning
    Positioning
    As Popularized by Al Ries and Jack Trout
    In their 1981 book, Positioning: The Battle for your Mind, Al
    Ries and Jack Trout describe how positioning is used as a
    communication tool to reach target customers in a crowded
    marketplace. Regular use of the term dates back to 1972 when
    the same authors published a series of articles in Advertising
    Age called “The Positioning Era.” Not long thereafter, Madison
    Avenue advertising executives began to develop positioning
    slogans for their clients and positioning became a key aspect of
    marketing communications.

    Positioning: The Battle for your Mind has become a classic in
    the field of marketing. The following is a summary of the key
    points made by Ries and Trout in their book.

    Information Overload
    Ries and Trout explain that while positioning begins with a
    product, the concept really is about positioning that product in
    the mind of the customer. This approach is needed because
    consumers are bombarded with a continuous stream of
    advertising, with advertisers spending several hundred dollars
    annually per consumer in the U.S. The consumer’s mind reacts
    to this high volume of advertising by accepting only what is
    consistent with prior knowledge or experience.
    It is quite difficult to change a consumer’s impression once it is
    formed. Consumers cope with information overload by
    oversimplifying and are likely to shut out anything inconsistent
    with their knowledge and experience. In an over-communicated
    environment, the advertiser should present a simplified
    message and make that message consistent with what the
    consumer already believes by focusing on the perceptions of the
    consumer rather than on the reality of the product.

    Getting Into the Mind of the Consumer
    The easiest way of getting into someone’s mind is to be first. It
    is very easy to remember who is first, and much more difficult
    to remember who is second. Even if the second entrant offers a
    better product, the first mover has a large advantage that can
    make up for other shortcomings.
    However, all is not lost for products that are not the first. By
    being the first to claim a unique position in the mind the
    consumer, a firm effectively can cut through the noise level of
    other products. For example, Miller Lite was not the first light
    beer, but it was the first to be positioned as a light beer,
    complete with a name to support that position. Similarly,
    Lowenbrau was the most popular German beer sold in
    America, but Beck’s Beer successfully carved a unique position
    using the advertising,
    “You’ve tasted the German beer that’s the most popular in
    America. Now taste the German beer that’s the most popular in
    Germany.”
    Consumers rank brands in their minds. If a brand is not
    number one, then to be successful it somehow must relate
    itself to the number one brand. A campaign that pretends that
    the market leader does not exist is likely to fail. Avis tried
    unsuccessfully for years to win customers, pretending that the
    number one Hertz did not exist. Finally, it began using the line,
    “Avis in only No. 2 in rent-a-cars, so why go with us? We try
    harder.”
    After launching the campaign, Avis quickly became profitable.
    Whether Avis actually tried harder was not particularly relevant
    to their success. Rather, consumers finally were able to relate
    Avis to Hertz, which was number one in their minds.
    Another example is that of the soft-drink 7-Up, which was No.
    3 behind Coke and Pepsi. By relating itself to Coke and Pepsi as
    the “Uncola”, 7-Up was able to establish itself in the mind of
    the consumer as a desirable alternative to the standard colas.

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    Research for Positioning

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    When there is a clear market leader in the mind of the consumer, it can be nearly impossible to displace the leader,
    especially in the short-term. On the other hand, a firm usually
    can find a way to position itself in relation to the market leader
    so that it can increase its market share. It usually is a mistake,
    however, to challenge the leader head-on and try to displace it.

    Positioning of a Leader

    of changing Name 1 to an expanded Name 1 – Name 2, and
    later to just Name 2.

    Positioning of a Follower
    Second-place companies often are late because they have chosen
    to spend valuable time improving their product before
    launching it. According to Ries and Trout, it is better to be first
    and establish leadership.

    Historically, the top three brands in a product category occupy
    market share in a ratio of 4:2:1. That is, the number one brand
    has twice the market share of number two, which has twice the
    market share of number three. Ries and Trout argue that the
    success of a brand is not due to the high level of marketing
    acumen of the company itself, but rather, it is due to the fact
    that the company was first in the product category. They use the
    case of Xerox to make this point. Xerox was the first plainpaper copier and was able to sustain its leadership position.
    However, time after time the company failed in other product
    categories in which it was not first.

    If a product is not going to be first, it then must find an
    unoccupied position in which it can be first. At a time when
    larger cars were popular, Volkswagen introduced the Beetle with
    the slogan “Think small.” Volkswagen was not the first small
    car, but they were the first to claim that position in the mind of
    the consumer.

    Similarly, IBM failed when it tried to compete with Xerox in the
    copier market, and Coca-Cola failed in its effort to use Mr. Pibb
    to take on Dr. Pepper. These examples support the point that
    the success of a brand usually is due to its being first in the
    market rather than the marketing abilities of the company. The
    power of the company comes from the power of its brand, not
    the other way around.
    With this point in mind, there are certain things that a market
    leader should do to maintain the leadership position. First, Ries
    and Trout emphasize what it should not do, and that is boast
    about being number one. If a firm does so, then customers will
    think that the firm is insecure in its position if it must reinforce
    it by saying so.
    If a firm was the first to introduce a product, then the advertising campaign should reinforce this fact. Coca-Cola’s “the real
    thing” does just that, and implies that other colas are just
    imitations.
    Another strategy that a leader can follow to maintain its
    position is the multibrand strategy. This strategy is to introduce
    multiple brands rather than changing existing ones that hold
    leadership positions. It often is easier and cheaper to introduce a
    new brand rather than change the positioning of an existing
    brand. Ries and Trout call this strategy a single-position strategy
    because each brand occupies a single, unchanging position in the
    mind of the consumer.
    Finally, change is inevitable and a leader must be willing to
    embrace change rather than resist it. When new technology
    opens the possibility of a new market that may threaten the
    existing one, a successful firm should consider entering the new
    market so that it will have the first-mover advantage in it. For
    example, in the past century the New York Central Railroad lost
    its leadership as air travel became possible. The company might
    have been able to maintain its leadership position had it used
    its resources to form an airline division.
    Sometimes it is necessary to adopt a broader name in order to
    adapt to change. For example, Haloid changed its name to
    Haloid Xerox and later to simply Xerox. This is a typical pattern

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    Other positions that firms successfully have claimed include:

    age (Geritol)

    high price (Mobil 1 synthetic engine lubricant)

    gender (Virginia Slims)

    time of day (Nyquil night-time cold remedy)

    place of distribution (L’eggs in supermarkets)

    quantity (Schaefer – “the one beer to have when you’re having
    more than one.”)

    It most likely is a mistake to build a brand by trying to appeal to
    everyone. There are too many brands that already have claimed a
    position and have become entrenched leaders in their positions.
    A product that seeks to be everything to everyone will end up
    being nothing to everyone.

    Repositioning the Competition
    Sometimes there are no unique positions to carve out. In such
    cases, Ries and Trout suggest repositioning a competitor by
    convincing consumers to view the competitor in a different way.
    Tylenol successfully repositioned aspirin by running advertisements explaining the negative side effects of aspirin.
    Consumers tend to perceive the origin of a product by its name
    rather than reading the label to find out where it really is made.
    Such was the case with vodka when most vodka brands sold in
    the U.S. were made in the U.S. but had Russian names.
    Stolichnaya Russian vodka successfully repositioned its Russiansounding competitors by exposing the fact that they all actually
    were made in the U.S., and that Stolichnaya was made in
    Leningrad, Russia.
    When Pringle’s new-fangled potato chips were introduced, they
    quickly gained market share. However, Wise potato chips
    successfully repositioned Pringle’s in the mind of consumers by
    listing some of Pringle’s non-natural ingredients that sounded
    like harsh chemicals, even though they were not. Wise potato
    chips of course, contained only “Potatoes. Vegetable oil. Salt.”
    As a resulting of this advertising, Pringle’s quickly lost market
    share, with consumers complaining that Pringle’s tasted like
    cardboard, most likely as a consequence of their thinking about
    all those unnatural ingredients. Ries and Trout argue that is
    usually is a lost cause to try to bring a brand back into favor
    once it has gained a bad image, and that in such situations it is
    better to introduce an entirely new brand.

    The Power of a Name
    A brand’s name is perhaps the most important factor affecting
    perceptions of it. In the past, before there was a wide range of
    brands available, a company could name a product just about
    anything. These days, however, it is necessary to have a memorable name that conjures up images that help to position the
    product.
    Ries and Trout favor descriptive names rather than coined ones
    like Kodak or Xerox. Names like DieHard for a battery, Head &
    Shoulders for a shampoo, Close-Up for a toothpaste, People
    for a gossip magazine. While it is more difficult to protect a
    generic name under trademark law, Ries and Trout believe that
    in the long run it is worth the effort and risk. In their opinion,
    coined names may be appropriate for new products in which a
    company is first to market with a sought-after product, in which
    case the name is not so important.
    Margarine is a name that does not very well position the
    product it is describing. The problem is that it sounds artificial
    and hides the true origin of the product. Ries and Trout
    propose that “soy butter” would have been a much better name
    for positioning the product as an alternative to the more
    common type of butter that is made from milk. While some
    people might see soy in a negative light, a promotional
    campaign could be developed to emphasize a sort of “pride of
    origin” for soy butter.
    Another everyday is example is that of corn syrup, which is
    viewed by consumers as an inferior alternative to sugar. To
    improve the perceptions of corn syrup, one supplier began
    calling it “corn sugar”, positioning it as an alternative to cane
    sugar or beet sugar.
    Ries and Trout propose that selecting the right name is
    important for positioning just about anything, not just
    products. For example, the Clean Air Act has a name that is
    difficult to oppose, as do “fair trade” laws. Even a person’s
    name impacts his or her success in life. One study showed that
    on average, schoolteachers grade essays written by children with
    names like David and Michael a full letter grade higher than
    those written by children with names like Hubert and Elmer.
    Eastern Airlines was an example of a company limited by its
    name. Air travel passengers always viewed it as a regional airline
    that served the eastern U.S., even though it served a much wider
    area, including the west coast. Airlines such as American and
    United did not have such a perception problem. (Eastern
    Airlines ceased operations in 1991.)
    Another problem that some companies face is confusion with
    another company that has a similar name. Consumers frequently confused the tire manufacturer B.F. Goodrich with
    Goodyear. The Goodyear blimp had made Goodyear tires wellknown, and Goodyear frequently received credit by consumers
    for tire products that B.F. Goodrich has pioneered. (B.F.
    Goodrich eventually sold its tire business to Uniroyal.)

    Other companies have changed their names to something more
    general, and as a result create confusion with other similarsounding companies. Take for instance The Continental Group,
    Inc. and The Continental Corporation. Few people confidently
    can say which makes cans and which sells insurance.

    The No-Name Trap
    People tend use abbreviations when they have fewer syllables
    than the original term. GE is often used instead of General
    Electric. IBM instead of International Business Machines. In
    order to make their company names more general and easier to
    say, many corporations have changed their legal names to a
    series of two or three letters. Ries and Trout argue that such
    changes usually are unwise.
    Companies having a broad recognition may be able to use the
    abbreviated names and consumers will make the translation in
    their minds. When they hear “GM”, they think “General
    Motors”. However, lesser known companies tend to lose their
    identity when they use such abbreviations. Most people don’t
    know the types of business in which companies named USM or
    AMP are engaged.
    The same applies to people’s names as well. While some
    famous people are known by their initials (such as FDR and
    JFK), it is only after they become famous that they begin using
    their initials. Ries and Trout advise managers who aspire for
    name recognition to use an actual name rather then first and
    middle initials. The reason that initials do not lead to recognition is that the human mind works by sounds, not by
    spellings.
    Most companies began selling a single product, and the name
    of the company usually reflected that product. As the successful
    firms grew in to conglomerates, their original names became
    limiting. Ries and Trout advise companies seeking more general
    names to select a shorter name made of words, not individual
    letters. For example, for Trans World Airlines, they favored
    truncating it simply to Trans World instead removing all words
    and using the letters TWA.

    The Free-Ride Trap
    A company introducing a new product often is tempted to use
    the brand name of an existing product, avoiding the need to
    build the brand from scratch. For example, Alka-Seltzer named
    a new product Alka-Seltzer Plus. Ries and Trout do not favor
    this strategy since the original name already in positioned in the
    consumer’s mind. In fact, consumers viewed Alka-Seltzer Plus
    simply as a better Alka-Seltzer, and the sales of Alka-Seltzer
    Plus came at the expense of Alka-Seltzer, not from the market
    share of the competition.
    Some firms have built a wide range of products on a single
    brand name. Others, such as Procter & Gamble have selected
    new names for each new product, carefully positioning the
    product in a different part of the consumer’s mind. Ries and
    Trout maintain that a single brand name cannot hold multiple
    positions; either the new product will not be successful or the
    original product bearing the name will lose its leadership
    position.
    Nonetheless, some companies do not want their new products
    to be anonymous with an unrecognized name. However, Ries

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    Repositioning a competitor is different from comparative
    advertising. Comparative advertising seeks to convince the
    consumer that one brand is simply better than another.
    Consumers are not likely to be receptive to such a tactic.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    and Trout propose that anonymity is not so bad; in fact, it is a
    resource. When the product eventually catches the attention of
    the media, it will have the advantage of being seen without any
    previous bias, and if a firm prepares for this event well, once
    under the spotlight the carefully designed positioning can be
    communicated exactly as intended. This moment of fame is a
    one-shot event and once it has passed, the product will not
    have a second chance to be fresh and new.

    The Line Extension Trap
    Line extensions are tempting for companies as a way to leverage
    an existing popular brand. However, if the brand name has
    become near generic so that consumers consider the name and
    the product to be one and the same, Ries and Trout generally
    do not believe that a line extension is a good idea.
    Consider the case of Life Savers candy. To consumers, the brand
    name is synonymous with the hard round candy that has a hole
    in the middle. Nonetheless, the company introduced a Life
    Savers chewing gum. This use of the Life Savers name was not
    consistent with the consumer’s view of it, and the Life Savers
    chewing gum brand failed. The company later introduced the
    first brand of soft bubble gum and gave it a new name: Bubble
    Yum. This product was very successful because it not only had a
    name different from the hard candy, it also had the the advantage of being the first soft bubble gum.
    Ries and Trout cite many examples of failures due to line
    extensions. The consistent pattern in these cases is that either
    the new product does not succeed, or the original successful
    product loses market share as a result of its position being
    weakened by a diluted brand name.

    When Line Extensions Can Work
    Despite the disadvantages of line extensions, there are some
    cases in which it is not economically feasible to create a new
    brand and in which a line extension might work. Some of the
    cases provided by Ries and Trout include:
    Low volume product – if the sales volume is not expected to be
    high.
    Crowded market – if there is no unique position that the
    product can occupy.
    Small ad budget – without strong advertising support, it might
    make sense to use the house name.
    Commodity product – an undifferentiated commodity product
    has less need of its own name than does a breakthrough
    product.
    Distribution by sales reps – products distributed through reps
    may not need a separate brand name. Those sold on store
    shelves benefit more from their own name.
    Positioning Has Broad Applications
    The concept of positioning applies to products in the broadest
    sense. Services, tourist destinations, countries, and even careers
    can benefit from a well-developed positioning strategy that
    focuses on a niche that is unoccupied in the mind of the
    consumer or decision-maker.

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    Notes

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 13:
    TUTORIAL
    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the goal and objective of
    an advertising campaign.

    This lesson will expose you to the different types of
    objectives.

    Understand as to how to go about formulating the
    objectives.

    In understanding that objectives are closely linked to the
    communication process.

    Find out the profile both demographic and psychographic of
    people for the following products / Service:

    Golf club

    Parker Pen

    Rediff.com

    ICICI Bank

    Navratan Hair oil

    McDonalds

    Omega Watches

    Lux Soaps

    Lakme Moisturizer

    Adidas Shoes

    Horlicks

    Babool Toothpaste

    Tata Indica

    TVS Scooty

    Gold Council of India

    Ideally you should have seen the advertisements on television
    and are able to understand the profile that the company is
    looking at. In addition you could get in touch with the
    representatives of these companies and find out more about
    the brand.
    How would you go on to make the positioning of a brand that
    is in the product category of breakfast food, like cornflakes?
    You could assume the marketing variables.

    Notes

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    LESSON 14:
    BUDGET DECISION

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the different ways of
    setting the advertising budget.

    The case study focuses on the need of advertising budget in
    times of economy downturn.

    CHAPTER 4
    ADVERTISING BUDGET

    or steadying the share, decision can bemade to have a bigger
    or smaller budget than competition. Instead of reacting to
    competitor advertising results, firms can be proactive in their
    approach by planning their own goals of marketing and then
    the advertising budget will emerge.
    4. Historical Method: In this method last year’s advertising
    budget is adopted for the year with a view that practically no
    change has taken place in the market and market growth is
    slow, which does not justify any addition to the budget. Last
    year’s budget could be multiplied by a factor to cover media
    rate increase.
    5. Affordability Method: Some firms believe that advertising is
    tactical and not strategic and hence does not need much
    attention. These kinds of firms follow a method of
    affordability and spend what is left after managing the details
    of the official expenses involved in paying to the factors of
    production.

    There are various methods of deciding on advertising budget.
    This decision will be largely influenced by the objective that we
    set for the campaign. For example if there is a new product
    launch then the advertising campaign will have to be high where
    as for launching a repeat campaign one would like to spend less.
    The most commonly used advertising budgeting method
    include
    1. Percentage of Sales Volume: The percentage is worked out
    on the basis of a firm’s historical budget, industry norms or
    on the basis of the prevailing market conditions. If the
    market has started an upward trend then one percent extra
    amount will be put for advertising budget. Following this
    method without considering market conditions may create
    problem. If the firm’s market share is in a downward trend
    then the firm may decide to increase the advertising budget.
    If the product is in the disinvestments stage, then
    disinvestment may be an option. In such a case only
    marginal advertising budget is sufficient to clear the stock. If
    the firm realizes that at the decline stage the competitors are
    moving out then the firm can decide to take the leadership
    position through aggressive advertising.
    2. Unit of Sale Method: Consumer durable firms make use of
    this method as a variant on sales percentage. While it mostly
    works out same as a sales percentage, here the firm puts an
    amount of advertising expenses on the unit as add on.
    3. Competitive Parity Method: the firm must carefully study
    Competitive information regarding their sales, distribution
    pattern and advertising. It will provide the correlation
    between the competitive sales and advertising effort.
    Depending on the firm’s strategy of increasing market share
    74

    6. Total Group Budget: In case of multi location and multi
    product line firms , a total amount id decided as advertising
    and each strategic business unit receives a share according to
    their needs. This method helps the group to segregate some
    amount for corporate group advertising for building he
    image of the organization.
    7. Percentage of Anticipated Turnover: This method is useful
    in dynamic markets and budget can be fixed on the
    estimated demand pattern than the current year sales.
    8. Elasticity Method: This method takes in to account the
    seasonality of business and the periodicity in the purchase
    cycle of consumers in to consideration. This method takes in
    to consideration the demand and supply situation and is
    more used in industrial products.
    9. Operational Modeling: Market research gives advertising
    expenses, market response and sales per advertising figures
    and the modeling is done to explain the budget.
    10. Composite Method: This method takes in to consideration
    several factors in formulating the advertising budget which
    include indices like firm’s past sales, future sales projection,
    production capacity, market environment, sales problems,
    efficiency level of sales personnel, seasonality of the market,
    regional considerations, changing media scenario and
    changing media impact on the target market segment, market
    trends and results of advertising and marketing.
    11.Objective and Task Method: Marketing people follow this
    method more often as this is a scientific method where the
    advertising goals are explicitly stated and the cost to achieve
    the target is also spelt out. Taking each activity like increasing
    geographic sales area, increasing market awareness by a certain
    percentage over the figure obtained from the brand tracking
    study, they add up the amounts needed for each activity. We
    can illustrate the process as below:

    2. Determine the percentage of the market that should be
    reached by advertising: The advertiser hopes to reach 80%
    (40 million prospects) with the advertising budget.
    3. Determine the percentage of aware prospects that should
    be persuaded to try the brand: The advertiser would be
    pleased if 25 per cent of aware prospects (10 million)
    tried the brand. This is because it estimates that 40% of
    all triers or 4 million people would become loyal users.
    This is called the Market Goal.
    4. Determine the number of advertising impressions per 1
    per cent of trial rate: the advertiser estimates that 40
    advertising impressions (exposures) for every 1 per cent
    population would bring about a 25% trail rate.
    5. Determine the number of Gross Rating Points that
    would have to be purchased: A Gross rating Point is one
    exposure to 1 per cent of the target population. Because
    the company wants to achieve 40 exposures to 80% of
    the population, it will want to buy 3,200 gross rating
    points
    6. Determine the necessary advertising budget on the basis
    of average cost of buying a gross rating point. To expose
    1 per cent of the target population to one impressions
    costs an average of Rs. 3277/. Therefore, 3,200 gross
    rating point s would cost Rs. 10,486,400 in the
    introductory year.

    Case Study
    Imagine this: You are flying at 30,000 feet. The captain announces that a huge storm is approaching. He then informs you
    that he is running low on fuel. If he lowers the speed to
    conserve fuel, the storm may overpower the plane and take it
    off its course. He may then not have enough fuel to find his
    way back to reach the destination. If he increases speed to surge
    through the clouds, he runs the risk of exhausting his fuel
    faster. Now he gives you the option of lowering the speed to
    conserve fuel or to go full throttle to surge through the clouds.

    What would you Choose
    Supporting a brand through an economic downturn is much
    like a plane caught in a storm with low fuel. Of course, one has
    the option of conserving the juice. However, after the saving,
    whether the brand will be able to recover from the effects of a
    nosedive or not is a million-dollar question. Nobody has seen
    the future, but we have the option of looking back. Time and
    again, advertising professionals have tried to prove that
    advertising in times of recession has helped brands in the long
    run. The Harvard Business Review covered 200 US companies
    during the recession of 1923-25. During the period of postrecession recovery, companies that spent more money on
    marketing expenses achieved higher sales. This study was not
    accepted by most because it did not record the profit indicators.
    In 1999, PIMS (Profit Impact of Marketing Strategy) conducted
    a special analysis of 183 UK-based companies in periods of
    recession and recovery. Of that lot, 110 cut ad spends, 53 chose
    to maintain at the same level and 20 increased expenditure.

    During the period of recession, the ones that spent more made
    the least profits. However, during the period of recovery, the
    scroungers saw their profit grow by 0.8 per cent, whereas the
    spenders saw a hefty 4.3 per cent points growth. This more
    than made up for the lower profits during the period of
    recession. As for market share, the cost-cutters saw 0.6 per cent
    point growth as against a hefty 1.7 per cent appreciation for the
    spenders, during the recovery period.
    The study most conclusively proved that the good costs that
    one should focus on during recession are:

    Marketing communication l Product quality enhancement

    New product development Whereas the bad costs that
    should be curbed during recession are:

    Manufacturing overheads

    Administrative overheads

    Fixed capital

    Working Capital
    If these are effectively cut, there should be enough money to
    spend on the good costs. Such examples supporting advertising
    spends during recession are quite common in the annals of
    marketing history. Closer home, there are enough examples
    from countries that faced the Asian meltdown. Here, brands
    that spent maintained their leadership position and, in some
    cases, surged ahead of the competition.
    Some recent analyses during our current phase of economic
    slowdown throw up interesting facts in support of advertising.
    In the sub-popular soap category, Breeze has upped its Gross
    Rating Points (GRP) by 47 per cent over the year 2000 to achieve
    a 20 per cent value growth in sales. As against that, Lux has
    maintained its GRPs to see some decline in sales value.
    Similarly, in the category of hair dyes, Godrej—the market
    leader—has grown by more than 20 per cent in value by
    increasing GRPs by a comparative amount. These are some
    indicators that hard times have not dampened the desire to
    look good and feel good. As a matter of fact, there is an
    indication that despite recession, businesses such as mortgage,
    insurance, snack foods, home furnishings and house wares, to
    name a few, continue to do well. Perhaps, investing, feeling safe
    and feeling good are the more basic needs during a phase when
    people are generally feeling depressed?
    While on one hand periods of economic slowdown are a good
    time for established players because consumers don’t want to
    take chances, it’s also true that during such uncertain times there
    is a tendency to trade-down. Therefore, recession is also a great
    opportunity for challenger brands that spend heavily to
    communicate brand values that lead to a churn. One such
    example in recent times is Akai TV from Baron. At a point
    when the color TV business was growing annually at the rate of
    eight per cent (value) and the total advertising outlay for all
    brands put together was Rs 830 million, Akai came up with a
    proposition for upgrading from black-and-white TVs on one
    hand and moving from 21″ to 29″ TVs on the other; all this at
    never-before, attractive prices. Akai achieved some dramatic
    results in terms of market shares with an aggressive advertising
    budget that supported a hefty 16 per cent share-of-voice (SOV).
    Akai reached a 13 per cent market share in less than two years.
    75

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    1. Establish the Market Share goal: lets say the company
    estimates 50 million potential users and sets a target of
    attracting 8 percent of the market i.e. four million users.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    What really happened as a result of this brave and defiant move
    from Baron was that the color TV market saw a growth of 18
    per cent and, in the following year, the category grew three-folds.

    “Quote-Unquote what few stalwarts have to say about Commission.”

    “Experience has taught me that advertisers get the best
    results when they pay their agency a flat fee. . . . It is
    unrealistic to expect your agency to be impartial when its
    vested interest lies wholly in the direction of increasing your
    commissionable advertising.”
    – David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man, 1971,
    New York: Ballantine Books, p. 71.

    “Make sure that your agency makes a profit. Your account
    competes with all the other accounts in your agency. If it is
    unprofitable, it is unlikely that the management of the
    agency will assign their best men to work on it. And sooner
    or later they will cast about for a profitable account to replace
    yours.”
    – David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man, 1971,
    New York: Ballantine Books, p. 71.

    The Advertising Budget
    Historical
    HistoricalMethod
    Method

    •Common
    •Commonbudgeting
    budgetingmethod.
    method.
    •May
    •Maybe
    bebased
    basedon
    onlast
    lastyear’s
    year’swith
    with
    aapercentage
    percentageincrease.
    increase.
    •Nothing
    •Nothingto
    todo
    dowith
    withadvertising
    advertising
    objectives.
    objectives.

    Task-Objective
    Task-ObjectiveMethod:
    Method:
    Bottom-Up
    Bottom-Up

    •Most
    •Mostcommon
    commonmethod.
    method.
    •Looks
    •Looksatatobjectives
    objectivesset
    setfor
    foreach
    each
    activity,
    activity,and
    anddetermines
    determinesthe
    thecost
    cost
    of
    ofaccomplishing
    accomplishingeach
    eachobjective.
    objective.

    Percentage-of-Sales
    Percentage-of-Sales
    Method
    Method

    •Compares
    •Comparestotal
    totalsales
    saleswith
    withthe
    the
    total
    totaladvertising
    advertising(or
    (ormarketing
    marketing
    communication)
    budget
    communication) budgetduring
    duringaa
    previous
    previoustime
    timeperiod
    periodto
    tocompute
    computeaa
    percentage.
    percentage.

    The Advertising Budget
    Competitive
    Competitive Methods
    Methods

    •Relates
    •Relatesthe
    theamount
    amountinvested
    investedinin
    advertising
    advertisingto
    tothe
    theproduct’s
    product’sshare
    share
    of
    ofmarket.
    market.
    •Must
    •Mustunderstand
    understandshare-of-mind.
    share-of-mind.

    All
    AllYou
    YouCan
    CanAfford
    Afford
    Method
    Method

    •Allocates
    •Allocateswhatever
    whateveris
    isleft
    leftover
    overto
    to
    advertising.
    advertising.
    •Companies
    •Companieswho
    whouse
    usethis
    thisdon’t
    don’t
    value
    advertising
    very
    much.
    value advertising very much.

    Budgeting Decisions
    Budgeting decisions involve determining how much
    money will be spent on advertising and promotion
    each year and how the monies will be allocated

    Two major decisions
    • Establishing the size of the budget
    • Allocating the budget

    76

    Notes

    Learning Objectives

    The case study will give you a critical understanding of the
    various budgeting methods in advertising.

    How Much to Spend on Advertising
    By Joel Dean
    The determination of advertising expenditures can be accomplished, at least theoretically, through the use of marginal
    analysis. The difficulty is, of course, that advertising costs have
    no necessary relationship to output.
    The author of this article concludes that most methods which
    are used to determine the size of the advertising budget have
    no economic basis and the despite its limitations economic
    analysis can be helpful in reaching better decisions about
    advertising expenditures.
    Every important enterprise in the country wrestles unhappily
    with the problem of how much to spend on advertising.
    Despite the vast amount of money involved in this decision,
    most executives have to play by ear. Few firms have a valid
    theoretical or research basis for deciding whether the advertising
    appropriation should be $100,000 or $200,000 a year. The
    purpose of this article is to appraise the principal methods that
    are now used for making this decision.
    As a background for this appraisal we shall examine briefly the
    contribution of economic theory, specifically in the form of
    marginal analysis.
    Author’s Note
    A number of people were kind enough to read this manuscript
    and suggest improvements: Stephen Taylor and Philip Brooks
    of Joel Dean Associates; Professors James Bonbright, Carl
    Shoup, and Howard Nixon of Columbia University; Ralph
    Cordiner and Robert Peare of the General Electric Company;
    and A.L.Nickerson of the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company.
    Source
    From Harvard Business Review, vol.29, January-February, 1951,
    pp.65-74. Joel Dean: Professor of Business Economics,
    Columbia University.
    Unavoidably, therefore, much of the discussion is in the no
    men’s land between the abstract analysis of the economic
    theorist and the largely intuitive performance of the practitioner.
    The fact is that there is no sure or easy way to determine how
    much to spend on advertising, and the various methods widely
    used for that purpose have serious weaknesses, which show up
    against a background of economic analysis.

    Contribution of Economic Theory
    Economic analysis of the role of advertising (and other pure
    selling costs) in the competitive adjustment of the enterprise
    has developed concepts that can be made useful in planning and
    controlling advertising outlays.

    Economical analysis is a basic economic approach to all business
    problems, including the determination of the total advertising
    outlay, and it is, at least logically, superior to other methods. It
    says that advertising expenditure for each product should be
    pushed to the point where the additional outlay equals the
    profit from the added sales caused by the outlay. The resulting
    total is the advertising budget that will maximize advertising
    profits in the short run.
    To implement this approach, a comparison is needed of what
    would happen with and without the advertising outlay in
    question. This knowledge of the marginal effect of advertising
    is extremely difficult to obtain. If the effect can be estimated
    with tolerable reliability, however, the marginal approach
    provides a rational solution, not only for the total budget but
    also for its allocation among years in the business cycle and
    among products, areas, and media.
    Nature of Advertising Costs. The distinctive nature of
    advertising costs makes the analytical problem of determining
    the most profitable advertising outlay much more complex
    than an analysis using only production costs. Production costs
    (and physical distribution costs that behave like them) are
    functionally related to output (or sales) and can therefore be
    budgeted and controlled by such relationships. Advertising
    costs, in contrast, have no necessary functional relationship to
    output; they are a cause, not a result of sales.
    Advertising, like pricing and product innovation, is a device for
    manipulating the firm’s sales volume. Price affects the volume
    obtainable under specified demand conditions, while advertising and product improvement alter these conditions by
    changing the public attitude toward the product and thus shift
    the whole relation of sales to price. Hence profitability depends
    on the most advantageous combination of price, product
    improvement, advertising outlay, and other selling activities.
    Since the practical problem is often to get the right combination
    of advertising and other marketing activities, the problem of
    the advertising budget is not alone, “How much should the
    total selling effort be?” as economists have usually conceived it.
    It is also, “What part of the selling job should be done by
    impersonal, mass selling, as opposed to personal selling?”
    These various influences are, of course, interactive. The price
    changed, for example, may affect eh responsiveness of volume
    to additional advertising expenditures; changes in the product
    are almost certain to do so; and the price that will make the
    most money may be different when advertising is stepped up
    or when the product is improved.
    For economic analysis, this is a problem of solving several
    simultaneous equations, an intellectually intriguing pastime that
    rarely makes sense or profits for businessmen. But the problem
    can easily be cut down to manageable proportions by restricting
    analysis to the short run, say one year, and by making some

    77

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 15:
    CASE STUDY ON BUDGETS

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    assumptions about prices and costs. We shall proceed to
    develop this kind of analysis.
    Simplified Marginal Approach. Advertising cost is assumed to
    include only pure selling costs, physical distribution costs being
    included in production costs. Incremental production costs (i.e.,
    the added costs of producing an additional unit of the
    product) are assumed to remain the same, 20 cents a unit, over
    the practical range of sales. The price of the product is also
    assumed to remain constant over this range. (Hence the average
    revenue and marginal revenue of economic theory are equal and
    constant.) Under these circumstances the incremental profit
    from an added sale is 50 cents a unit. Incremental advertising
    cost (i.e., the additional advertising outlay that will be required
    to sell an additional unit of output) is drawn as a curve, which
    first declines, then is constant, and then rises at an accelerating
    rate.
    The rising phase of the advertising cost curve represents the
    important part of our problem since, if advertising is to be
    done at all, it should be expanded until diminishing returns set
    in.
    The upward trend in the curve reflects primarily the tapping of
    successively poorer prospects as the advertising effort is
    intensified. Presumably the most susceptible prospects are
    picked off first, and progressively stiffer resistance is encountered from layers of prospects who are more skeptical, more
    stodgy about their present spending patterns, or more attached
    to rival sellers. The rise may also be caused by progressive
    exhaustion of the most vulnerable geographic areas or the most
    efficient advertising media. Promotional channels that are ideally
    adopted to scale market of the firm are used first. (Actually, for
    firms with expansible markets, the advertising cost curve may
    have several minimum points corresponding to most efficient
    use of different media appropriate for different-size markets,
    e.g., newspapers, billboards, magazines, radio)
    From the diagram it is clear that advertising should be pushed
    to the point where the advertising cost curve interacts the price
    line. Sales should not be expanded to a level where it costs more
    than 50 cents in advertising to get another sale, since that sale
    would bring only 50 cents of profit over incremental production costs. In general, advertising outlays should be increased in
    every market and medium up to the point where the additional
    cost of getting more business just equal the incremental profits
    from that business.
    Considering the totals that appear in an income statement,
    rather than thinking in terms of increments, may clarify the
    results of our interpretation. The total production cost of a
    given output in represented on the diagram by the area under
    the incremental production cost curve up to that output.
    Similarly, the total sales revenue, is shown by the area under the
    price line, and the total advertising cost by the area under the
    curve of advertising cost. The area between the price line and
    the advertising cost curve is the total net profit left after
    advertising expenses and is clearly largest when output is at the
    point where marginal advertising cost is 50 cents a unit.
    The assumptions underlying this simplified exposition are fairly
    realistic. A passive price policy is common enough, at least for
    short-run adjustments like these under study here. Hence a
    78

    constant price (i.e., a price that is not changed as a result of
    charges in advertising outlays) is a moderately good approximation to reality. As to the cost assumption, empirical findings for
    industries whose production is mechanized indicate that
    incremental production costs are usually constant over the range
    of output that is significant for determining advertising policy
    in the short run. Finally, there is much theory and some
    empirical evidence to support the shape of the advertising cost
    function drawn here. Abstracting from fluctuations in business
    conditions and consumer incomes in a necessary simplification
    which sharpens the incremental character of the measurement
    problem, viz., to find the added sales with advertising, as
    against sales without it.
    Limitations. The main hitch in the marginal approach is the
    difficulty of estimating incremental advertising cost. The
    relationship of advertising to sales is more intricate than shortrun marginal analysis indicates; for example, the important and
    difficult problem of rivals’ reactions is left out. Under most
    circumstances the difficulties of predicting response large,
    gauging the quality of advertising, and allowing for the
    reservoir effect of past advertising frustrate efforts to isolate the
    impact upon sales of additional advertising outlays.
    Even when the advertising cost curve can be estimated with
    some reliability, the validity of the cut-off criterion proposed by
    marginal analysis comes into question, because much advertising is an investment rather than an expense. The objectives of
    advertising are often dominantly long range, such as eternal life
    for the firm and a place in the sun. For example, advertising
    may be designed to step up volumes to the point where savings
    of large-scale production and research are more than a match for
    any new entrants, or advertising may be focused on achieving
    product acceptance that will permit some price premium over
    less familiar brands. Long-range goals such as these are difficult
    to tie down to a concept of incremental profits that provides a
    definitive cut-off for advertising.
    Despite these limitations inherent in static economic analysis,
    the marginal approach to determination of outlay make a
    conceptual contribution of practical importance. Except for
    long-run investment advertising, it provides in concept a simple
    and definitive test of how much to spend and when to stop.
    As such it is useful as a guide in thinking about advertising
    appropriations and in determining what to shoot for in
    estimates – in short, in guiding empirical measurement. The
    fact that it manipulates esoteric functional relationships and
    assumes that the businessman has knowledge when he does
    not have it may restrict its immediate usefulness. But these very
    restrictions may broaden its future usefulness by raising the
    kind of questions that empirical research should try to answer.
    Practical applications in Direct Mail. Perhaps the most promising area for applying the marginal approach quantitatively is
    direct mail advertising. Here the distorting conditions that make
    it hard to find the marginal cost of advertising are often at a
    minimum. Keyed responses make it possible to trace a large
    part of the results directly to a specific advertisement. Quality of
    copy can be held constant (or manipulated independently) by
    sending the identical copy to large numbers of prospects. The
    cumulative effects of advertising are usually less troublesome,

    These conditions make it possible to establish a ladder of
    susceptibility by sampling measurements of marginal advertising cost, and to set up a stop-loss signal based on incremental
    profit. An outline of the way a publisher might determine the
    amount to spend on direct mail advertising in promoting a
    specific book will illustrate how the incremental approach can be
    applied quantitatively. In this sort of advertising,the procedure
    can be sketched by the following steps:
    1. Marshal the candidates for direct mailing in the form of
    mailing lists. These lists will vary in “quality”, i.e.,
    appropriateness for the particular book.
    2. Array the lists in a guessed ladder of susceptibility to direct
    mail advertising.
    3. Starting at the top of the ladder and working down, test each
    list by sending the promotional literature to an efficient
    sample of the list.
    4. Estimate the probable marginal advertising cost of each list
    by computing the ratio of (a) the added advertising cost of
    the mailings to (b) the sales obtained from the sample
    mailing s (e.g., for List A, 50 cents a copy).
    5. Estimate the incremental profit per copy. Roughly, it is the
    spread between price and incremental printing costs (e.g.,
    $1.00 a copy).
    6. Rearrange the sample lists in a new ladder in respect to the
    estimated marginal cost of advertising. Starting at the top,
    make full mailings to each list down to the rung where
    incremental profit just fails to cover estimated marginal
    advertising cost (e.g., stop at List M, where a marginal
    advertising cost of $1.00 a copy was indicated by the sample.

    Alternative Methods
    Having reviewed a theoretical foundation of selling cost analysis
    as applied to advertising, we turn now to the methods that are
    actually used to determine advertising outlays. Our central
    concern is with the philosophy underlying outlays. Our central
    concern is with the philosophy underlying the methods rather
    than with the mechanics of administrative controls. We shall
    use “budget” and “appropriation” interchangeable, though a
    distinction might be made between the long-range expenditure
    plan (budget) and the outlay authorized for a given year
    (appropriation). The words “expenditure” and “outlay” will,
    unless otherwise qualified, apply to future plans and will refer to
    the budget.
    As for the marginal approach reviewed in the preceding section,
    its impeccable logic provides a criterion for appraising the
    methods described in this section, even though its problems of
    application are at times insurmountable.
    Several alternative approaches to the problem of planning total
    advertising expenditures will be examined: 1. a fixed percentage
    of sales; 2. all you can afford; 3. whatever amount promises a
    better than specified return on investment; 4. the amount

    needed to attain advertising objectives; and 5. the amount
    needed to match competitors’ advertising.
    Percentage-of-sales Approach. Determination of the advertising
    budget as a percentage of past or expected sales is a method
    that was dominating in the past and is still widely used. A
    survey of budgeting practices of industrial users in 1939 made
    by the national Industrial Advertising Association and reported
    in the Sales management Handbook1
    1

    J. C. Aspley, Editor (Fifth Edition, Chicago, The Dartnell
    Corporation,1974) showed that 48% of the 383 respondent
    companies used some variant of the percentage-of-sales
    method. Neil H. Borden, in The Economic Effects on
    Advertising,2

    2 (Chicago, Richard D. Irwin, Inc. 1942), Chapter 25
    points out that of 215 companies advertising consumers’
    goods in 1935, 54% stated that their appropriations were a
    predetermined percentage of sales, either of the past year or
    of the year of the budget.
    The method has several variants: it can use either a fixed
    percentage of a percentage that varies with condition; it can be
    based either on historical or on projected sales; and it can be
    stated either in dollars or in physical volume
    This general approach to the problem is hard to support
    analytically. The purpose of advertising is to increase demand
    for the company’s products above what it would otherwise be.
    A stable or declining demand is not evidence that advertising is
    ineffective, for without it sales might have been even lower. It
    must be remembered that advertising is a cause, not a result, of
    sales. The amount to be spent in shifting the demand schedule
    should depend on how much the shift is worth. The volume
    of sales the company already has tells nothing about the cost or
    the worth of getting more.
    It would appear even less rational to base the budget on the
    volume of sales that the company expects to get. Sales will be
    the result in part of the level of national income and the
    accumulated effects of past advertising, not only of the
    advertising that is currently being decided on. To the extent, that
    sales are determined by forces other than current advertising, the
    criterion of expected sales is irrelevant. To the extent that they
    are determined by future advertising, the criterion is based on
    circular reasoning.
    How, then, can the widespread use of this method be explained? To some extent it may be due to top management’s
    desire for the certainty and the illusion of control that comes
    from relating this essentially discretionary element of expense in
    a systematic way to revenue. There is an element of safety in
    limiting advertising outlays in this manner, since expenditures
    are timed to come when the company has the gross revenue to
    afford them and when their tax effect may be favorable. But this
    element of safety could be better found, as in the marginal
    approach, by making advertising a function of expected profit,
    which normally fluctuates cyclically more violently than expected
    sales. If this method rests upon the belief that the added sales
    per dollar of advertising are higher when national income is
    high, it would be more logical to make advertising outlay vary
    directly with national income.

    79

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    and response lag is short enough so that cyclical changes do not
    cause important distortions. Finally, and perhaps most
    important, sectors or strata of prospects can be walled off and
    tapped separately.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Another possible explanation for the popularity of this
    method stems from competitive relationships. If all, or most,
    members of an industry used this method and employed the
    same percentage of sales, competitors’ advertising outlays
    would be roughly proportional to their market shares. This
    condition would have a restraining effect on competitive warfare
    in advertising, and would ease ulcers in peace-loving firms.
    Much advertising is essentially defensive anyhow.
    Thus, although the percentage-of-sales approach appears on its
    surface to have no logical justification, it has features that make
    it attractive: It provides a formula answer with an illusion of
    control; it permits the cyclical timing of outlay to fluctuate
    roughly with ability to pay; and it may tend toward competitive
    stabilization. But inertia and the lack of a more logical and
    equally definitive standard are probably the most important
    explanations for the popularity of this essentially mechanistic
    method.
    All-you-can-afford Approach. An approach to the determination of the advertising budget, which is probably more widely
    used than most executives would admit is for a company to
    spend on advertising all that it can afford. In practice, this
    amount is sometimes a predetermined share of the profits,
    though sometimes it is gauged by the amount of liquid
    resources and borrowable funds. The result of this policy is that
    advertising is often the first expenditure to go because it does
    not involve long forward commitments and does not disrupt
    the organization so much as other major curtailments, and
    because long-term results are less tangible than the results of
    other kinds of outlay.
    At first blush this method seems to make no sense at all, yet on
    further analysis it appears that the effects of advertising outlays
    upon profits and liquidity are important considerations in
    setting outer limits for advertising. These limits may prove to
    be beyond the range of profitable advertising outlays (e.g., for a
    producer of power plant apparatus), but they are often well
    within it. In any event, these limits ought to be staked out.
    Normally a time lag occurs between advertising outlay and sales
    results. Even if the advertising outlays bring highly profitable
    results ultimately, financial embarrassment may develop if
    short-term cash and credit limits are ignored – especially if the
    time lag of response is long. The limit of what a company can
    afford ought to be set ultimately by the availability of outside
    funds. The firm’s resources in this sense set a real limit on
    advertising outlay. However, the mere existence of a limit is no
    reason for shooting at it. It may be far above the amount of
    advertising that is profitable.
    The effect of advertising outlay upon the company’s earnings
    statement is also a valid factor in timing. Even though an added
    thousand dollars of advertising brings a smaller increment of
    sales and profits at a profits peak, it may be justified because the
    government pays 45% or more of the outlay, and because a
    lower earnings figure is often more respectable at such times.
    Corporate income taxes favor concentration of advertising at
    cyclical peaks and penalize attempts to accumulate advertising
    reserves to be spent in depressions. One reason is that future
    tax rates are quite likely to be higher in prosperity than in
    depression, and the carry-back and carry-forward provisions of
    80

    the law are probably inadequate to remove this tax incentive for
    bunching of expenditure. Moreover, Section 102 discourages
    retention of earnings for future depression advertising. The vast
    amount of money spent during the Second World War in
    advertising unavailable civilian products showed the widespread
    acceptance of the philosophy of relating advertising outlays to
    profits, with a weather eye on their tax effects3
    3 See Jerome D. Scott, “Advertising When Buying is Restricted,”
    Harvard Business Review, Vol. XXI, No.4 (Summer 1943), pp.
    443 – 454.
    Union negotiations and public opinion also frequently make it
    embarrassing to show high profits in prospecrity; hence timing
    advertising outlays to manipulate reported earnings makes
    sense as a modification of a strictly marginal approach. Considered purely as a capital investment in distant-future benefits,
    It may be desirable from the viewpoint of capital budgeting to
    limit advertising outlay of an earnings plow-back nature to
    some fixed proportion of current earnings. Over the cycle this
    method would lead to advertising outlays that fluctuate
    violently, for a company’s profit cycle normally has much greater
    amplitude than its sales cycle. It might lead to unprofitable
    curtailment in hard times.
    Used uncritically, the all-you-can-afford approach is unsatisfactory, largely because there is no relation between liquidity and
    the richness of advertising opportunities. If another $1,000 of
    advertising will bring in $2,000 of added profits, is hard to say
    that it cannot be afforded. A management that limits advertising to liquid funds or to percentages of profits is probably
    overspending at some times and foregoing money-making
    opportunities at others.
    The all-you-can-afford method, however, is helpful in some
    ways in determining the advertising appropriation. (1) It
    produces a fairly defensible cyclical timing of that part of
    advertising outlay that has cumulative, long-run effects. (2)
    when marginal effectiveness of advertising can be guessed, it
    budgets well for firms operating effectiveness of advertising can
    be guessed, it budgets well for firms operating short of the
    point where incremental advertising costs and profits are equal.
    (3) When nothing can be known about the effects of advertising, it sets a reasonable limit on the gamble. Actually, everything
    above a respectable return on capital might be spent on
    advertising, since excess earnings could be considered to have
    low utility to management compared with the possible
    contribution of continuous advertisng toward eternal life for
    the firm.
    Return-on-investment Approach. Advertising has two effects:
    (1) It increases sales today. (2) It builds goodwill to increase
    sales tomorrow. The first involves primarily problems of
    selecting the optimum output rate for maximizing short-run
    profits. The second involves selection of the pattern for
    investment of capital funds that will produce the best scale of
    production and maximum long-run profits. Thus, another
    approach is to treat advertising primarily as a capital investment
    rather than as a current expense. Determination of the amount
    of advertising then becomes a problem of capital expenditure
    budgeting Advertising investment must compete for funds

    Although each piece of advertising affects both immediate sales
    and the long-run goodwill structure, the relative importance of
    the two effects can vary widely. At one end of the spectrum is
    institutional advertising, with a long time lag and untraceable
    effects – e. g., using radio programs featuring symphony
    concerts. This is almost pure capital investment. At the other
    end is advertising of special sales events by retail establishments. Such advertising usually has only a small element of
    capital investment. Metrical separation of these two components is probably impossible. Interaction makes the problem
    even more complex since the level of the reservoir of cumulative goodwill modifies the efficiency of advertising directed at
    immediate sales. The only possibility, and that a slim one, is to
    use multiple correlation analysis4
    4 See Sydney Hollander, Jr., “A Rationale for Advertising
    Expenditures,” Harvard Business Review, Vol.XXVII, No.1,
    (January 1949), p 79.
    The timing of advertising over the years resulting from a
    return-on-investment approach differs unpredictably among
    companies. The pattern depends on the philosophy of
    budgeting and on the prospective profitability of capital
    expenditures that vie with advertising for funds. Only if the
    prospective return on institutional advertising has sharp cyclical
    fluctuations will anything but an accidental cyclical pattern evolve
    from this criterion alone. This may be unimportant in some
    cases, where the lag in response is long and diffused. But
    dimming memories and the incursions of rivals usually
    dissipate the goodwill built by advertising through evaporation
    or run-off. This is particularly dangerous when costs of reentering lost markets are high. Hence a part of the advertising
    investment problem is to find what rate of current expenditure
    is required to offset this deterioration and to maintain the level
    of this goodwill reservoir. Thus concept analogous to plant
    replacement operates in estimating return on advertising
    investment.
    The chief deficiency of the return-on-investment approach is
    the difficulty of even guessing at the rate of return on advertising investments. Problems of distinguishing investment
    advertising from outlays for immediate effect; problems of
    estimating the evaporation of the cumulative effects of
    advertising; and, most important, problems of measuring the
    effect of advertising accumulation on long-run sales volume
    and on the possibility of eventual price premiums all conspire
    to make the return on advertising investments highly conjectural.
    These measurement difficulties rule out this approach as a sole
    criterion for budgeting investment-type advertising, but they do
    not invalidate the investment approach itself. For other kinds
    of investment, e.g., research laboratories and department store
    escalators, it is equally impossible to estimate the return
    precisely. Yet few would, for this reason, kick out such items
    from the capital expenditure budget. Institutional and cumulative advertising should be analyzed in the intellectual setting of
    the capital budget, viz., long-range strategic and profit objectives, competition of alternative investments for limited

    company funds, and balancing of risks against prospective
    return on investment in rationing capital. This kind of investment perspective should be an integral part of an intelligent
    approach to the advertising budget.
    Objective-and-task Approach. The Second World War brought
    to prominence the objective-and-task method of determining
    the advertising appropriation. On the basis of a postwar survey,
    Printers’ Ink of December 28, 1946, concluded what this was
    the most widely used method. The popularity of this approach
    during the war apparently came partly from the need to justify
    advertising expenditures as business expenses (for purposes of
    taxes and contracts) during a period when a low percentage of
    civilian goods sales would support only trivial outlays.
    Under this approach the advertising budget is the amount
    estimated to be required to attain predetermined objectives. The
    orthodox procedure involves an impeccable and highly salable
    sequence of steps: (1) define the objectives; and (3) determine
    the cost of accomplishing these tasks.5
    5 For a complete and thoughtful treatment of this approach,
    see A. H. Haase, The Advertising Appropriation (New York:
    Harper and Brothers,1931)
    The cost so determined is the advertising appropriation.
    An “ objective,” as used in this procedure, is properly stated as a
    change: the difference between results with the advertising and
    results without it. The objective usually applies to the coming
    year’s sales, although it may refer to invasion of a specific market
    or the establishment of distribution outlets. In this respect the
    actual advance that this method represents over the percentageof-sales criterion may easily be overestimated. In general practice
    the sales-volume objective is based on the preceding year’s
    volume. Expected changes in business conditions, competitors’
    actions, and so forth, are then considered as a basis for deriving
    the current year’s outlay from the preceding year’s outlay.
    Some companies fall back on intermediate objectives such as
    establishing brand familiarity or preferences, promoting
    applications of the product, or simply broadcasting the sales
    message. Many such “objectives” simply list the roles of
    advertising in the broader merchandising scheme without
    referring to specific sales effects. For example, a recent study for
    the Association of National Advertisers reports the advertising
    goals of the Armstrong Cork Company as keeping the
    company’s name before customers and attracting the attention
    of those who are not buying now by: (a) providing salesmen an
    access to prospects, (b) making prospects easier to sell to, (c)
    publicizing the Armstrong name, and (d) carrying the sales
    message beyond the range of personal coverage.6
    6 Paul H. Nystrom, Editor, Marketing Handbook (New York,
    The Ronald Press Company, 1948), p.1235
    Nobody can quarrel with thinking through goals of advertising
    as completely as possible, since it contributes to better copy and
    media policy. But this kind of analysis of “objectives” contributes nothing to determining the size of the advertising
    appropriation. For that purpose objectives must be expressed
    so that they are measurable and costable, e.g., a 10% increase in
    sales next year over what they would have been without this
    advertising.

    81

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    with other kinds of internal investment on the basis of
    prospective rate of return.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    In its bald form, the objective-and-task approach begs the
    question. The important problem is to measure the value of
    objectives and to determine whether they are worth the
    probable cost of attaining them. In other words, what intensity
    of demand (i.e., what position and shape of demand schedule)
    is an economically sound objective? The objective and-task
    method method assumes that the candle is always worth the
    cost. In many cases the high marginal productivity of advertising (up to the limit of the money available) bails out the
    advertiser, but his good fortune does not make his basic
    thinking any clearer.
    After valuing and costing legitimate objectives, the next and
    vital step is either to cut back or to expand plans in the light of
    these prospective costs. In this form – since the objectives are
    reshaped and really determined by the cost of attaining them,
    rather than vice versa – the approach has the virtue of sharpening issues and directing research and planning into relevant
    channels.
    When an objective has been defined so that the task can be
    stated in terms of costs, the problem is in a form that is
    appropriate for analysis either by the marginal approach or the
    investment approach. Objectives in terms of near-future sales
    volume can be expressed as the marginal advertising cost
    function in Exhibit I, while specific long-run objectives can be
    viewed as investments to be built into the capital budget on a
    rate-of-return basis. For instance, if the objective is to get mass
    volume for a new product at a premium price, the task of
    advertising is to establish and maintain the corresponding
    brand preference; the budgeting problem is to determine the
    relation between the necessary initial and continuing outlays and
    the resulting level of price-Premium, and to compare the
    premium profits with the required investment in advertising.
    To sum up, the objective-and-task approach, using a straightforward sequence of attack that is good for any business problem,
    tends to beg the question when it is not carried the whole way.
    The economic problem is to determine what objectives are
    worth the cost of attaining them. This cost can sometimes be
    predicted, but the value of attaining objectives can rarely be
    measured. This general method can, however, be extended into
    highly promising experimental and marginal approaches.
    Through such approaches objectives can be reformed in the
    light of costs. Economic tasks can thus be adapted to the
    peculiar goals and situations of individual companies and nicely
    integrated with other elements in the company’s marketing
    plan. But the objective-and-task method is a budgeting method
    only because it is called one; what it actually does is frame
    problems for solution.
    Competitive-parity Approach. The essence of the competitiveparity approach is to base in some systematic way the company’s
    advertising outlay on the outlays of other members of the
    industry. Specifically, the company’s percentage of total competitive advertising might be made equal to its share of the market.
    (A variant, which is quite different conceptually, is to spend as
    much as necessary to retain a desired market share).
    This method of budgeting is widely used, and it finds some
    support in the writing of practitioners. The defensive nature of
    a large proportion of advertising outlay, designed to check the
    82

    inroads of troublemakers, may account for the method’s
    popularity. For example, in the antitrust case against the big
    three tobacco companies, the explanation advanced by American
    and by Liggett & Myers for following the lead of Reynolds in a
    1931 price advance was that the revenue was needed to match
    Reynolds’s increased advertising.7
    7 American Tobacco Company v. United States, 328 U.S. 805
    (1946)
    The approach appears at first to have slim warrant in principle.
    What competitors spend on advertising does not tell a firm
    how much it can spend to make added benefits just equal the
    added costs. The size of this optimum outlay is affected by
    rivals’ advertising, since competitors’ advertising influences the
    productivity (incremental cost) of the firm’s advertising. But it
    cannot be determined by merely matching competitors’
    appropriation. Hence what rivals choose to spend does not in
    itself provide any valid measure of what the firm’s advertising
    budget should be.
    The parity approach is sometimes defended on the grounds
    that the advertising percentages of competitors represent the
    combined wisdom of the industry. This argument assumes
    that rivals know what they are doing and that their goals are the
    same as the firm’s. Actually, since great differences normally exist
    among competitors in the ratio of advertising to sales, the
    industry average is often relatively meaningless. Consider, for
    example, this breakdown of an industry average that appeared
    in Printers’ Ink of February 8, 1947: out of seven companies
    one devoted 9% of sales to advertising; one devoted 3%; three
    devoted 2% and two devoted 1%.
    No correlation appeared between outlay and size of firm in this
    breakdown. Further analysis revealed that the smallest firm,
    which was one of the heaviest advertisers, was bent on a
    program of aggressive expansion; one of the concerns that
    spent 2% manufactured only a restricted line and had no
    ambition to grow; the largest concern was well established and
    was making a very satisfactory showing with an expenditure of
    only 3%. This case illustrates the limitations of an industry
    average as a tool for determining outlay, in that companies differ
    in objectives, brand maturity, and marketing methods. It also
    suggests the advantages of knowing rivals’ objectives and
    competitive situations as well as their advertising outlays.
    Another difficulty is that, to the extent that this rationale is valid
    the future and not the past advertising outlays of rivals should
    constitute the standard. Usually these outlays cannot be
    determined soon enough or with enough accuracy to be useful
    in planning appropriations.
    Advocates of parity advertising claim that it safeguards against
    advertising wars that can be started when other methods are
    used to determine outlay. Parity advertising may thus play a role
    analogous to that of price leadership in preventing price wars.
    But degenerative retaliation in advertising is much less likely
    relation to output, being a cause rather than a result of sales.
    In many situations an economically logical approach becomes a
    bit mystical, because the relevant considerations for deciding
    how much to advertise are not measurable and visceral guesses
    have to take their place. Under these circumstances rival meth-

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    ods have an attractively solid appearance because their criteria,
    though not strictly relevant, are nevertheless tangible.
    Viewed against the logical background of marginal analysis,
    most of the methods that are actually used to decide on the
    advertising appropriation seem to have no economic foundation. The fixed-percentage-of-sales methods gets the cart before
    the horse; advertising outlays should cause sales, not be
    determined by them. The all-you-can-afford method reflects a
    blind faith in advertising, which, though occasionally rewarding,
    is nevertheless a confession of ignorance. The objective-andtask approach, though it sounds plausible, stumbles before it
    starts over the obstacle of not determining whether the
    objective sought is economically worth attaining. The competitive-parity method represents a narrow goal not usually tailored
    to the company’s full needs. And the investment approach,
    while conceptually sound in recognizing the time dimension of
    advertising and its rivalry with alternative capital expenditures, is
    hard to nail down with empirical data.
    The difficult problem in applying economic analysis to advertising is to find the empirical equivalents of the theoretical curves.
    The deep uncertainty surrounding the productivity of advertising is perhaps the origin of such methods as percentage-of-sales
    and objective-and-task. But whatever rationale these methods
    may one have had, their basic weakness is that they hide rather
    than highlight the economic issues in the advertising problem.
    Despite its limitations, economic analysis can be helpful in
    reaching a better decision on the amount of advertising by
    focusing attention on the relevant (even though unmeasurable)
    relationships as opposed to the irrelevant (but measurable)
    ones. Though the complete theoretical solution of the advertising problem is too complex for practical use, manageable
    approximations may sometimes be feasible. Quite a few things
    unmeasurable ten or twenty years ago are susceptible to such
    approximation in 1951.

    Notes

    83

    UNIT – 3
    LESSON 16:UNDERSTANDING MESSAGE STRATEGY
    UNIT – 3
    MESSAGE & COPY IN
    ADVERTISEMENTS

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the different ways of
    reaching out to your target audience via the message route.

    You will understand the various elements that make up the
    copy of an advertisement.

    The answer to these questions is given by marketing research
    and by the advertiser and his agency. The creativity of the agency
    matters most here.
    Thus there are tonics in the market, for the aged and for the
    persons recovering from illness. There is a set of tonics for
    children and expectant mothers. There are haematinic tonics of
    iron for anaemic individuals. Incremin, a pleasantly flavored
    tonic containing Lysine – a growth factor from Lederle has been
    promoted as ‘ a tonic for growing –up children’ to stimulate
    their growth in terms of height. The visual of a giraffe eating
    leaves off a tall tree, emphasing its tall neck re-enforces the
    concept of growth. Incremin found a strong vacant position
    and just sat on it- the tonic for growing children.
    Walter Mendez, the Creative Director of Clarion made a
    landmark campaign of Maggie 2- minutes Noodle a positioned
    as any time snack, good to eat and fast, to cook aimed at
    children to begin with.

    Marketing, Design and Marketing
    Objectives
    As we have seen, the message is an idea. Along with perhaps
    other relevant information – attitudes, image etc. meant for the
    intended target.
    So at last you might say we have come to the creative part of the
    ad campaign. The print ad appears in the media. The broadcast
    ad goes on air. Prior to that, we have to decide what we have to
    say, and then how do we say that. The ‘what’ part is the design
    of the message, and the ‘how’ part is the development of the
    message, and includes its execution as well.

    Message Design and Positioning
    Our advertising message consists of the idea together with
    other relevant information. The idea spots the uniqueness of
    the product to win a place in the consumer mind. It is easier
    said than done. Message design identifies the consumer’s
    perceptions about the products. The following question gives a
    good insight.
    1. What is the nature of the product: its generic category.
    2. For whom it is meant: the segment.
    3. What are the special characteristics of the product? How is
    the consumer going to be benefited?
    4. Who are the competitors? What is their promise?
    5. Is the product different from the other available products?
    How? Is it a technological breakthrough?
    6. On which occasions will the product be used? How often?
    7. What would you like your consumer to perceive this brand
    as? What position would it take?

    The audience sets the agenda of marketing objectives. The
    objectives tend to vary with audience. When we communicate
    with consumers, the objectives could be:
    1. Passing on information
    2. Create brand awareness
    3. Incite them to act, i.e., to purchase the product
    4. Confirm the legitimacy of their choice after the purchase is
    made.
    The objectives when we communicate with the trade could be:
    1. To induce them to stock the product
    2. To push the product on- the-counter
    3. To provide strategic shelf-space to the product.
    The objectives when we communicate with manufactures could
    be:
    1. To make them buy our raw material
    2. To convince them about rational product benefits
    3. To convince them about cost aspects.
    The messages are designed keeping the marketing objectives in
    mind. The consumer profile in terms of their education,
    interests, experience also has a bearing on message design. The
    consumers must understand the message.

    Gap between Copywriter and His
    Audience
    The vast majority of our products are not sold to people with a
    high standard of education and an up-market background.

    84

    Appeals
    In order to attract the attention and create interest of the target
    audience, markers make use of several appeals – appeal to the
    basic needs, social needs and psychological needs of the
    audience. At the end the ads provoke the consumer to act- to
    buy the product. The discussion on different kinds of appeals
    has been postponed to a subsequent chapter.

    Advertising Message Structure
    Advertising communication effectiveness not only depends on
    the message content, though it is no doubt an important
    component, but on its structure as well. The important aspects
    of message structure are: Drawing conclusions, repetition, one
    –versus- two-sided arguments, and the order of presentation.
    We shall discuss them in detail one by one.

    (i) Drawing Conclusion
    The question often raised is whether definite conclusions
    should be drawn for the audience in the ad for quick under-

    The following points are to be kept in mind while communicating with the audience:
    1. Instead of building a wall around the product, the message
    should create a bridge to the target audience by being
    persuasive.
    2. Arouse the audience, and give it a reason for listening to you.
    3. Make use of question to involve the audience.
    4. Use familiar words and build up points of interest.
    5. Use specific and concrete words.
    6. Repeat key points.
    7. Convince the audience by sticking to facts.
    8. Empathize with your audience.
    9. Use rhyme and rhythm, for instance when Waterbury’s
    compound is advertised they say ‘when vitality is low,
    Waterbury’s brings back the glow.’
    10.Make use of Zeigarnik effect, i.e., leave the message
    incomplete, where the audience is provoked to complete and
    close it by pondering over it.
    11.Ask the audience to draw conclusions.
    12.Let them know the implications of these conclusions.

    Message Presentation
    Messages are to be structured keeping the objective of the
    communication and the audience in view. Messages are represented either centrally or peripherally. A central message takes a
    direct route to persuasion. It is a well – documented ad. It
    compares advantages and disadvantages of a product. This
    central presentation provokes active cognitive information
    processing. Voltas refrigerators incorporating rational appeals is
    an example. These ads are consistent with the self- image of the
    respondents.
    Peripheral presentation provides pleasant association, scenic
    background, and favorable inferences about the product.
    These are distinct, rational and emotional appeal ads. The
    rational ads appeal to logic, give straightforward facts and
    figures. The emotional appeal ads make use emotional and
    symbolic clues, e.g., an ad for a fire extinguisher. It is seen
    however that most ads are a bend of rational and emotional
    message. This has been discussed again in detail in the subsequent lessons on appeals.

    standing or should they be left to them. In many instances, it is
    best to let the receivers of the promotion message draw their
    own conclusions. Such consumers feel that the message which
    draws a conclusion is over-aggressive and an attempt at
    forcefully influencing their choice. Moreover, since conclusion
    drawing at best assists in an easy comprehension of facts and
    not in the process of attitudinal change, it will not affect very
    much the persuasive quality of ads that aim at a change in
    attitude. When the issuer involved is simple and the audience.
    It does not add anything extra to the persuasive quality of the
    advertisement. Moreover, if the communicator is perceived to
    be unworthy, the receiver may resent the attempt on his part to
    draw a conclusion for him and influence his choice. When the
    issue is highly personal, the audience may resent the
    communicator’s interference in drawing a conclusion. A typical
    example of this is the recent ad campaign sponsored by the
    PoultryFarm Association in Gujarat, promoting the use of eggs
    among vegetarians. Eggs from the poultry farms were given a
    new name the “Veggs” and recommended for consumption in
    that segment of society which is fully vegetarian. Since this
    touches a highly personal issue concerning religious attitudes,
    the ad was resented, and much criticism was published against it
    in the Reader’s Opinion column in popular dailies. Thus, even
    though promoters sought the sale of the product in a new
    segment by drawing specific conclusions, these were not
    accepted, but rather resented. However, conclusion drawing is
    favored where the product is a complex or specialized one. The
    Farex baby food ad, starting with a sensational headline: “ Your
    baby is born with a 3- month gift of iron. After 3 months, milk
    alone cannot give him the iron he needs.” The ad closes with
    the conclusion: “Doctors recommend Farex. Baby’s ideal solid
    food for rapid all- round growth.” A long body copy goes on
    to explain that Farex is ideal baby solid food.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Quinn in Secrets of Successful Copywriting says: “these
    products are sold to people with few pretensions to higher
    education and who wouldn’t recognize a literary allusion it leapt
    up and announced itself. Where the copywriter is literate, they
    have little or no interest in syntax or grammar; where he is
    imaginative, they are earthy; where he is enthusiastic, they are
    different. This is the great schism. It is the happy few copywriters who can adroitly leap over this gap.”

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    ii. Repetition
    Repeating an ad message is often beneficial, for it develops a
    continuity of impression in the minds of the target audience,
    and may increase the predisposition to think and act favorably
    towards the products advertised. Everything else being equal, a
    repeated message increases awareness and knowledge on the
    part of the prospect. Audience retention improves with
    repetition, and falls off quickly when repetition is abandoned.
    The relationship of repetition and advertising effectiveness has
    been dealt with in detail in the chapter on “Advertising Effectiveness.”
    iii. One –versus- two-sided Communication
    This raises the question whether the advertiser should only
    praise the product or should also mention some of its
    shortcomings. The most common approach in sales and
    advertising is a one-sided approach. However, on deep analysis,
    it is found that one-sided messages tend to work best with the
    audiences that are initially favourably predisposed to the claims
    made in the ad message. Two- sided arguments go well when
    audiences have an unfavorable opinion about the
    communicator’s position. Also, a two- sided message tends to
    be more effective with educated audiences capable of sound
    reasoning, particularly when they are exposed to counter
    propaganda. A two-sided communication produces the greatest
    attitude change when people are opposed to the point of view
    presented. Also, a two-sided communication is effective in
    maintaining the belief level against a counter-attack by competitors. However, it is the single-side communication that is
    commonly used, for it is difficult for the advertiser to refer to
    the product’s shortcoming and still effectively persuade
    prospects to buy it.
    iv. Comparative Advertising (CA)
    Here a product is directly or indirectly compared with a competitive product to show the advertised product to advantage. This
    trend has been seen more and more in some recent campaigns,
    especially when new brands in parallel categories are springing
    up at a rapid rate. Most prominent among these have been the
    Pepsi, Salvon, Captain Cook Salt and Pepsodent and Colgate
    campaigns. The recent Rin-and-a-look-alike-Ariel campaign is
    also a pointer. Pepsi was branded by Thums Up as gulabjamun-like or as a drink kept out in the rain. When coke took
    over Thums Up, Pepsi retaliated by calling it Thoke. There are
    hits and counter hits in this game. Captain Cook, the freeflowing salt has been compared to Tata salt that is moist
    enough to stick. In fact, Captain Cook has translated its
    technological superiority into product superiority. Whisper
    sanitary napkins have also been introduced on comparative
    grounds of absorbance. The ultimate aim here is to create brand
    distinction. While doing so, the competitive product should
    not denigrate. Besides, there is no end to competitive advertising. In car marketing, we see Hyundai Santro campaign directly
    never compare itself to No. 2. Instead, compare ads are usually a
    tool for a smaller brand trying to build business. Continued
    warfare in ads gets boring for consumers. ASCI, specifies that
    comparative advertising (CA) – direct and implied – is permissible if the aspects of products compared are clear; comparisons
    do not confer artificial advantages on the advertiser; it is factual,

    86

    substantial; the consumer is unlikely to be misled; there is no
    unfair denigration of the competing product. In the USA the
    Federal Trade Commission encourages truthful non-deceptive
    CA. In UK, CA is permissible if it is objective, relevant, and
    verifiable.
    Negative Advertising

    “Studies conducted by O & M found that commercials which
    name competing brands are less believable and more confusing
    than commercials which don’t. There is a tendency for viewers
    to come away with the impression that the brand which you
    disparage is the hero of your commercial.” – David Ogilvy, in
    Ogilvy on Advertising.
    Unless there is a definitive plus it is not advisable to disparage
    the other brand. Even definitive plus is no guarantee that the
    disparaged brand will not be taken as the hero of the commercial.

    v. Order of Presentation
    Whether to put the strongest argument first or last in the
    advertiser’s presentation is equally important. Sometimes this is
    considered a part of copywriting strategy. In a one-sided
    argument, it is advisable to present the strongest point first, for
    it will result in better attention and interest. This is done with
    the objective of achieving the primary effect. However, when an
    audience necessarily required a two-sided communication, it is
    better, at least initially, to start with the other side’s argument
    and slowly disarm the audience which is opposed to the
    communicator’s position, and the to conclude the message with
    the strongest argument.

    Copy of Ads in Print
    The most Important Copy Element is the Headline
    Idea
    If the headline idea fails to attract the prospect to the message
    and the product, the remaining parts of the ad are wasted. The
    ad copy may be a word-message, or it may have pictures with a
    short message or a slogan. The words and pictures should be
    complementary to each other. However, since pictures get better
    attention than the words in the headline above or below the
    picture, we invariably have ads in print with picture, sketches,
    illustrations and visual symbols. Moreover, a dramatic or
    provocative picture or photograph can effectively create an
    emotional or tragic scene, and thus become a good grabber of
    the prospects’ attention. Many copywriters use both pictures
    and words to put across their creative ideas.

    Last, but not the least, it may be mentioned here that the
    closing idea in an ad copy is as important as closing the sale in
    personal selling. Since an ad is a one-way communication, it
    should be closed with enough information and motivation for
    the buyer to act. There are varying types of closing an idea “call
    to action,” “buy now,” “visit today our dealer/ stockist,”
    “announcement of festival discount,” “send enquiries immediately to,” etc.

    Long Copy versus Short Copy

    A perfectly worded headline can create the required excitement, a
    sensational” scene most appealing to prospects. Headlines may
    be in many forms – they may be questions, news flashes, and
    statements from celebrities, warnings and appeals. There is no
    right or wrong length or form for an effective headline. Each
    headline must relate clearly and specifically to the intended
    audience and to the rest of the advertisement, highlighting the
    product features and its USP.

    After the Headline Come the Sub-heads
    If the headline has already rightly suggested the product’s value
    to the consumers, the job of the sub-head is easier. Sub-heads
    should further carry the idea of theme and should help readers
    to have more knowledge of the product and services, for they
    (subheads) generally expand or amplify the headline idea. One
    of the ads of F AREX, a baby food item, has its headline:
    “Your baby is born with a 3-months’ gift of iron.” The
    supportive sub-heads say; “After 3 months, milk alone cannot
    give him the iron he needs. Give him Farex enriched with iron.”
    The headline has highlighted the problem of necessarily giving
    iron to the baby 3 months after its birth; and the sub-head
    suggests that the product, Farex, which is enriched with iron, is
    the right solution of the problem. Several such examples may
    be given of the headline and its supportive subheads.
    After the Sub-head Comes the Body Copy
    It stimulates liking and preference for a product; it systematically
    develops the benefits and promise offered by the product,
    explains, logically and rationally, product attributes, features and
    product values, and gives convincing arguments in favor of, and
    evidence in support of, the claims made about the superiority
    of the advertised product. In the body copy, both emotional
    and rational reasons are put forward to persuade consumers to
    buy a particular brand. Facts and figures about the product, its
    test results, testimonials, guarantees of satisfactory performance, and a reference list of customer patronizing the product
    all these are given in the body copy, depending upon the nature
    of the product, the market and competition. Emotional
    appeals are generally useful when advertising “convenience or
    style goods” rather than consumer durables. A rational appeal is
    appropriate for industrial goods. Due care should be exercised

    A long copy looks impressive, and more details can be presented in it to the reader. But readers may not often like, or have
    the time to read, the lengthy body copy of an ad unless the
    headline is so attractive and persuasive that they automatically
    begin to read it. Abram Games advocates ‘maximum meaning,
    minimum words.’ A short copy may not be fully communicative at times. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that either the short
    or the long copy enables us to make the right approach in an ad.
    It should come sentence by sentence to fulfill the promise made
    in the headline.
    The length of the body copy should be just enough for you to
    say all that has been promised in the headline. Nothing more
    and nothing less. Sometimes you communicate better by
    writing short copy instead of being verbose. Our body copy
    should contain the required reasoning to convince the customers to spend their money on our product. The appeals may be
    both objective and emotional. We should always be able to
    make the right emotional appeal.
    .
    Copywriting for newspaper ads is different from copywriting
    for magazine ads because the newspaper has a different editorial
    environment. Moreover, it is mainly filled with news, facts,
    information and local gossip, and is hardly read for entertainment. It is primarily a source of news and information. It is not
    read the way your favorite magazine is read. The copy of a
    newspaper ad is generally short; it has a high impact headline,
    which mostly concentrates on one strong selling idea.
    Newspaper ads are generally placed in. a particular place in the
    classified columns, on the sports page, the investment page, etc.
    The copy of such ads has to be different from that of magazine
    ads even for the same product; you have to tie up your copy
    with the current news event. For example, when Asiad ’82 was
    held, first newspaper ads had copy based on this great sports
    event. Again, when the first satellite was launched, many
    companies released newspaper ads mentioning their association
    with such a great national event by Way of supplying their’
    products and services to make it a success. When a national or
    international exhibition is held, companies do participate by
    exhibiting their products, and to synchronize with the inauguration of this great extent, companies release newspaper ads
    saying: “Meet us at CHEMTECH ’82, Pavilion No.4, Hall-2.”
    Many examples can be given to drive home the point that the
    copy of a newspaper ad has to be different from that of the
    magazine ad even for the same product, the same unique selling
    proposition (USP) and even the same appeal – objective or
    emotional.
    87

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    while handling emotional appeals; if over done, there is the
    possibility that the entire credibility of the ad message would be
    lost.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Now let us discuss the different types of copy. Below are giver
    the different types of copy; you must visualize an advertisement
    as you go along.

    Comparative copy here two brands are compared either in
    good light or in a way to belittle the other. The cola war can
    be an excellent example of this type.

    Scientific copy (Technical specifications are specified. E.g. High
    involvement goods or durable goods or industrial goods.)

    Advertorial is a newspaper or magazine feature that appears
    to be edited but is really an ad.

    Descriptive copy: In a non-technical manner, the product
    attributes are described. The copy uses direct active sentences.
    There are short and pithy sentences. It looks very
    commonplace announcement.

    Narrative copy: Here a fictional story is narrated. The benefits
    of the product emerge from the story. Maybe, the narrative is
    humorous. Or else, it has strong appeal. It should make an
    imprint on our memory.

    Intentional copy comes about when advertisers copy
    elements from rival creatives in the same product category in
    order to create dissonance with a view to secure competitive
    foothold, e.g. Liril Vs Cinthol ads both emphasizing lime
    freshness.

    Disruptive copy comes about when there is a disruption in
    the way of thinking or conventional thinking.

    Colloquial copy: Here informal conversational language is
    used to convey the message. It could even become a
    dialogue. In many TV advertisements, we find the colloquial
    copy.

    Humorous copy: Humor has been heavily used in
    advertising-especially in TV commercials. It is just as heavily
    suspect. But effective humor makes the advertisement
    noticeable.

    Topical copy comes about when a copy is integrated to a
    recent happening or event. Especially during the world cup
    days, you had ads like – ‘Britannia Khao, World Cup Jao’.

    Endorsement copy here a product is endorsed by an opinion
    leader who has a large following. I shall be discussing this at
    length in a later lecture.

    Questioning Copy: In this copy, several questions are put
    forward not to seek answers but to emphasize a certain
    attribute.

    Prestige Copy The product is not directly advertised. Only a
    distinguished and favorable atmosphere is created for the
    sale of the product. The copy is used to build an image.

    “Reason Why” Copy It is known as an explanatory copy
    where the reasons for a purchase are explained. Each reason
    illustrates a particular attribute, and its benefit to the
    consumer. One attribute may be chosen and repeated for
    several times, each time an occasion is given to justify it.

    Creative Plan and Copy Strategy
    • Creative platform is a document that outlines
    the message strategy decisions for an individual
    ad.
    • Creative platforms combine the basic
    advertising decisions – problems, objectives,
    and target markets – with the critical elements
    of the sales message strategy – main idea and
    details about how the idea will be executed.

    Creative Plan and Copy Strategy
    Message
    Message Strategies
    Strategies

    Generic
    Generic
    Strategy
    Strategy

    Creative
    Creative
    Strategy
    Strategy

    Information
    Information
    Strategy
    Strategy

    Lessons in Copy

    88

    Wordless Advertisements: There are at times billboards with
    only an inscription like Amul. Otherwise they are totally
    wordless. Wordless advertising is an example of non-verbal
    communication (NVC) and are pictorially.

    Crafting
    Anything that is relevant and readable is read – whether short or
    long. Body-copy needs as much attention as the headline.
    Targeting

    Advertising: Conversations with Masters of the Craft (1990),
    Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books, p. 48.

    Long Vs. Short Copy
    Copies are addressed to a right target audience. Most good
    copies are designed as if they were meant for a single prospect.
    Write to the Point
    Who likes a lingering copy? It is not advisable to beat around
    the bush. We have to get to the point.
    Copy Style
    Copywriting is a versatile art. A copy can be written in the style
    of a personal talk, a story or a novel. In fact, asking an aspiring
    copywriter to convert a photograph using different copy styles is
    a good test.

    – Aldous Huxley (1923), British author, quoted in Robert
    Andrews, The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, 1993,
    New York, NY: Columbia University Press, p. 18.

    Personal Presentation
    A copywriter has to go and sell his work to the client rather than
    relying on anyone else. Be Proud of the Ad
    Any creation of yours deserves your best. Red Smith expects a
    copywriter to sit at the typewriter till little drops of blood
    appear on his forehead.
    (Adapted from Arun Kolhatkar’s Tips to Rahill Dacunha)
    “Quote-Unquote what few stalwarts have to say about
    copywriting.”
    • “I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it
    takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one.”
    – Leo Burnett, quoted in 100 LEO’s, Chicago, IL: Leo
    Burnett Company, p. 53.
    • “I have always believed that writing advertisements is the
    second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course,
    is ransom notes . . . .”
    – Philip Dusenberry, quoted in Eric Clark, The Want Makers:
    Inside the World of Advertising, 1988, New York: Penguin
    Books, p. 56.
    • “I think central to good writing of advertising, or anything
    else, is a person who has developed an understanding of
    people, an insight into them, a sympathy toward them. I
    think that that develops more sharply when the writer has
    not had an easy adjustment to living. So that they have
    themselves felt the need for understanding, the need for
    sympathy, and can therefore see that need in other people.”
    – George Gribbin, quoted in Denis Higgins, The Art of
    Writing Advertising: Conversations with Masters of the
    Craft (1990), Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books, p. 51.
    • “A writer should be joyous, an optimist . . . Anything that
    implies rejection of life is wrong for a writer.” – George
    Gribbin, quoted in Denis Higgins, The Art of Writing

    “The trouble with us in America isn’t that the poetry of life
    has turned to prose, but that it has turned to advertising
    copy.”
    – Louis Kronenberger (1954), quoted in Rhodas Thomas
    Tripp, The International Thesaurus of Quotations, 1970,
    New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, p. 18.

    Ego to be Sidelined
    A great campaign, which is not our creation, should not be
    killed for that reason. A campaign should be consistent with the
    brand personality.

    “I have discovered the most exciting, the most arduous
    literary form of all, the most difficult to master, the most
    pregnant in curious possibilities. I mean the advertisement . .
    . . It is far easier to write ten passably effective Sonnets, good
    enough to take in the not too inquiring critic, than one
    effective advertisement that will take in a few thousand of
    the uncritical buying public.”

    “Many people – and I think I am one of them – are more
    productive when they’ve had a little to drink. I find if I drink
    two or three brandies, I’m far better able to write.”
    – David Ogilvy, quoted in Denis Higgins, The Art of Writing
    Advertising: Conversations with Masters of the Craft (1990),
    Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books, p. 70.

    “You must make the product interesting, not just make the
    ad different. And that’s what too many of the copywriters in
    the U.S. today don’t yet understand.”
    Rosser Reeves, quoted in Denis Higgins, The Art of Writing
    Advertising: Conversations with Masters of the Craft (1990),
    Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books, p. 125.

    “No, I don’t think a 68-year-old copywriter . . . can write with
    the kids. That he’s as creative. That he’s as fresh. But he may
    be a better surgeon. His ad may not be quite as fresh and
    glowing as the Madison Ave. fraternity would like to see it
    be, and yet he might write an ad that will produce five times
    the sales. And that’s the name of the game, isn’t it?”
    – Rosser Reeves, quoted in Denis Higgins, The Art of
    Writing Advertising: Conversations with Masters of the
    Craft (1990), Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books, p. 111

    “The mystery of writing advertisements consists mainly in
    saying in a few plain words exactly what it is desired to say,
    precisely as it would be written in a letter or told to an
    acquaintance.”
    – George P. Rowell, quoted in Advertiser’s Gazette, (July
    1870), vol. 4, p. 175

    Case Study on Copy
    “Thanda matlab Coca Cola,” resounds in the background even
    after Aamir Khan ropes out a bottle of Coke for the three city
    gals who come to him asking for “Thanda”. But who are the
    people behind such creative advertisements and how are they
    made? Who directs these ads and writes dialogues for them? If
    these questions plague your mind, then here’s some information that will help you understand this creative field better.
    The people behind such ads are called copywriters, who belong
    to the creative department of advertising agencies. Knowledge
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Words in the copy need crafting like a diamond so that they
    sparkle. Perhaps this means writing and re-writing a number of
    times. While doing so, we must remember that spontaneity is
    at stake. The litmus test is to sleep over the copy overnight, and
    see whether the same copy is worth retaining.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    of the different departments of an advertising agency will be
    helpful in understanding the nature of work of a copywriter.
    An advertising agency is divided into the following departments: Creative, Client Servicing, Account Planning, Media
    Planning, Direct Marketing and PR. The copywriters belong to
    the creative department of an agency.
    Writers work on the conceptualization of ideas for different
    brands. This process begins with the client sending in his/her
    requirements (called a ‘brief ’ in ad terminology) stating if it is
    for the print medium or television or radio. Product specifications that are necessary for making the ad and a profile of the
    target audience is also sent along with it other than the deadline
    for submission. The ads are normally made for the launch of a
    product/ store, reminder of an existing product in a new way
    to the target audience; pack promos, product promotions etc. A
    writer’s role begins at this stage, where he thinks of ways and
    means to communicate this message to the target audience,
    who are the consumers of the product. Thereafter, it completely
    depends on the ability of the writer to ideate and visualize his
    thoughts and express it on paper.
    Copywriters have to work in tandem with several people in an
    agency to get an ad released. Firstly the writer presents the ideas
    to the client to get the idea approved in order to begin the
    process of making the ad. Secondly he works with the art
    director if it is a press ad. Together they decide the images and
    visuals and the font and typography for the copy text of the ad.
    In the case of a TV commercial, the writer calls the shots in
    directing the ad. This involves choosing the location and sets of
    the ad, working with photographers and renowned directors,
    actors/ actresses and models. The making of a TV commercial
    involves huge ad expenditures for the client. Writers work
    together with directors and producers on the ad budget.
    Copywriting provides an array of opportunities in the field of
    media. One can even switch to filmmaking from writing copies
    for ads.
    In case of radio advertisements, writers make scripts for the ad,
    choose the voice of the person for the ad, and work with the
    recording people in the studio on the sound effects and final
    radio spot. This involves a lot of editing until the final spot is
    ready for release on air.
    What are the areas that a copywriter can enter and name any 2
    qualities required of him. Write a copy of 100 words promoting
    a Resort in a hill station of your choice and give suitable ‘punch
    line” to the resort called – ‘Country resort”.

    90

    Notes

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the importance of
    headlines in a copy.

    You will also understand the different types of headlines
    that you could possibly make.

    You will understand the elements of TV advertising also the
    production method in making a TV commercial

    Headline is the most crucial part of advertising. Basically, it is
    used to arrest attention and to create interest. It should go
    beyond being catchy or sloganising. It has, really, speaking a lot
    to contribute to the style and mood of an advertisement.
    Headlines many times do target the advertisement to a select
    audience. They are inviting enough to motivate the reader to
    read the advertisement copy further. Perhaps this they are able
    to do by being benefit-oriented. Headline is not to be taken too
    literally. It mostly occurs as the caption, but can occur anywhere
    in the body of the advertisement copy, even at the end. In a
    nutshell, self-interest is the key to successful headlines. We
    would like to know what benefits the product could offer to us,
    or what solution the company has got for our problems. Many
    headlines do the positioning work – they highlight a product
    benefit that is most important. Many headlines are musical,
    whereas many are curious. Some headlines are newsy.
    Quinn stresses the importance of the copywriter finding more
    interesting ways of presenting basically uninteresting propositions. Every headline, he cautions, should be the best you have
    ever written because you are only as good as your last advertisement copy.

    Basics of Writing Headlines
    1. They should Suggest a Quick and Easy Way Out
    It has the capacity to satisfy some need or want. Let me
    illustrate. You have heard about Taj Mahal Tea Bags (Dip, Dip,

    Dip). It has the capacity to quench the thirst. So the advertisement headline says: THIRSTTEA DIP.
    Similarly, Hawkins pressure cookers’, recent headline ‘You and
    Your Hawkins – the safest, fastest, way to tasty food, makes you
    realize immediately what it can do for you. No wonder they all
    want it.

    2. Self-interest is Created in Every Headline
    Warner’s Waterbury Compound promises that, “When vitality
    is low, Waterbury’s Compound brings back the glow.’
    Anne French Hair Remover – The gentle way to cream hair away
    makes us so comfortable. We can say now goodbye to razor
    nicks and cuts.
    3. News is Included in the Headline
    We are always on the look out for new products, new ways to
    use an old product, or new improvements in an old product.
    The most powerful words in a headline are NEW and FREE.
    There are occasions to use FREE, but a few can use NEW.
    The following list of words gives news value to the advertising.
    • Announcing.
    • Surprise.
    • Now.
    • It’s here. Just arrived. Amazing. Sensational.
    • Revolutionary.
    • Last chance.
    4. The Headline should Always Target the
    Advertisement Towards your Prospective Customers
    Thus Johnson’s baby powder headlines do have the word
    MOTHERS for whom it is meant. Never use a word that will
    exclude some prospects.
    5. Many More People Read the Headlines
    All of them may not read the rest of the copy. So it makes
    good sense to use the brand name of the product in the
    headline.
    So the Cerelac advertisements headline reads ‘Give your baby
    the Cerelac advantage from the first solid feed.’

    6. Headlines can be made by Imaginatively Coined
    Words (Coinages)
    The best example is Lacto Calamine’s headline “Skinnocence.”
    How wonderful! It is one word headline. But it promises an
    innocent, blemish free skin. It is so striking too.
    Now let us take a simple product like an egg. You want to
    suggest that it is so exciting to take it. How will you be able to
    coin a new word, using the two? Yes, you will call it
    eggcitement. Thus, economics of eggs will be eggnomics and
    extraordinary qualities of eggs will be called eggstraordinary. So
    now you have eggsperienced it. So eggstatic… and so on and so
    forth.
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 17:
    HEADLINES IN PRINT & TV ADVERTISING

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    7. We have to Include the Selling Promise in the
    Headline
    Maybe, it makes the headline a little longer. But it sells if
    properly constructed.
    See the 10 words advertisement headline of Fern Instobleach:
    Every woman can be faster if only she knows how!
    Here is another example where Bonny Mix porridge is described:
    Bonny Mix

    ‘The new instant porridge with the goodness of cereals, fruits
    and nuts.’

    8. Headlines Sometimes Arouse Our Curiosity
    They lure us to read further.
    Aura American Diamond Jewellery headline questions you,
    “Can you keep a secret?” Here artificial diamond jewellery
    resembling the genuine ones is offered. So the copy goes on,
    “Ssh it’s happened.”
    Can you think on similar lines and create some curious headline
    again for the same product artificial diamonds? Here is a
    specimen:
    ‘’Yes, I buy diamonds every week (this what a woman says) and
    so can you.”
    So not even the daughter of super-rich Khaggoshi or
    Madhvani’s Mumtaz can buy diamonds every week. Naturally, it
    is a very curious headline. But further reading directs you to
    Legend – the shop where American diamonds are sold.
    However, curiosity by itself is not enough. It has only the
    pulling power. The further reading should convince us about
    the usefulness of product.
    Chivas Regal is curiously advertised like this: ‘The Best things in
    the world aren’t free. Just duty free’. Since it is available at dutyfree shops at the airport.
    9. Some Headlines Play Games
    Here puns are used. Literary allusions are used. There may be
    other obscure things. These are called tricky headlines.
    10. Though to be Practiced with Caution, Negatives
    are used in headlines these days as a ‘No cholesterol oil’ etc.

    11. Do not use Blind Headlines Where on its Own
    Headline is Meaningless
    unless the copy that follows is read. Most people do not read
    the copy.
    So, we must understand what are the basics of headlines. I have
    given below in bullet form.
    • You must break the ice
    • You have to be concise
    • ü Headlines can’t drift along. They are crisp. They are specific.
    • Headlines should be provocative
    • Relevant
    Below you will see a few examples of print advertising. You
    should see the formulation of headlines very carefully.

    92

    Headline

    All your life you have worked hard for your money. Now, we’ll
    make sure your money works hard for you.
    Subhead

    Safety Liquidity Tax benefits Life insurance
    Body Copy

    Your years of hard work have today yielded rich dividends
    either in the form of provident fund, gratuity or even VRS
    money. What’s important now is to make sure this money is
    invested in the best possible manner. So as to give you a secure
    future in terms of regular returns and comprehensive protection. Presenting ICICI Pru ReAssure which combines the best
    of insurance and investment, with the following benefits:
    Liquidity

    Assured regular and steady annual returns. Tax benefits: Upto
    Rs. 60,000 u/s 88. Survival benefits are also tax free. Life cover:
    Upto 110% of premium paid. Safety: Reassure offers complete
    safety of your principal amount an guaranteed survival benefits
    in a volatile market scenario. So, you can now relax and let your
    money work hard for you.
    Baseline

    We cover you. At every step in life.
    Agency

    Lowe Lintas

    So unconventional, so cool, so black – is what really makes the
    new, black Compaq Presario 3650AP stand out in a crowd. Its
    black, elegant styling complements its bold attitude. Now you
    can download MP3 files, play games or edit photos at a neverbefore speed with the power of Intel Pentium 4 Processor. The
    center of your digital world. Go on, check it out for yourself at
    the nearest Compaq Store and pace up your moves with this
    stunner.
    Baseline

    brought to your by hp
    Agency

    FCB Ulka
    Note that in the case of high involvement products like the PC
    and Insurance, there is more emphasis on the copy.
    Different forms of headlines are given below as bullet points,
    you must think of a suitable example as you go along.
    Headline
    Subhead

    The mail was something one received either at home or work.
    Or not at all. Until Sabeer Bhatia made the whole wide world an
    address.
    Body Copy

    ABN AMRO introduces Smart Gold. India’s first genuinely
    smart, chip-enabled Credit Card.
    Baseline

    Look beyond.
    Agency

    Contract

    a. Direct Promise Headline
    Pond’s Special Baby Powder headline promises you ‘to take
    good care of your baby.’ Such advertisements indicate the
    benefits of the product or service in a direct manner.
    b. News Headline
    It may include new promises, product improvements, price
    reductions, premium offers etc. Parle’s Monaco was again made
    available in a big pack. So the headline announces ‘The Big
    Monaco pack is back.’
    c. Curiosity or Provocative Headline
    Sweetex, a non-sugar sweetener uses this technique very efficiently in its recent advertisement. The headline is a startling
    statement, followed by a question:
    There’s a rich, gooey chocolate cake hidden in the picture. Can
    you spot it?
    This headline is so curious that we see what is it all about. There
    is only a cup of tea.
    There is no chocolate. We feel compelled to discover what is
    hidden in the copy.
    The copy begins by saying: It (chocolate cake) is tucked away in
    the cup of tea. Or more precisely, in the sugar. If you drink five
    to six cups of tea or coffee a day, each with 2 teaspoons of
    sugar, you are consuming about 2200 calories a week of sugar
    alone. Which is equivalent of half a kilo of rich chocolate cake.
    d. Selective Headline
    This headline holds a specific promise for a special group.
    Childcare products are for mothers. The headline identifies this
    group. ‘The natural choice for mothers who care … Childcare.’

    Headline

    Black stands out
    Subhead

    e. Humorous Headlines
    Though practiced with caution, sometimes it really works
    wonders. Humor, however, is a suspect element in advertising.
    In fact, people do not buy from clowns. But it is also true that
    humor makes the advertisement noticeable. But it should not
    be the.-man-slips on-banana-peel type humor.

    The new black Compaq Presario 3650AP with Intel Pentium 4
    Processor that powers your digital world.

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    Body Copy

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    f. Command Headline
    It also promises a benefit. It is advisory in character. VIP’s
    Feelings cotton panties have the commanding headline: Say
    Hello with Feelings. It is a great new You. You will appreciate
    that it is a command but with a promise.
    g. Situation Headline
    It is based on a peculiar situation like an impending war, flood,
    earthquake, epidemic etc.
    h. Label Headline
    Some products like a TV set can be headlined as a label. Here
    there is a strong need for the product and so no other appeal is
    called for.
    i. Challenging Headlines
    Mostly a provocative question, its mental compulsive.
    j. Negative Headlines
    Not very much forward, but are used occasionally to direct to
    the right product. The Afternoon Dispatch Headline is negative.
    ‘Don’t Waste Your Money Advertising in the Afternoon
    ‘Dispatch. Advertise in the Afternoon’s Woman’s Extra Every
    Thursday.’
    This is a suitable medium for home-use or woman-oriented
    products.
    k. Affirmative Headline
    The message is not very assertive. But it is not denied either. We
    thus say about Complan: ‘Growing Children Need Complan.’
    i.Headlines
    could be poetic, prosaic, matter of fact or musical.
    m. News
    People are interested by news. Words like new, introducing,
    announcing, now, at last, etc. indicate something newsworthy.
    (“Now program your VCR by simply speaking to the revolutionary VCR VOICE programmer”)
    n. Testimonial
    Nothing is more convincing than a customer endorsement.
    (“This diet program worked for me. It can work for you, too!”)
    o. Question
    When related to a benefit or the reader’s concerns, the question
    headline is a powerful attention grabber. (“How do I know
    which mutual fund is right for me?”)
    Nine good headlines and why they were so profitable
    1. They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano . . .
    But When I Started to Play!
    The granddaddy of great advertising headlines; often imitated
    but rarely equaled. Is there anyone among us who has never
    longed for or relished an opportunity — when people doubt
    our ability — to prove them wrong? Plus, people love to root
    for the underdog, as the main character of this ad so obviously
    does. This is an action-oriented headline that promises an
    uplifting story, and we’re compelled to read further. Also worth
    remembering: The before-and-after angle can be effective in
    many headlines.

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    2. A Little Mistake that Cost A Farmer $3,000 a Year
    A highly successful ad that ran in a number of farm magazines.
    An excellent idea of how sometimes the negative idea of
    offsetting, reducing or eliminating the risk of loss is even more
    attractive to the reader than the prospect of gain. A fellow
    copywriter and good friend likes to illustrate this point with the
    following analogy: Imagine it’s 3:00 in the morning and your
    best friend comes banging on your front door. “Bill, Bill, wake
    up! I know how we can both make an extra $500 apiece today
    — guaranteed!” Chances are, this would be a severe test of your
    friendship. On the other hand, let’s say that same friend came
    banging on your door at 3:00 in the morning, except this time
    he’s saying, “Bill, Bill, wake up! Somebody’s in your driveway
    stealing the hubcaps off your car!” You wouldn’t mind that
    interruption at all, would you? In fact, you’d be grateful you had
    such a thoughtful friend. That’s because human nature is such
    that people will fight much harder to avoid losing something
    they already own than to gain something of greater value they
    do not own. Another key factor in this ad’s success is the
    attraction of the specific. Note that it wasn’t just a mistake; it
    was a little mistake. What farmer could pass up reading the copy
    under such a headline? What farmer wouldn’t be compelled to
    find out: “What was the little mistake? Am I making it? If I am
    making it, how much could it be costing me?”
    3. How to Win Friends and Influence People
    Yes, the title of the book was also the headline for the ad that
    sold a million books via mail order in less than three years
    during the latter part of the Great Depression. The key to this
    ad’s success is its strong basic appeal. Who doesn’t want to
    know how to win friends and influence people? The key words
    are “how to.” Without these two words, the ad lacks power,
    punch and, most importantly, the promise of a benefit. Certain
    words and phrases are inherently involving and attention
    grabbing and can be used effectively in just about any headline.
    Such words and phrases include: How To, How, Here’s Why,
    Which, Who Else, Where, When, What These, This, Which of
    These For better advertising results, look for a way to use these
    and other effective words in your headlines.
    4. “I’m impressed — Shell’s Caprinus R Oil 40 keeps
    my EMD’s in better condition than any Other Oil
    I’ve used in 20 years.”
    “They say” advertising copy has substantially greater impact
    than “we say” advertising. That’s why the above testimonial
    quote makes a highly effective headline for this business-tobusiness advertising effort. Above the headline is a four-color
    photo of the man who provided the quote. He’s standing in
    the engine room, and he’s identified as A. E. “Bud” Dacus,
    chief engineer for the company. The first two paragraphs of the
    ad’s body copy continue in the same vein as the testimonial
    headline. Do you think we have some believability and credibility working here? You bet we do! Testimonial headlines can
    help your ads generate a high response, particularly when they
    come from recognized experts in well-known companies. So be
    sure you stay close to your customers and regularly spend time
    reading the mail they send you. You just might find an excellent
    headline, a natural and highly believable spokesperson and the
    basis for a very profitable ad campaign.

    6. “Do you make these Mistakes in English?”
    This is a direct challenge made provocative and effective with the
    inclusion of one vital word: “these.” “What are these particular
    mistakes? Do I make them?” Notice also its promise to provide
    the reader with helpful information.
    7. “Do you do any of these Ten Embarrassing
    Things?”
    This question is similar to number six as it preys on our
    insecurities and makes us wonder, “Which ten are they? Do I
    do any of them?” The bottom line is, “I better read and find
    out.”
    8. “How Much is “Worker Tension” Costing your
    Company?”
    This one uses a similar approach to number seven, this time
    from a business-to-business perspective. Notice the quotation
    marks around the words “worker tension.” Don’t they add a
    certain element of intrigue?
    9. “Six Types of Investors — Which Group are You
    In?”
    And finally, this headline appeals to our innate curiosity about
    us. These last five headlines all have similar characteristics. And
    one factor that comes through loud and clear is that they are all
    written from one primary viewpoint: “The point of you.” Each
    of them, in fact, contains some version of the word “you.”
    Even though millions of words have already been written
    about the point of you, let me remind you again to always keep
    your prospects and customers at the front and center of all
    advertising you do.
    In the case of electronic media the rules are the same but you
    must incorporate certain other ideas as well. I am giving you
    certain tips on how to go about TV commercials.
    1. Always stick to one selling idea: Being a fast-paced medium
    that has to convey message in a matter of a few seconds, we
    should restrict to one major selling idea. Diffused
    communication does not get across the viewers. The novel
    USP or the big idea produces a lasting impact. Most ads are
    overcrowded with one-product attributes. Even with 40
    seconds, there is room for only one central idea.
    2. Whenever possible, show the product in use:
    Demonstration of the product is one key advantage of TV
    and whenever possible product should be shown in use.
    Stubborn stain on clothes and demonstration of Ariel’s
    effectiveness is an example.

    3. Use more visuals and fewer words: TV commercial is
    essentially a picture story. It should use minimum copy.
    4. Show the package: Either at the beginning or the middle
    or preferably at the end, the product and its package must be
    shown.
    5. Avoid visual clichés: If viewers can anticipate the visual
    images of the commercial, the impact of the commercial
    would be lesser. Visuals should be uncommon and unique.
    Stereotyped visuals lack effect.
    6. Close-ups: Product close-ups for sensory-stimulation are
    used for ice-creams, chocolate bars etc.
    7. Opening with a surprise: Since only a few seconds are
    available, we should arrest the attention of viewers by
    introducing the first frame with an element of surprise. The
    ‘inevitable surprise’ evokes more than a desired response in
    the target audience; and has been linked to creativity by I van
    Arthur and Gopi Kukde.
    8. Jingles: Jingles have great value for India’s audiences who like
    lyrics and melody. They are useful to create brand awareness,
    and have a high re-call value.
    9. Make actors talk: The cast in the commercial should do most
    of the talking. VO should be reserved for some comments
    at the end.
    10.Supers: Brand name/product benefit can be super-imposed
    on screen to reinforce the oral message.
    11.Identify the Brand: It is advisable to identify the advertised
    brand in the first 10 seconds. Later, the brand name be
    repeated.
    12.Use emotional approach: The emotional magic works
    wonderfully. Remember the magic reel of Rath Vanaspati
    commercial. Parents coo over a little baby in a crib. The
    camera pulls back. We see a boy watching first with envy and
    then sadness (sibling rivalry). The sullen boy goes up and
    sits at the bottom of the stairs. He feels left out and hurt.
    He is angry too. But mum has caught on. She cooks a little
    treat in Rath vanaspati, and takes it across to him. Slowly he
    smiles, he is loved after all. It is a gripping emotional story
    line. It is credible. It gives a sense of involvement. Such films
    cannot be short-duration (say 20 or 15 seconds) since these
    cannot lend themselves to emotional treatment.
    The commercial must be given a deep psychological appeal.
    Here we communicate to reach the deeper recesses of human
    mind. The consumers then identify themselves with the
    brand. For instance, Woodward’s Gripe Water and Vicks
    Vapo Rub commercials are good examples.
    13.Use metaphors: They have a long life as ideas in advertising
    communications. They lend themselves to easy execution
    and can be used in sustained manner. For instance, AI’s
    Maharaja, Liril girl Priety Zinta under the waterfall, Lalitaji in
    Surf, Amul girl in butter ads is examples of metaphors.
    14.Repeat the idea: The same idea is repeated in different forms,
    though the idea remains constant. Lux – a beauty soap is
    endorsed by different stars. Limca is a thirst drink in different
    ways.

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    5. “If you were given $4,000,000 to Spend — Isn’t
    this the kind of Health Club you’d Build?”
    Interrogative headlines like this help entice readers into the copy,
    and there are many ways they can be put to effective use. This
    headline is a self-incriminating and highly adaptable technique
    to have readers help specify what they would value most in such
    a product. The copy follows through along these lines: Surely
    you would put this feature into it. You would be sure that it
    brought you this advantage — and so on. The payoff to the ad
    is: “We’ve already done it all for you.” Below are more interrogative headlines:

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Forms of TV Commercials
    Animals
    They are fertile analogies. You must have noticed a Tiger in the
    Maruti Zen ad. The majestic lion stalling the Videocon ad
    (Bring Home the Leader) must have become a producer’s
    nightmare.
    Use a Film Genre
    The commercial can be produced on the lines of a movie. It can
    mimic an action-movie or a spy-thriller or a bank-robbery or a
    song-and-dance sequence. Many Indian commercials are based
    on film-based conventions. Some may go even a step further,
    and use the actual footage of a well known movie. Pan Parag’s
    Dhoom Macha De, Rang Jama De compresses a thriller into
    sixty-seconds.
    Music and Song
    Mostly, life-style advertising of soft drinks adopts this format.
    It is also popularly used for personal care products.
    Commercial’s music itself may become hit with the masses.
    Jingles are used to sing product virtues. Video fast and loose
    cutting, special effects, random colors, animation, stock footage,
    graphics, computer-generated images – all these make music and
    song commercials memorable. However, it is always the music
    that over-rides the visuals, rather than visuals having an underscore of music.
    Vignettes
    The main selling message is woven around a series of bask
    situations which are shown in rapid fire succession. The effect
    may be humorous. M-Seal commercial shows vignettes that
    show the effects of leaks. Alternatively, a variety of potential
    customers can be shown for a product.
    Endorsement/Testimonials
    Here a celebrity or an actual user endorses a product. It is a
    refreshing approach. When the actual user is an ordinary person,
    the copy should be convincing, e.g., Lalitaji recommends Surf.
    The choice of the endorser depends upon the product. Lux is a
    very famous example of this type of commercial. The message
    of clear complexion and beauty care sounds credible when Rani
    Mukherjee recommends it. So far the Lux campaign has used
    300 stars all over India, and currently signs up 40 stars a year for
    this ‘product personality synchronization.

    Use Anachronism
    Akbar the Great can be shown eating a fast food or Noorjahan
    using premium soap. Humorous situation can be created.
    Judicious use of historical or fictional figures delivers the effect
    of endorsement without paying to a live figure.
    Colloquial Copy
    Here informal conversational language is used to convey the
    message. It could even become a dialogue. Amul chocolates
    commercials titled ‘a gift for someone you love’ follow a
    colloquial pattern. The woman says: “I am too old for miniskirts, too young to be grandma.” “But the man says: ‘I think
    you’re just right for Amul chocolates.”
    Demonstration Videocon Washing Machine commercial is the
    best example of a demonstration. The mummy in the commercial, switches on the machine after putting clothes and detergent
    in it. It washes, rinses and dries too, in just a few minutes. And
    you are ready for the show.
    Humorous Commercials
    Claude Hopkins said, “Spending money is serious business,
    and people do not buy from clowns.” Since then, humor has
    not been much favored. Yet for noticeability, some commercials
    do adopt this format. By and large humor is the man-slips-onbanana-peel variety. Maachar hoon main, Louis mera naam….
    Could make it into this category.
    Slice of Life
    It is a short play-like situation. The dialogue/characters pose a
    consumer problem. The product offers the solution. Cough
    and cold remedies may be advertised this way. Reynolds Ballpoint pen commercial is a slick slice of life creation. It
    establishes the ballpoint pen as a communicator rather than
    merely a writing instrument.
    Real Life Situations in Slice of Life Scenes
    The Dove soap campaign also uses the same technique.
    Whisper napkins use the same technique, but a model Renuka
    Shahane is used. However, she talks like an ordinary woman,
    quite naturally. However, non-models make the ads more
    credible. Cadbury invited viewers to send in real moments of
    their lives. Real ads with non-models build credibility and
    identification. These ads are difficult to execute and are expensive to produce. Several non-models are tried to get the right
    one. Besides, we can get several right films, or not even a single
    one. It is risky. Besides each does not lend itself to real life
    advertising. This form of ad, rules out armchair copywriting in
    an agency. Here the agency comes to the scene of action. What is
    more important is not just looking real but sounding honest.
    The transparency leads to sales.
    Dramatization
    Dramatization is an effective way of pinpointing a problem,
    putting it forward dramatically to the audience, and finally
    solving it with the help of the product that is advertised.
    Mostly a specific feature of the product is highlighted to get
    attention. Kitply is fire-resistant, and to prove it the Kitply
    showroom is set on fire.

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    Production of TV Commercial
    The Ad film is highly effective in creating an impression or
    image, in building an argument or in developing a story that can
    be used to lead to subtle shifts in audience perceptions. Ad
    films can take a whole multitude of possible forms, borrowing
    from or extending a range of familiar, acceptable programme
    styles – anything from cartoon animation to news report to
    dramatization. Ad films are not normally effective in delivering
    a complex, detailed mass of data or argument except to an
    already-expert audience. Viewers do not easily absorb complex
    material. Only overall impressions and perspectives and a few
    highlights are likely to be retained. Sometimes it is obvious that
    a film will be helpful, and what it should contain. Often,
    though, the communications objective can be clear while the
    form and content of the film are open to a number of possible
    approaches or interpretations. In these circumstances it may be
    helpful to keep an open mind on the particular form the film
    should take. Suggestions from prospective producers may be
    illuminatingly varied, and may offer opportunities for creating
    memorable, effective Ad films of a type quite unlike any first
    thoughts on how it might be done. The following steps
    broadly cover the production steps involved in a medium sized
    production.
    Developing a Production Schedule
    Drawing up a tentative schedule is ideally the right way to
    approach the production. Generally, broadcast or distribution
    deadlines will dictate the production schedule (the written
    timetable listing the time allotted for each production step).
    Not planning things out carefully might cause you to miss a
    critical deadline, which might render the production worthless.
    Selecting Key Production Personnel
    At about this point remaining above-the-line production
    personnel are brought on board. In addition to the producer
    and writer, the above-the-line personnel include the production
    manager and director; and, in general, the key creative team
    members. And, of course, below-the-line personnel, who are
    generally assigned later, include the technical staff.
    Deciding on Locations
    Next, if the production isn’t done in the studio, deciding on
    key locations is the next step. In a major production a location
    scout or location manager should be hired to find and coordinate the use of the locations suggested by the script. Although
    it might be much easier to shoot in a TV studio, the authenticity of “real” locations, lends itself in the creation of dramatic
    productions. Cities that encourage TV and film production
    have film commissions that supply photos and videotapes of
    interesting shooting locations in their area. These commissions
    are located in most major cities and they will provide information on usage fees and the people who need to be contacted. It’s
    often necessary to make some changes in the on-location

    settings. Rooms may have to be repainted or redecorated, signs
    changed, etc.

    Deciding On Talent, Wardrobe and Sets
    Depending upon the type of production, auditions may take
    place at this point as part of the casting process (selecting the
    people for the various roles). Once decisions are made, contracts
    can be negotiated and signed. Once the talent or actors are
    decided on, the selection of wardrobes can start. After a set
    designer is hired, he or she will review the script, possibly do
    some research, and then discuss initial ideas with the director.
    Once there is agreement, sketches of the sets can be made for
    final approval before actual construction starts. Rehearsals, from
    initial table readings to the final dress rehearsal, can then be
    scheduled. Even though sets may not be finished at this point,
    the talent can start reading through the script with the director
    to establish pace, emphasis and basic blocking (positioning of
    sets, furniture, cameras, actors, etc.). Once the sets are finished,
    final blocking and dress rehearsals can get underway.
    Deciding on the Remaining Production Personnel
    At this point arrangements can be made on key technical
    personnel, equipment and facilities. This includes the rental of
    equipment and production facilities. Transportation, catering
    (food and refreshment trucks) and on-location accommodations (for overnight stays) must also be arranged. If unions are
    involved, their contracts will cover job descriptions and specific
    crew responsibilities. Working hours, including graduated pay
    increases for overtime hours, will also be spelled out. In
    addition, unions often set minimum standards for transportation, and the quality of meals and accommodations.
    Obtaining Permits, Insurance and Clearances
    In major cities and in many foreign countries it’s not possible to
    just go to the location of your choice, setting up a tripod, and
    start taping. Necessary access permits, licenses, security bonds
    and insurance policies must be arranged. Spot news and short
    documentary segments often do not require permits. Many
    semipublic interior locations, such as shopping malls, also
    require filming permits. Depending on the nature of the
    production, liability insurance and security bonds may be
    necessary in case an accident is directly or indirectly attributed to
    the production. In some locations the controlling agency will
    limit exterior production to certain areas and to specific hours.
    If there’s a street scene and traffic will be affected, it will be
    necessary to arrange for special police. Included in this category
    are a wide variety of clearances. They range from permission to
    use prerecorded music to reserving satellite time. If clearance
    cannot be obtained, alternatives must be quickly explored.
    Selecting Video Inserts, Still Photos and Graphics
    As things progress program inserts can be selected. During this
    phase arrangements can be made for shooting and acquiring
    VTR or film inserts, still photos and graphics. If possible,
    existing stock footage is secured (generally for a fee) from film
    or tape libraries located around the country. Initial decisions on
    music are made at this point. Copyright clearances and royalties
    must be worked out for music and visual inserts. (These things
    will be discussed in more detail later.)

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    Animation
    Who does not enjoy the watching of cartoons of Tom, chasing
    Jerry all over the house? A flurry of action and movement
    characterizes these cartoons. Walt Disney is one of the best
    animators the world has ever known. His creation, the Mickey
    Mouse, is the best-known cartoon character.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Rehearsals and Shooting
    Depending on the type of production, rehearsal may take place
    either minutes or days before the actual shooting. Productions
    shot live-on-tape (without stopping except for major problems) should be rehearsed before taping starts. This includes
    early walk-through rehearsals, camera rehearsals and one or
    more dress rehearsals. Productions shot single-camera, filmstyle are taped one scene at a time. Rehearsals generally take place
    right before each scene is taped.
    The Editing Phase
    After shooting is completed the producer, director, and
    videotape editor review the tapes and editing decisions are
    made. For major productions this has traditionally been done
    in two phases. First, there is off-line editing, using copies of the
    original tapes. Editing a time-coded copy of the original footage
    typically makes off-line editing decisions. Using this edited tape
    and an EDL (edit decision list) as a guide, the production then
    moves to on-line editing where much more sophisticated (and
    expensive) equipment is used to create the edited master, the
    final edited version of the tape. During this final editing phase
    all necessary sound sweetening (enhancing), color balancing, and
    special effects are added. As high-quality nonlinear, digital
    editing becomes more widely used, the need for an off-line
    editing phase may be eliminated, or at least made optional.
    Postproduction Follow-Up
    Although most of the production crew will be finished once
    production wraps (finishes), there is still much in the way of
    follow-up work to be done. Final bills have to be paid, financial
    statements totaled, and the success or failure of the production
    determined.

    Few Memorable TVC (International)
    Storyboard
    Ray-Ban Sunglasses
    At the beginning of the commercial, a twenty-something
    looking guy leaves his house just before dawn. We see his
    friends all sitting on steps, waiting for the sunrise and putting
    on Ray-Ban Sunglasses. The guy finally joins his friends and he
    starts looking for his sunglasses, but he can’t find them. The
    sun comes up and the guy vaporizes. One friend says “Somebody forget his Ray-Ban Sunglasses?” then he laughs and we
    find out they’re all vampires.
    Nike Air Jordan
    The first 3 Air Jordans ever made. This first one was made in
    1985. Michael Jordan is shown, bouncing a basketball, then the
    camera slowly goes down to his body until it stops to his feet,
    which was worn by the most controversial Black/Red Jordans
    that was banned in 1985. When the camera showed the shoes, 2
    censored plates were on each foot and the announcer said,
    “Banned”. This next one was made in 1986. Michael is on a
    playground playing basketball with nobody but himself and
    did a sweet crossover and did the everfamous Jumpman dunk,
    spreading his legs like he was doing the split, then dunked the
    ball. Then the “Air Jordan” symbol was shown, but it was the
    Winged Basketball design in red and is not the Jumpman. This
    last one was also in 1986. Michael’s yet again in the playground,
    just standing there. The stewardess says, “Welcome aboard to

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    Flight 23. Please buckle your seatbelt, stay remaining in your
    seats and estinguish any smoking items.” Michael then turns
    around and winks at you with a smile, the camera goes to his
    feet, there are engine sounds from the airplane. Then Jordan
    starts running. As he runs, smoke are coming out of his shoes,
    then shows the Winged Basketball sign while the announcer
    says, Basketball. By Nike.”

    TVC Storyboard – Raymond

    The cheerful and happy face of a little girl keeps appearing and
    disappearing before the camera.

    The mystery is solved when we find her father playing with her
    by rocking her on his feet.

    Continuing with their play, she enjoys a walk around the room,
    standing on his feet.

    Devising new games the father and daughter now run around
    the house, trying to catch each other.

    Huging her father’s leg the little angel feels the soft fabric against
    her cheek. Super: ‘Feels like heaven.’

    Comfortable in her position, our young friend falls asleep.
    Super: ‘Feels like Raymond.’

    Sitting by a seashore, a fisherman grills some fishes while a
    sketch of a microwave frames the fishes. Jingle: “Door gagan ki
    chaanv mein.”

    Next the microwave sketch captures delicious pav bhaji being
    cooked in a roadside dhaba. Jingle: “Kuch aisa soche.”

    The chef of a fancy restaurant gives the final touches to his
    preparation and once again the sketch catches it.Jingle: “Bas
    sochne ki der hai.”

    Seeing the child fast asleep, ’dad’ now settles down to read.
    MVO: “Raymond, the complete man.”
    The above will give you an idea as to what goes on where TV
    commercial making is concerned. Another example is that of
    LG Healthwave.

    Drawing up freshly cooked chicken from the tandoor an old
    man hangs it up and the chicken is also caught by the microwave sketch. Jingle: “Kuch aisa sochein.”

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Tired with all the running around, he finally flops onto the
    couch.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Easily remembered

    Repeat the brand name

    Friendly phrases

    The characteristics of a good slogan are as follows:

    An old lady bakes a cake and places it amongst the rest of her
    goodies in her bakery. Jingle: “Kya rangeen hai subah.”

    A boy approches a popcorn vendor in a fair to buy some
    popcorn.

    In the next shot a boy takes out fresly made popcorn from his
    microwave. Jingle: “Jo bhi chahe ho jaye…

    …bas soch ke dekhe.” MVO: “LG Microwave. Bas soch ke
    dekhe.” Super: ‘Bas soch ke dekhe.’

    Slogans
    Slogans are catchy sentences or phrase that is easy to remember.
    Copywriters continuously for the sake of establishing it use it.
    It creates an impact of repetition. Gives an identity to the
    company or to the product.
    It is part of the copy and is an effective and a concise manner of
    telling an idea. A slogan is necessary because they are:

    Should be simple and straight forward

    Carries some pleasing sales idea

    Conveys more in a compact form

    Good slogan finishes the job in 7-8 words

    So many ideas give rise to one good slogan

    Few Award Winning Ad Slogans of the
    Last Millennium, which have Created
    Differentiation in the Minds of the
    Consumers
    Year

    Brand

    1998

    Apple
    Macintosh

    100

    Think different.

    Agency
    Chiat/Day

    1994 Tango

    You know when you’ve been
    HHCL
    Tango’d.

    1990’s Tata Sierra

    It is not owned.
    It’s possessed.

    1990’s Esteem

    Move Ahead in Luxury.

    Lintas

    1990’s Adidas

    Forever sport.

    ???

    1990’s NIIT

    If you are not ahead, you’re
    out.

    Contract

    O&M

    1989

    Carling
    Black Label

    1988

    The Mail on A newspaper, not a
    Sunday
    snoozepaper.

    Lowe
    HowardSpink

    1988

    Nike

    Wieden &
    Kennedy

    1987

    The
    It is. Are you?
    Independent

    Saatchi &
    Saatchi

    1986

    Castlemaine Australians wouldn’t give a
    XXXX
    XXXX for anything else.

    Saatchi &
    Saatchi

    1985

    Cadbury’s
    Are you a Cadbury’s Fruit &
    Fruit & Nut Nut case?

    Young &
    Rubicam

    1984

    Toshiba

    Hello Tosh, gotta Toshiba?

    Gold
    Greenlees
    Trott

    1983

    British
    Airways

    The world’s favourite airline.

    Saatchi &
    Saatchi

    1981

    Stella Artois Reassuringly expensive.

    1980’s Raymond

    I bet he drinks Carling Black
    WCRS
    Label.

    Just do it.

    Lowe
    HowardSpink

    The Complete Man.

    ???

    Hand-built by robots.

    Collett
    Dickenson
    Pearce &
    Partners

    1979

    Fiat Strada

    1976

    Plop, plop*, fizz, fizz, oh
    what a relief it is. * In the
    Alka Seltzer
    UK, this became Plink,
    plink, fizz, fizz,

    Direct
    Short

    Slogan

    Jack
    Tinker &
    Partners

    Brand

    Slogan

    1975

    American
    Express

    1970’s

    Birla Mutual
    The name inspires trust
    Fund

    Don’t leave home without it.

    Agency
    Ogilvy &
    Mather
    ???

    Heineken

    Collett
    Heineken refreshes the parts Dickenson
    Pearce &
    other beers cannot reach.
    Partners

    1973

    Pepsi Cola

    Lipsmackin’ thirstquenchin’
    acetastin’ motivatin’
    goodbuzzin’ cooltalkin’
    highwalkin’ fastlivin’
    evergivin’ coolfizzin’ Pepsi.

    1973

    Seven Up -The Uncola.
    7 Up

    1972

    Perdue

    1974

    Boase
    Massimi
    Pollitt
    J Walter

    Scali,
    It takes a tough man to make
    McCabe &
    a tender chicken.
    Sloves

    Year

    Brand

    Slogan

    Agency

    1940s Lux

    Beauty Soap of Film Stars

    ???

    Egg
    1957 Marketing
    Board

    Go to work on an egg.

    Mather &
    Crowther

    1956 Timex

    It takes a licking and keeps
    on ticking.

    ???

    1950s

    De Beers
    A diamond is forever.
    Consolidated

    J Walter
    Thompson

    Kellogg’s
    1932 Rice
    Krispies

    Snap! Crackle! Pop!

    J Walter
    Thompson

    1930s Guinness

    My goodness, my Guinness!

    SH
    Benson

    1970’s

    The Taj
    Group

    India’s First, Asia’s Finest

    ???

    1968

    Cadbury’s
    Milk Tray

    And all because the lady
    loves Milk Tray.

    Leo
    Burnett

    1930s

    1967

    Heinz Baked
    Beanz meanz Heinz.
    Beans

    Young &
    Rubicam

    1930s MG

    Safety fast.

    ???

    1967

    Levy’s Rye
    Bread

    You don’t have to be Jewish
    to love Levy’s.

    Doyle
    Dane
    Bernbach

    1929 Coca Cola

    The pause that refreshes.

    ???

    1929 Guinness

    Guinness is good for you.

    Does she or doesn’t she?

    Foote
    Cone &
    Belding

    SH
    Benson

    Put a tiger in your tank.

    McCannErickson

    1920s Packard

    Austin
    Ask the man who owns one. Bement,
    Inc.

    1964

    Clairol

    1964

    Esso

    1962

    Volkswagen Think small.

    Doyle
    Dane
    Bernbach

    1962

    Avis Rent A
    We try harder.
    Car

    Doyle
    Dane
    Bernbach

    1962

    Crest

    Look, Ma, no cavities!

    Benton &
    Bowles

    1960s Hamlet

    Happiness is a cigar called
    Hamlet.

    Collett
    Dickenson
    Pearce &
    Partners

    1960s Mars

    A Mars a day helps you
    work, rest and play.

    D’Arcy
    Masius
    Benton &
    Bowles

    1960s Amul

    The taste of India.

    ???

    1960s Utica Club

    Doyle
    We drink all we can. The rest
    Dane
    we sell.
    Bernbach

    Haig Scotch Don’t be vague. Ask for
    Whisky
    Haig.

    Lord &
    Thomas

    1915

    Maxwell
    House

    Good to the last drop.

    ???

    19

    IBM

    I think, therefore IBM.

    Ogilvy &
    Mather

    19

    Kit-Kat

    Have a break. Have a KitKat.

    J Walter
    Thompson

    19

    M&Ms

    M&Ms melt in your mouth,
    not in your hand.

    ???

    101

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Year

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 18:
    VISUALIZATION & LAYOUT
    Learning Objectives

    3. Price

    You will understand via this lesson the importance
    visualization.

    4. Package

    You will also understand the layout strategy and the
    elements involved in it.

    6. Border

    5. Seal of approval
    7. Quality marks etc.
    At the commencement of his work he becomes intimate with
    the copy. Really’ speaking, the visualisation process is shared by
    the copywriter and the creative director of visualization. They
    decide:

    In developing an ad, the most important activity is visualization. It is a process, which starts the design of the
    advertisement and results into the development of a finished
    ad layout in print.
    When we talk of visualization, we talk about the art in advertising. In terms of print ad, it is the process of designing the ad.
    The ultimate outcome of the process of visualization is the
    layout.
    A visualiser decides about the inclusion of different elements at
    the beginning of his work. His questions are:

    Whether my advertisement will have headline?

    Whether there will be a sub-headline?

    Whether there would be a body copy? Whether to have
    illustration or a photograph?

    Whether to include slogan? Etc.

    At the second step, he foresees how all these elements will be
    appearing in the copy. The basic elements with which a visualizer works are:
    1. Headline, sub-heads
    2. The body copy
    3. The illustration
    4. Logo signature
    There may be elements like:
    1. Slogans
    2. Coupon
    102

    Whether the product should be featured?

    Whether people should be featured; what they would be
    doing; will there be a background? Which type?

    Should photos be used?

    Or line illustrations and sketches?

    How large the headline should be?

    What components should make the final copy: the product?

    The address and the name of the company? The picture?

    Once he becomes clear about the components or elements he
    will include, he foresees their relevance to each other, to one
    another. How they would be placed in the copy? How the final
    product (advertisement copy) will look like?
    Essentially it is a mental process of creating mental images of a
    well balanced whole made up of different elements. On paper,
    he makes ‘thumbnails’ which are rough sketches of the various
    alternatives. This paper work is the starting point of the process
    of layout.
    Visualizer operates under certain constraints: the space available,
    the type of paper on advertisement will be printed, whether it is
    black and white or color advertisement, the p technology
    employed etc.

    Transformation from Visualisation to
    Layout
    Once a visualiser exercises himself mentally and puts his pencil
    to paper, the shape of layout begins to emerge. It is very
    difficult to say where the process of visualisation ends and
    where the shape of layout begins. It is a smooth transition
    however, and we are moving from abstract ideas to concrete
    shapes. Each element is assigned a weight, depending upon its
    overall significance. Look any ad in print and see the basic
    percentage of space allotted to the headline, body copy and the
    visual, e.g., 30 p.c. for the headline, 50 p.c. for the visual and 20
    p.c. for the copy. Each element is positioned. There is visual
    evidence on paper. The various possibilities are drawn separately- we call them thumbnail sketches or first roughs. They
    indicate the elements and their positions. Many thumbnails
    when made, give us an idea which one or more will best suit us,
    so that they can be made into larger sizes called roughs or

    Comprehensives or comps are more finished form of roughs.
    The body copy is pasted. Headline lettering is done carefully.
    Photos and illustrations (actuals) are used.
    Comprehensive comes very close to final artwork, which gives a
    finished advertisement complete with printer’s instructions
    from which the plates, the stereos or electrotypes are made. I
    In copy comping, first greeking is done in which copy is pasted
    into position. Secondly, there is copyfitting in which typed copy
    is converted into typography.
    For idea visualisations for radio and TV, we have to create first a
    script with a series of TV screens (frames) that can accommodate thumbnail visuals, which vary from rough stick figures to
    photographs and comprehensive drawings suitable for client’s
    approval. This topic is further elaborated in the chapter on
    copywriting.

    Visualization and Creativity
    In the visualization process, we require a flow of ideas – those
    ideas are obtained from many sources and using many techniques. We can pin down the problem and develop the
    advertisement copy accordingly. We can have a good database or
    briefing before visualization. There -can be some brain waves
    from the copywriter. We can employ Osborn’s Brainstorming
    technique. We do meditation from analysis and synthesis of
    ideas.
    The steps in the visualization process are those involved in any
    creative process.

    Creative Process in Visualization
    The following are the five principal stages in creative process:
    i. Saturation: The manager becomes very intimate with the
    problem and its environment.
    ii. Deliberation: A perfect knowledge of the environment and
    attendant data is essential for creativity.
    iii. Incubation: The subconscious activity precedes a fresh
    approach. The creative mind forms a pattern of the problem
    by combining the scattered data. Then the conscious mind
    shou1d be switched off from the problem and the
    subconscious mind is allowed to take over. The conscious
    mind is the seat of logic and the subconscious mind directs
    itself to problems, which are of interest to the conscious
    mind. When the conscious mind is relaxed the subconscious
    mind works to give some of the best ideas.
    iv. Illumination: Here an idea actually flashes across the mind of
    the decision-maker. Very often this happens while sitting in a
    cafeteria, driving a vehicle, strolling in a leisurely fashion or in
    some such state of relaxation.
    v. Accommodation: The original idea is modified, reframed or
    polished and made to practical use.
    Creative process demands free exchange of ideas, application of
    imagination to problems, group understanding and lack of
    conditioned thinking.

    Creative persons are gifted or can be trained. They have ideational fluency, high I.Q., open mindedness, uninhibited
    personality with a sensitivity and flexibility. He sets problems
    for himself and seeks their solutions. He is independent in
    thought and action.
    Walter Mendes, Creative Director, Clarion says: “I visualise an
    advertisement first before I write it. The test of all good
    advertising is that you should be able to see the end product.”
    Once the final copies are made, a presentation is made before
    the client. These presentations should be structured, keeping
    the objective of the communication and the audience in view.
    We shall present a brief discussion of the sizes and shapes here.
    The copy writing forms the material of a subsequent chapter.
    The rest of the elements have been discussed in the chapters of
    layout. These elements should contribute to the basic objective
    of the communication.

    Size and Shape
    Different ad sizes in the print media are possible, the budget
    being the major constraint. Within the given size~ we get
    allotted certain space which can take many steps, each shape
    being a device of non-verbal communication. A square shape
    shows a staid or static image. It also shows a formal image.
    Against this, a rectangular with longer side placed vertically
    shows dynamism, and with longer side placed horizontally,
    shows tranquility. The shape should be consistent with the
    message.
    Let us consider how lines are interpreted. Horizontal lines show
    stability and a state of restfulness, Vertical lines show speed,
    growth and movement. Several vertical lines act as barriers, and
    to some extent express strength and power.
    Combined together, vertical and horizontal lines express a state
    of equilibrium and a sense of satisfaction.
    Diagonal lines are thought to be challenging, and denote
    utmost speed. Diagonals also direct our eye movement.
    Curves show elegance and beauty. Triangles have a combination
    of both dynamic and static and can also communicate caution
    against danger. Circles are likened to planets. They show
    continuity, eternity and peace. What they enclose command our
    attention immediately. There is a movement around the
    circumference.

    Visual Thinking
    As children, we took the first opportunity to express our
    internal illusions with the help of ‘pencils and crayons. In
    kindergarten classes, children love to feel the shapes and see the
    things in order to learn. Kids invent their own shapes on paper
    or in clay. The thought process in childhood is based on
    perception. As we grow older, we put inhibitions on our
    freedom of visual perception. The child in us who started
    scribbling at the slightest suggestion disappears.
    What is visual thinking? It is a language whose effectiveness
    depends upon its flexibility and willingness to experiment.
    Winters and Milton suggest vizthink method as the first step in
    visual thinking. Vizthinking is essentially idea visualization. The
    copy should be conducive to vizthinking. There should be
    collaboration between the copywriter and the art director.

    103

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    visuals. These are made in actual ad sizes. All elements here are
    scribbled. As copy matter, only rough lines are put. Roughs are
    forerunners of comprehensiveCl.1i Roughs give an exact idea
    about the proportions and placement of elements.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Copywriters need not be artists, but they can think visually.
    They can do a little drawing, sketching, doodling or thumb
    nailing.

    2. Use an illustration of a product in a setting, e.g., Mont Blanc
    pens are shown on a dial or a sofa-set is shown in a living
    room.

    In other words, we are recording mind’s perceptions by doing
    so.

    3. Use an illustration of a -product in use, e.g., a woman in is
    using cellular phone a restaurant to talk to her beloved.
    Similarly, model Anupama Verma uses Braun Silk Epil to get
    silky smooth legs.

    The central selling message and the copy appeal governs
    visualization. Marketing research also provides the basis for
    visualization.
    The ad should try to connect the idea with a proper visual. A
    single idea can be visually expressed in a number of ways. For
    example, an embrace, can express love by a look, by caressing or
    by a kiss. We also have to choose between a description and a
    visual. Should a tandoori chicken dipped in butter be described
    in words? Can we instead give a picture – either an illustration or
    a photograph of the chicken? The answers are not simple. But
    we can evoke greater response by combining a picture with
    carefully crafted copy. In isolation, both the picture and the
    words are not so effective. We should always try to express an.
    idea in pictures in a number of ways. Later, the product is taken
    into account. The target audience is considered. Mother’s love
    for a baby is shown by a picture of mummy gently applying
    Johnson’s Baby Oil on the tender skin of the baby. The
    visualizer must have enough background information to
    visualize properly. The ultimate aim is to evoke response from
    the target audience.
    The left side of the human brain is seat of reasoning and verbal
    skills. It is responsible for processing the information step-bystep. The right side of the human brain provides with
    intuition. It processes the information simultaneously. While
    we dream, the right hemisphere of the brain works over-time,
    suppressing the left. Instinctive products, which are brought on
    a whim or a fancy like a perfume, would be steeped into sensual
    appeals to the right hemisphere. A complex product like
    computer must be sold on the basis of reasoning that appeals
    to the left hemisphere of the brain. In emotional ads, the artist
    carries the larger burden of the appeal, with less emphasis on
    words. In rational ads, the copywriters are allowed full play of
    words, while the artist just gives definite and distinct pictures,
    may be outlines. It is, however, important not to overemphasize the separation of the functions of either side. Music
    appeals to both the hemispheres..

    Use of Similies and Metaphors
    Thought process is transformed by figures of speech like
    similies and metaphors into more articulate information. These
    tools help us to organize our complex’ thoughts into a definite
    message. Abstraction becomes clearer. Similies are comparisons
    with the use of words of comparison, e.g., ‘You are as brave as
    a lion.’ Metaphors are comparisons, which drop the comparative
    words, e.g., ‘You are a lion.’ Similies and metaphors are used to
    ‘fit an idea.’ In idea visualization, they are a part of word-picture
    association.

    Visualization Tips
    1. Use an illustration of a product alone, either a line drawing
    or a photograph against simple background, e.g., Bentex
    watch is shown alone with the headline ‘when was the last
    time you made a woman’s hand tremble?’

    104

    4. Use an illustration of the benefit resulting from the use of
    the product, e.g., a woman’s hair with a bounce and shine
    with the implication that this is due to the use of a
    shampoo with a conditioner.
    5. Use an illustration of the loss or disadvantage from not
    using the advertised product, e.g., Cease Fire, a fire
    extinguisher’s ad. A devastating fire shatters the woman’s
    happy home, of course in her fantasy.
    6. Dramatize the headline. This is a strong visualization. In a
    well-conceived dramatization it is difficult to say whether the
    concept of the headline came first or the concept of
    illustration, e.g., BPL’s TEIO Large Screen TV ad has the
    head-line ‘Live Thunder dramatized as a TV set with four
    wheels attached giving a look of a sports-car.
    7. Dramatize the evidence, e.g., Whisper sanitary napkins
    absorb ink on them, and yet give dry feel.
    8. Dramatize a detail. The illustration may emphasize a small
    area of the product or may enlarge a detail, e.g., Raymond’s
    trousers magnify special stitches at the pockets.
    9. Use a comparison, e.g., Luxol Silk Paint of Berger is
    compared with a flowing satin saree of a woman.
    10.Use contrast, e.g., before and after pictures as in a Bullworker
    ad – first a skiny chap who later becomes a muscular he-man.
    11.Use cartoons. Cartoons are used in print ads as well as in TV
    commercials. Recently Rasna TV commercial used animation
    of a dinosaur.
    12.Use trade-characters like Gattu for Asian Paints, tiger for
    Goodlass Paints, MRF man for MRF tyres and Maharaja for
    Air India.
    13.Use charts and diagrams while making rational appeals in
    scientific copy. In consumer goods advertising, along with
    these, a less technical picture should also be used as a
    warmer.
    14.Use cross-section diagram, e.g., inside of a car
    15.Use symbolism, e.g., Merril Lynch uses a bull to show their
    bullish investment sentiment.
    16.Use abstraction, e.g., Wool-mark to show pure quality of
    wool.
    17.Use continuity strip. A series of photographs set like a
    filmstrip are used.
    18.Use mood-setting illustration. Here the product is
    romanticized. It may be set against a romantic landscape.
    Cosmetics use this approach.
    19.Use a product illustration in its package.
    20.Use illustration of components or raw materials of a
    product, e.g., Cadbury milk chocolate that combines cocoa
    and milk.

    USP makes the consumer identify the brand with a particular
    benefit. Brand stimulates an association of the benefit. But this
    very association is the benefit. Marlboro gave a cowboy image
    via USP. It is a focused identity, a narrow identity. The company
    was the first to do it. Perhaps, brand image gives a rather diffuse
    identity, open textured identity. It established itself via the
    rational and logical appeal way.

    Caption: Used to describe the sub-title. It tells the story
    quickly, clearly and decisively. Sometimes difficult to locate.
    But it is an important part of the layout.

    Coupon: This is a part of the advertisement that enables a
    consumer to get in touch with the advertiser. The name and
    postal address is an integral part of any coupon. The offer or
    the request must follow in close heal. The obligation of the
    customer is given by their signature space. No hard and fast
    rule is there regarding the position of the coupon in the
    layout. Although in most of the advertisements it normally
    lies at the end. Both rectangular and triangular ones are in
    popular use. It is normally on the right hand side keeping in
    mind that most people are right handed.

    Decoration: Greater interest for the applicability of
    decoration is in the fact that it should supplement or
    emphasize the message of the advertisement as a whole.
    Heavy or light would be at the discretion of the layout
    person.

    Mascot: It is also known as the ‘Trade Character’ or ‘Trade
    Figure’. It may be defined as an illustration of either real or
    an imaginary figure or personality introduced into the
    advertisement to personalize the sales message or the name
    of the product or service. Maharaja of the Air India is a
    suitable example.

    Logo or Name Plate: This is the signature of the
    advertisement. The inclusion of the company’s name and
    address is not always important hence the logo or a specially
    designed image of the brand or the company can replace
    that. The popular logos of Tata, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Star
    TV network, etc are a good example. The logo goes on to
    make the Corporate Identity i.e. what does the company or
    the brand stands for?

    You should remember that the competitors can copy the USP,
    hence the key lies in the differentiating the offer.
    So I ask you what is this USP?

    According to Rosser Reeves, a USP is:
    • The creation of a distinct Brand position in the mind
    • The product differentiator becomes the Brand differentiator
    • Each ad must make a proposition to the customer. The
    benefit to the consumer should be said in the message.
    Dove soap, for example, contains ¼ moisturizer. Hence the
    benefit offered is that the skin will not dry up.
    • The competitors should not have made that promise or
    proposition.
    Since we have discussed copy, visualization, headline and
    message, I need to tell you as to how we should integrate the
    above in the advertisement. This is done through layout. Which
    is basically arranging the various elements of an advertisement
    to give it an essence. The following are the ingredients of a
    good layout.
    • Background: Could have picture, tiles, blocks, and graphics
    but should not overshadow the foreground.
    • Border: Is the frame of the advertisement. Could be,
    • Heavy
    • Light
    • Obvious
    • Unobtrusive
    • Plain
    • Fanciful
    • Useful
    • Useless
    The practice you must know is the elimination of border in
    today’s context. Except when you have to present a key
    point, or a sales pitch then it could be used.
    • Heading: This is the title of the ad. Should be short, but
    could be four, five or even six decked. Words in the heading
    should be short and verbs should be used to attract
    attention.
    • Illustration: It is the dominating picture in the ad. It could
    be the product itself or a model. Large pictures are preferred
    than small ones but it is not a hard and fast rule. Small
    pictures are to make the copy comfortable. The main picture
    tries to position the picture. It can attract the right target
    audience by showing the right picture. People showing the
    product could be a better picture than the product itself. The
    illustration should show the benefit offered by the product.

    A Corporate Identity is Important Because
    • Gives an image to the company and the brand in question.
    • Gives a sense of pride to the employees.
    • Attracts the talented people to the company.
    • Positive influence on the ‘publics’ of the company.
    • Audiences think of the company as per the desired image.
    • Reduces the cost of communication by standardizing the
    system.
    Few Examples of Logos are as Below
    • Wipro: Sunflower with five colors of rainbow. Wipro name
    is beneath it, followed by a phrase, ‘Applying Thought.’
    • Tata: It is solidity. The image is that of the letter ‘T’ and
    seems to engulfing the entire world.
    • Coca Cola: It is the complete name with a wave like image.
    Care free white surf across the bottle with red background.
    • The logo of University is something you should tell
    me what it stands for.
    A logo is the image your business portrays. It sets the potential
    clients position and interpretation of your company. With that
    in mind, look around you right now, and count how many
    logos you see. Look at your computer screen, mouse, radio,
    bath towels, T-shirt, shoes, clothing tags, even your toothbrush
    105

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    USP or Unique Selling Proposition

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    and hairbrush. Every distinct image reminds you of a product
    or service. Next time your driving home from work, or are in a
    bus, notice how our world is painted with logos and images of
    existing entities which remind us of their products or services.
    Distinct Identity The good logos are the ones you remember
    because they’ve made an impression. They stand out in a crowd
    infested with products, such as a supermarket, where there can
    be up to 40,000 different logos and packages. The impact of a
    logo can be so powerful, it often means the difference between
    the success of your business or that of your competitor. Small
    Business Challenge Small businesses today face the ultimate
    challenge to create a long lasting solid first impression. Key
    issues in establishing corporate identity for a starting or small
    business rest in establishing goals, business plans and image.
    But most tend to sway away or forget that the first realization
    of your business is brought upon by the company logo. This
    important consideration in creating a corporate identity will
    enable the small business birth an existence in its field of choice
    and will show others that the company cares about its image.

    You should Remember What the Logo does for the
    Company
    • The difference and distinction aid recognition.
    • Ownership logically follows.
    • There is pride in ownership.
    • Corporate signature reinforces the pride of the company.
    • It represents the personality of the company and its
    products.
    The other issues in the layout that you must look upon are:
    • Price: Price is seldom the dominating feature in a layout,
    except when a discount or sale is mentioned. It is more or
    less associated with the cheapness of the product when a
    price is shown in the advertisement. The consumer should
    look at other features in the layout that will make it desirable
    for him to look at the price naturally and would not associate
    negatively with it. The usage of price should be as minimal
    as possible.
    • Product: It refers to the representation of the product for
    sale. It could be featured in isolation, thrown up against
    heavy or futuristic background or by decoration. A number
    of photographs could be so put so as to form a well laid out
    composition. But it is advised to show it in practice.
    • Slogan: As described earlier it is a ‘Tabloid’ sales argument. It
    is especially important in outdoor advertising. Its importance
    is in relation to the advertiser’s message.
    • Space: It goes on to describe the entire space that the
    advertiser has bought for sale. Whether it is half a page or it
    is 30-second spot on television.
    • Sub-heading: It is a secondary heading. It may be employed
    to either supplement and support the heading or to ‘pick
    out’ the various selling points contained in the text. 2
    guidelines should be followed for the inclusion of subheading. Firstly, to use them sparingly and secondly, to use
    them to pick out the selling points in the text only when the
    text is too ‘heavy’ to invite attention otherwise.

    106

    Text: The copy or the reading matter is termed as text. It
    should not be too wide neither should it be too narrow. The
    consumer should be able to read the copy with ease. Lower
    case letters are better that capitals, expanded letters better
    than condensed and roman letters better read than italic.
    Spacing is very critical.

    Trademark: It is the word or design by which the commodity
    is defined. A registered trademark should always be included
    in the layout. It may form the background or be embodied
    in the border; it may dominate the heading or the nameplate.

    You must understand that a particular balance must be brought
    out in the layout so that there is a flow in the sequence of the
    various elements of the layout.
    So in a nutshell let me say that you must focus on the following
    4 aspects of a layout:
    1. Heading
    2. Illustration
    3. Copy
    4. Logo
    It is advised that you all look at ads in a different light from
    now on.

    Please note the layout of the above ad, especially the beautiful
    integration of the foreground and background (umbrella & the
    4 elements of nature). The logo, the headline, the illustration
    and the copy are a good example of how the 4 elements of
    layout are used.

    Layout in a Nutshell
    You could of course change it according to the aesthetics that
    you may seem good.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Headline

    Illustration

    Copywriting
    Logo

    Notes

    107

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 19:
    TUTORIAL
    You are to write a copy for 2 advertisements. The brands could
    be of your choice and you have to write 50 words for each
    brand. Show as to which type of copy you are writing and how
    do you justify as to why the consumer would buy the product
    after reading your copy.
    You are to take 2 advertisements from a newspaper and identify
    the layout elements used. Thereafter in an A4 size sheet paper
    cut & paste a new layout of the 2 advertisements.
    Create a slogan for the following products:

    “Zapata Jeans”

    “Trendy Watch”

    “Rox Chocolates”

    “Zoom Camera”

    “Fuma Shoes”

    “LPB Television”

    “Chuang Chinese Restaurant”

    Create a TV commercial for a Life Insurance Company focusing
    on ‘Slice of Life’ & ‘Testimonials’. Please enact it in front of the
    class. Not more than 5 people in a group.
    Create 3 different types of headlines for the same product. The
    product is Tomato Ketchup.
    You are given a few pictures, based on them create headlines
    and assume which industry you would like to associate the
    picture with.

    108

    You are to visualize a TV commercial & a print commercial for a
    product aimed at children. The product could be of your choice.
    Identify all the elements that you would keep while visualizing.
    The faculty could change the tutorial if he / she so desires.

    Notes

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the importance appeals
    in the formulation of advertisements.

    You will also understand the different buying motives of
    the consumer.

    provide some guidelines to the marketer for developing
    advertising appeals The most popular and widely accepted need
    scheme is the one given by A.H. Maslow. Maslow’s basic
    human need structure states five levels hierarchically. They are:
    i. Physiological Needs or Creature Comforts (Hunger, Thirst,
    Sex, etc.): These are biological need such as food, water, sleep,
    and so on, and are the most potent of all human needs.
    These are therefore placed at the first level of the hierarchy.
    ii. Safety Needs (Security, Protection, etc.): These are based on
    the needs for physical safety and security, and stress such
    things as preference of the familiar to the unfamiliar and for
    the known to the unknown.
    iii. Love Needs (Affection, Belongingness, etc.): These needs are
    at least partially fulfilled by marriage parenthood and
    belonging to organizations, such as the Rotary, Lions and
    others.

    Advertising has become expensive, time-consuming and an
    important marketing activity. Firms have a great stake in the
    success of their advertising campaigns, for their growth and, at
    times, even their survival, depend on it. A vast amount of
    time, money and energy go into the creative work of developing
    advertising appeals to influence the buying behavior of
    consumers. Through various appeals, advertising influence,
    rationally or emotionally, the prospects’ purchase decisions. For
    this purpose, they take the help of varying product features or
    attributes in their ad appeals, or seek to influence consumer
    perception of, and. changes in consumer attitude to, the
    advertised product or brand. Ad appeals may be productoriented or consumer-oriented. Since there are a large number
    of such ad appeals, it would be difficult to discuss them all. It
    would, therefore, be helpful to devise a framework for classifying advertising appeals.

    Human Needs as Basis for Appeals
    The basic concepts in marketing tell us that PI: is all about
    satisfying consumer wants and needs. Product and services are
    offered by the marketer to satisfy one need or the other. Most
    of the time needs are well known; but sometimes it is the
    marketer who creates consumer demand. This is what we call
    creative marketing. Ultimately, all advertising appeals are created
    for the purpose of activating human needs and wants, and
    showing how the advertised brand can satisfy those needs and
    wants. The advertiser has to determine the needs at which the
    advertising message should be directed. Though it looks
    simple, it is, in fact, very difficult to arrive at the right human
    needs or wants, which would be the basis for ad appeals.
    Psychologists themselves do not seem to agree upon what
    constitutes a set of basic human needs. However, there are
    some generally accepted standard list of need structure, which

    iv. Esteem Needs (Self-Respect, Prestige, Social Approval,
    Achievement, etc.): As love needs become’ least partially
    satisfied, the need for such things as prestige, self-respect,
    esteem and status emerge. The desire for achievement,
    independence and self-confidence are also part of these
    needs.
    v. Self Actualization Needs (Self-Fulfillment, Self-Experience,
    etc.): The desire for self-fulfillment, or becoming everything
    one is capable of becoming is the essence of these needs.
    Included in them are aesthetic satisfaction,’ acquiring
    knowledge, and so on.
    Maslow states that each “higher” need dominates the organism
    as the lower ones become satisfied or nearly (sufficiently)
    satisfied. A person who has basically satisfied his physiological
    and safety needs will become concerned about the satisfaction
    of progressively higher level needs (love, esteem, self-actualization). One of these five stages is always prepotent, even though
    the needs at other stages are still influential; that is, some needs
    from all the five stages may operate on an individual at the time
    that one stage is dominant. An important point to remember is
    that a consumer does have to satisfy one class of needs
    completely before progressing to other classes.
    Taking a closer look at the human needs, we find that physiological needs are the most basic of the five basic needs
    structure of Maslow. The need for food and water is so
    essential that, without its satisfaction, life would cease to exist.
    An individual is first concerned about the satisfaction of his
    food, water, sleep, and other biological needs. In a society where
    basic physiological needs are not fulfilled, advertisers of food
    and related products have to depict them as a better way of
    satisfying the hunger needs. In contrast to this, where most
    people in a society have this need satisfied, the advertiser should
    depict the food item as one, which can help to satisfy a higherlevel need, i.e., love or esteem, for example. Once the

    109

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 20
    AD. APPEALS

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    physiological needs have been largely satisfied, every human
    being is concerned with the next level of his needs, i.e., safety
    needs. When these two basic needs have been largely satisfied,
    he is free from constant fear for his safety, health and security.
    Advertising of food products for the satisfaction of the needs
    of hunger is hardly necessary. However, advertising: for
    economical housing societies, life insurance policies, cheaper but
    nutritious food, healthy drinking water and promotion of
    sanitary living conditions – these would still be relevant to our
    society.
    Next to the safety needs come love needs. Every individual,
    whose first two levels of needs, have been fairly satisfied, will
    seek to love and would like to be loved by others. Love, here, is
    not to be construed as synonymous with the physiological
    sense. Sex involves both physiological and psychological
    gratification. Sex is often used in advertising, as a means of
    satisfying both physiological and love needs. Advertisers have
    made an extensive use of sex appeals in their advertising.
    However, these appeals are aimed at the satisfaction of the love
    need (affection).
    Esteem needs are of two types: one, those which are related to
    how a person sees himself reflected in his personal achievement
    and self-confidence; and, second, those which are related to
    how, he believes, others see him. How others see him is
    reflected in the attention and recognition he receives from others
    as well as his reputation and prestige among other people.
    Suiting ads of Vimal, Dinesh and Digjam aim at increasing the
    self-confidence of the user. The jewellery ads of Tribhovandas
    in Mumbai stress the prestige you can enjoy by using such
    expensive jewellery. Advertising of any product, which can
    increase the self-confidence, and self-worth of those who use it
    makes this appeal – the satisfaction of the self-esteem need.
    Many ads use the prestige appeal, which the user of such
    advertised products will enjoy.
    Maslow’s hierarchy of the need structure is the most widely
    accepted list of basic needs, a detailed knowledge of which is
    necessary for any advertiser. However, others have also given
    their own classification. Combs and Snygg are of the opinion
    that there is only one basic need – the need for maintaining or
    enhancing one’s self-concept. Berelson and Stenier have given a
    list of primary and secondary human needs. The primary needs
    are physiological ones based on the biological functioning of
    every human being. The secondary needs, according to them, are
    those which are acquired or learnt, and are not necessary for the
    basic biological functioning of an individual.

    The Primary needs Include
    i. Supply Motives: Hunger and thirst.
    ii. Avoidance Motives: Avoidance of pain, fear, harm and other
    negative consequences.
    iii. Species-maintaining Motives: Reproduction, mating and
    nutritive motives.

    The Secondary needs Include
    i. Acquired or Learned: It is believed that secondary needs are
    learned because of the satisfaction of primary needs. One

    110

    learns that one can better satisfy one’s hunger-and-thirst need
    by acquiring property and other possessions;
    ii. Recognition needs;
    iii. Affiliation needs.

    The following Conclusions May now be Drawn
    i. Unsatisfied needs are motivators of behavior and satisfied
    needs are not.
    ii. Much of human behavior is motivated by subconscious and
    unconscious needs. These are needs we do not or cannot
    consciously admit to ourselves. For example, in one of the
    ads of “Sir Shirts,” it was said: “This is the MAN SIR is
    made for.” A handsome man, together with his lovely girl, is
    shown in the picture. Man has an unsatisfied (and
    unconscious) need for exhibiting himself as a “he” man to
    his sweetheart. Wearing a Sir Shirt is presumably a symbolic
    way of satisfying this unconscious need.
    iii. Generally, several needs operate simultaneously to cause a
    given behavior response; but only some needs are more
    important in behavior than others. These “key” needs
    should be identified and appealed to, directly and indirectly in
    the advertising message.

    Buying Motives
    We have already seen that needs motivate us. The various
    buying motives are given here by way of illustration. Essentially,
    the advertisers appeal to some of these motives or needs in
    their ad message.
    Different kinds of motives encourage people to certain goals.
    All of man’s actions are guided by his cognition, i.e., his
    apprehension, his awareness and his anticipation. When we ask
    a question: Why do people buy? We are in reality asking the
    question of motivation of buying. Motivation is thus concerned with the why of human behavior. Motives arouse and
    maintain activity and determine the general direction of
    behavior of an individual. In essence motives or needs are the
    mainsprings of action. Need or motive is something in an
    individual that prompts him to action. The following are the
    important buying motives:

    Unconscious Motivation
    Freud invited our attention to the unconscious motivation.
    People are not really aware of everything they want, that they
    will often have tastes, ‘biases or attitudes which strongly
    influence their buying behavior. But they really cannot account
    for it.
    Power Motive
    Power is a very strong motivator. We buy many things so that
    we can exercise power over others.
    Competence Motives
    We have a desire to have job mastery and professional advancement. So a doctor buys many types of equipment according to
    competence motive.
    Affiliation Motive
    Man is a sociable creature. We seek the company of others to
    gain some impersonal reward. The desire to be with other
    people for its own pleasure is also known. In many life-style

    Security Needs
    Investments decisions, medicines, insurance policies etc. are sold
    on die basis of this need. Hosieries, woolens, umbrellas,
    rainwear etc. also get purchased against this need. This need is
    operative both at the conscious and unconscious levels. Fear is
    used as negative appeal to emphasize this motive.
    Social Needs or Motives
    Needs for belongingness is one powerful motive. We’ want to
    be a. part of national mainstream. So we wish to buy packaged
    tours to Singapore, Europe, Nepal, Kashmir and other
    destinations. We want to be members of Diner’s Card or BOB
    Card or Cancard. We want membership of Dynasty Cultural
    Club or Rotary Club or Lions Club.
    Esteem Needs or Motives
    These are the motives of distinction, achievement, status and
    independence. Pride and vanity motives also fall in this category.
    These are important buying motives. Automobiles are sometimes bought because they’ give us social status. All premium
    products are sold against these motives.
    Physiological Needs or Motives
    Some of our motives are to survive – we buy food products
    because of this. We buy houses and flats also to survive. W~
    buy textiles for protection and survival. These are all primary
    motives ~f buying.
    Comfort and Convenience
    Different kinds of furniture, interior decor, footwear, woolens
    etc., we buy for our comfort. Similarly, calculators and computers make it convenient for us to do our accounts, billings and all
    such other functions. Kitchen gadgets like grinder-mixers,
    fridges, cooking ranges etc. are bought against these motives.
    Envy
    As Shakespeare has put it: ‘Envy, thy name is woman.’ Women
    envy the gorgeous dress others wear, the cosmetics others use,
    the complexion the next-door-neighbor has, and the ornaments the cousins have bought. Men also do not lag behind.
    Onida Color T.V. is ‘the neighbor’s envy, but the owner’s pride.’
    Wardrobes, cosmetics, fashion wear, designer dresses are all sold
    against this motivation.
    Fashion
    Fashion over a period of time changes – in dress, in eating, in
    design, in make-up, in appearance etc. Certain things are
    considered to be in fashion and in style. Readymade garments,
    salwar kurta, trendy tops and tee shirts are all sold on fashion
    grounds.
    Novelty
    Newness itself is a strong buying motive. We now have
    adopted Odopik washing powder in place of earth or clay,
    Sanifresh toilet cleaner, Odonil air-fresheners – all on the basis
    of newness. After a time, newness wears off and we search for
    something else. We formerly applied Odomos as mosquito
    repellent on the body, but now we say goodknight to the
    mosquitoes by using “Goodknight Heater.”

    Sex and Romance
    As it is, sex is a primary need, like the hunger and thirst. Most
    of the personal care products, toiletries, textiles, cigarettes etc.
    are sold on this basis. Romance is a matter of feeling, a very
    exotic feeling. Romance could be in imagination also. Tourist
    destinations, honeymoon packages, jewellery etc. are sold on
    this basis. Of course, sex and romance are inter-related.
    Greed
    This motive makes us save and economize. We also like to avail
    of discount sales, free gifts, price offs, premiums, coupons etc.
    because of this motive.
    Curiosity
    This is also a good buying motive. We are interested to know
    about the known and the unknown things. Books, games,
    quizes, new tourists destinations, dictionaries, encyclopedias,
    self-learning packages. etc. are sold on this basis.
    The above list is only illustrative, and not exhaustive.
    A motive is a state of tension. It activates action towards a goal
    and sustains it till the goal is reached. Motivation can be
    conscious or unconscious. Motives make the behavior of the
    individual goal directed. Of course, the means to achieve the
    goal may be different, e.g., you may achieve distinction by being
    a Star athlete like Shiny Wilson or an ace gynecologist like Dr.
    Shirodkar.
    Motives are inside the individual – a mental state. Buying
    motives indicate our buying intentions. Maslow has classified
    human needs (the manifestation of motives) into five categories, as we have already seen.
    Appeals and Buying Motives: Both these are closely related
    concepts. Appeals are cues or provide stimulus. Appeals are
    made because there are buying motives leading to action.
    Appeals are developed thus on the basis of buying motives.
    “Lower-priced Nirma has the price appeal, but it incorporates
    economy motive. Tonics give us energy but they incorporate
    health appeal. Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri gives exquisite
    jewellery. This beauty appeals to the buying motive of pride or
    possession.

    Appeals and Advertising Message
    We have mentioned that the advertising message should appeal,
    directly or indirectly, to those key needs, which influence
    behavior response. Without going into communication
    theories and models, we shall deal with the message content, its
    structure and the format to be employed for the formulation of
    an appropriate message.
    The message content refers to what the advertiser has to say to
    the target audience that will produce the desired response. It
    may be an appeal, a time, an idea or a unique selling proposition. In fact, the message content ultimately formulates some
    kind of benefit, motive or reason why the audience should
    respond to, or do, something.
    The message content refers to what the advertiser has to say to
    the target audience that will produce the desired response. It
    may be an appeal, a time, an idea or a unique selling proposition. In fact, the message content ultimately formulates some
    kind of benefit, motive or reason why the audience should
    respond to, or do, something.
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    advertising of products like cigarettes and soft drinks, we make
    use of affiliation motive.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    which are normally, considered rational under ordinary circumstances:
    i. High Quality : People buy television, stereophonic music
    systems, furniture, refrigerators, electric gadgets; kitchenware
    and a host of consumer durables for their high quality. Many
    consumer goods, too, are bought for their quality, such as
    clothing, beverages, food items, etc., and not merely because
    of their taste or fashion, or style.
    ii. Low Price : Many people buy low-priced locally made air
    conditioners for their homes because they believe that these
    products will show a product performance similar to, or
    slightly inferior to, that of nationally reputed brands at
    higher price. Whether this is true or not, a person, as long he
    believes this to be true, thinks his reason will be accepted as a
    “good” one by his social group. In this case, he is exhibiting
    a rational motive.
    iii. Long Life, as of a car tyre that will give 30,000 kms, before its
    utility has been exhausted.
    iv. Performance, as of a ballpoint pen that won’t release
    excessive ink or skip under any circumstances.
    v. Ease of use, as of a screwdriver with a magnetized tip which
    clings to the metal head of the screw, or a timer in the
    kitchen mixer which switches off automatically after a predetermined time period.
    vi. Re-sale Value, as of a two-wheeler scooter. “Bajaj” has a
    better re-sale value than any other make.

    Types of Appeals

    vii.Economy, in the operating expenses of some brands of
    refrigerator is greater because they consume less electricity.
    Many two-wheeler vehicles claim a better mileage per litre
    consumption of fuel than similar other vehicles.
    We should, however, point out that some of the best ads are
    totally irrational. Porsche car ads listed such irrational benefits.
    Volkswagen built itself on the proposition it’s ugly but it
    works. Nine per cent of the human psyche is irrational. But,
    what is irrational can be made to seem rational. Gary Goldsmith
    is not content with just a rational benefit but expects the benefit
    offered to be such, which a rational person can understand.

    Appeals are broadly classified as rational, emotional and moral
    appeals. Rational appeals are those directed at the thinking
    process of the audience. They involve some sort of a deliberate
    reasoning process, which a person believes would be acceptable
    to other members of his social group. They attempt to show
    that the product would yield the expected functional benefit.
    Rationality has come to be equated with substance. A rational
    ad becomes believable and effective. Although there may be
    some disagreement regarding which motives are rational and
    which are emotional, the following are some buying motives,

    112

    Industrial buyers are most responsive to rational appeals. They
    make purchase decisions in line with the technical specification
    of the product, product quality, etc. Most industrial buyers are
    knowledgeable about the product class, trained to recognize
    value and are responsible to others about their choice. Often,
    industrial buying decisions are made after a thorough comparison of various offers and after evaluating the various benefits
    of different makes. Consumer durables of high value ‘are also
    often bought on the basis of rational appeals. People are ready
    and willing to give rational motives if asked why they have
    made a particular [purchase. Those who buy Playboy or
    Debonair are likely to say they buy them for the articles. Even
    when decisions are made on emotional grounds, people like to
    rationalize their decision~ to show that they are based on
    sound rational grounds. Strong emotional propositions need
    rational underpinnings. Most of us want others to regard us as
    rational human beings. That is why we like to give socially
    acceptable reasons for our buying decisions. We feel that rational

    Emotional appeals are those appeals,
    which are not preceded by careful analysis
    of the pros and cons of making a buying.
    Emotions are those mental agitations or
    excited states of feeling which prompt us
    to make a purchase. Emotional motives
    may be below the level of consciousness,
    and may not be recognized by a person; or
    even if he is fully aware that such a motive
    is operating, he is unwilling to admit it to
    others because he feels that it would be
    unacceptable as a “proper” reason for
    buying among his associates and colleagues.
    Emotional appeals are designed to stir up
    some negative or positive emotions that
    will motivate product interest or purchase.
    Different emotional appeals, which are
    particularly important from the advertising
    point of view, are listed below. Following
    several motivation research studies, it has
    been found that negative emotional
    appeals are more effective than positive
    ones. We shall also, therefore, name the
    negative appeals first.

    Emotional Appeals: Response Categories

    Dimension of response to emotional
    appeal
    Feelings of an up-beat mood evoked by
    music, Humor and other such ad elements
    Feelings of quiet and relaxed pleasantness
    used in cosmetic commercials bringing out
    sensuousness
    Feelings of heart-warming and tenderness

    Illustration
    ‘Celebrate with Asian Paints Home Coming’ Campaign!
    ‘Lakme – she’s a woman to me’ campaign.
    Cadbury’s ‘Mother-son’ commercial.

    Feelings of motivational, appetite desire to
    Food ads.
    buy or consume the advertised
    brand/category
    Apart from the above four categories, the emotional roles the products play in Indian context also
    affect the response
    Role category
    of the product

    Details

    Normal part of the scene
    Necessary to set the stage on which
    important things in life occur
    associated with emotion- laden events
    like marriage

    Background

    Product necessary for interaction to
    occur

    Mediator to interactions

    All brands have rational and emotional
    credentials. Levi’s is youthful, rebellious
    and sexy. But it offers rational benefits like
    strength too. One has to balance between
    rational and emotional arguments.
    Singapore Airlines presents the Singapore
    girl, an emotional icon. But it also
    emphasizes in-flight service that other
    airlines talk about, which is a rational
    proposition.
    Negative Emotional Appeals: An
    advertiser may try to induce a particular
    Expression of Self
    behavioral change by emphasizing either
    positive or negative appeals, or a combination of both. For example, an advertising
    campaign to get the target audience to buy
    Products themselves
    fire insurance may stress the positive
    become
    aspect -low cost relative to other investobjects of emotion
    ment, the services the insurance company
    provides, early settlement of claims, and
    so on; or it may stress the negative aspect
    of not getting insurance – the danger of losing one’s possessions or the ravages of fire. Positive appeals use the strategy of
    “reducing” a person’s anxiety about “buying and using” a
    product, while negative appeals use the strategy of “increasing”
    a person’s anxiety about “not using” a product or service. In
    general, a positive appeal stresses the positive gains to a person
    from complying with the persuasive message; the negative
    appeal stresses his loss if he fails to comply.

    Example
    Room furnishings, accessories,
    most appliances storwel
    cupboard
    of Godrej.

    Cameras
    Souvenirs of events which
    enable
    reconstruction of these events
    (VII
    luggage campaign Kal bhi, Aaj
    bh
    Kal bhi).
    Restaurant scene of Titan
    watch ad. Husband gifts the
    watch to his
    wife. The symbol of warmth is
    the
    watch. The interactive has
    heightened. Background music
    plays an important part

    .

    High product involvement object
    becomes a substitute for human
    relations.

    Clothes, apparel and accessory
    categories.
    Remiders of self-esteem.
    Raymond’s ‘complete man’
    campaign.
    Sharmila Tagore and Pataudi
    in
    Gwalior suitings campaign.
    ‘Hamara Bajaj’ campaign.

    Precautions While using the Emotional Route
    1. The advertising should have relevance. If the product needs
    attribute-based rational advertising, emotional appeals
    should be avoided.
    2. There should be a natural flow of feelings.
    3. Execution should not be exaggerated. The level of
    emotionality should not exceed that experienced by the
    consumer.

    We give here the different dimensions of emotional appeals.
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    motives will raise our status in the eyes of our associates and
    colleagues.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    4. There is a difference between a consumer’s emotions
    associated with the product / brand and a consumer’s
    emotional reaction to the ad copy itself. Preferably, these two
    should be compatible.

    Fear Appeals
    The fear appeal is most important among emotional appeals,
    and also the most effective. It is said that the message’s
    effectiveness increases with the level of fear it generates. The use
    of fear appeal in getting people to start doing things they
    should is very common. Many ad messages of toothpaste
    employ this appeal. They present the fear of tooth decay or
    unhealthy gums or bad breath, and then suggest the use of a
    specific brand of toothpaste to get rid of such fears. A recent ad
    of “Promise” shows a boy weeping because of severe toothache, and then suggests the use of “Promise” to avoid a
    recurrence of toothache.
    A fear appeal of this kind is used in a wide variety of product
    categories. When products are designed to protect an individual
    from some loss of health (medical or life insurance), the fear
    appeal of the type illustrated above can be effectively employed.
    Then there are products designed to protect an individual from
    loss of property (automobile or home), which successfully
    employ fear appeals to induce a particular buying behavior.
    Fear appeals are at times used in ad messages in connection with
    getting people to stop doing the things they shouldn’t do. The
    advertisements relating to prohibition, prevention of losses
    and conservation of energy fall in this category. The warning on
    the cigarette packet that smoking is injurious to health is a
    typical example, even though this is a statutory warning and
    advertisers themselves would not like to include it is the ad on
    their own.
    Then there are many products that are, directly or indirectly,
    involved in the avoidance of a fearful situation. A large number
    of advertisements employ the fear appeal in their ad messages
    of products, which relate to more subtle social and psychological motivations, such as loss of status, friendship, job, position,
    and so forth. Personal-care products (soaps, cosmetics, deodorants, shave lotions, mouthwash, etc.) fall in this category. Fear is
    the higher level of tension; but anxiety has been used to
    promote the sale of a large number of instant foods, other
    food products and home appliances. Think of ads wherein the
    housewife’s anxieties are fully exploited to get the message
    across to the target audience.
    The more carefully fear is built, the greater is the tension
    resulting in a greater drive from within to reduce the tension.
    Research studies have proved that extremely great fear appeals
    ate less effective than moderate ones in motivating people to
    adopt the product and eliminate fear. However, very weak fear
    appeals are not effective either in evoking the desired response.
    Therefore, a selection of the appropriate fear level is important;
    it should be strong enough to heighten the drive of the people
    to buy a particular product. But if an excessively strong fear is
    pictured, it is possible that people would exhibit a defensive
    behavior, and tries to avoid the ad, and may not be prepared to
    accept the threat. They may even take the view that the solution
    recommended in the ad may be inadequate to deal with so great
    a fear. However, some researchers have found cases where
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    strong fear appeals have worked beautifully. They feel that
    buyers have different tolerances for fear and that therefore,
    different levels of the fear message should be set for the various
    segments of the audience. However, the underlying concept
    that every message should promise to relieve, in a believable
    way, the fear it arouses should be the ultimate guide in the
    selection of the levels of fear appeals. A general principle of
    “not too much and not too little” is most relevant in the
    selection of appropriate fear appeals.
    CARE (an American conducted a methodical study in rural
    north India (mainly UP) ad agency) to discover which of the
    two appeals – positive or negative-would work better in getting
    a nutritive food accepted. The positive appeal was love of
    children and the negative one was fear of the consequences of
    malnutrition. The “love” campaign featured a proud mother
    rearing her thriving child on the prescribed food. The “fear”
    approach created a frightening devil (rakshas), symbolizing the
    disease and misfortune arising from wrong food habits. These
    campaigns were run for a full year in two different areas. The
    evaluation of these campaigns clearly showed that the fear
    appeal created a great deal more awareness of the value of the
    nutritive food. The negative proposition aroused immediate
    reaction because of the fact that an unpleasant bang is more
    likely to make one sit up than the melodious strains of
    soothing music. Some authors and experts in the field of
    advertising, however, may disagree with this view. But fear
    appeals are seldom composed entirely of negatives. The
    warnings generally pave the way for positive advice and exhortation, and in this form the negative appeals appear to be just as
    effective on the average as positive appeals.
    Take, for example, the recent advertisement of Khaitan Kitchen
    fans employing a negative appeal. The headline states: “Are you
    cooking or being cooked?” It goes on: “Every housewife knows
    how miserable she feels when she cooks. It makes her irritable
    and saps her energy. Khaitan presents a simple, efficient and
    inexpensive answer. ‘The Khaitan Fresh Air Fan.’ It drives out
    smoke, smells and heat, and brings in fresh air. Not only that;
    thanks to the continuous inflow of fresh air, the chances of
    dampness are eliminated. And this prevents cockroaches and
    other insects from breeding in your kitchen.”
    The headline and the initial part of the body of the copy
    effectively create fear; but the latter part of the copy presents the
    solution and the positive appeal of the product. Such is the
    most common form of the advertising message – first building
    up fear and then offering a solution with other positive appeals
    of the product advertised. On the level of fear, Aaker and Myer,
    in their book, Advertising Management, rightly state that fear or
    anxiety has two kinds of possible effects on message reception
    and yielding. As a stimulus, its effect tends to be negative; and
    as a drive, it tends to be positive. Furthermore, too little anxiety
    tends to provide an insufficient drive, and too much anxiety
    tends to make the stimulus aspect predominant. The net result
    of these two factors is to make the relationship between anxiety
    level and message effectiveness non-monotonic, with maximum effectiveness occurring at the intermediate levels of
    anxiety.

    In the closing sentence, the ad appeals by saying: “Give your
    family the Loving Care of Dettol Soap.” Mother’s love for the
    baby has been appealed to in ad of Johnson’s baby soap. It
    says: “Gentle as a kiss on your baby’s tender skin.” It further,
    goes on to say: ‘’Johnson’s Baby Soap. Because Johnson &
    Johnson care for your baby almost as I much as you do.” Is this
    positive appeal not effective, when the advertiser shows as
    much care for a child as its mother does?

    Fear Appeal and Market Segmentation
    We have just now stated that, in some cases, big doses of fear
    are recommended, whereas, in others, the use of low levels of
    fear is the logical strategy. We have also given examples of an ad
    about dental health, where the degree of associated fear is high,
    and an ad about smoking and cancer, where the level of fear is
    low. Furthermore, apart from the differences in product
    categories, the age and personality differences in the target
    audience vary the effectiveness of each level of fear appeal. That
    is why it has been recommended that both the market segment
    and product category groupings should be taken into consideration before designing appropriate fear appeals.
    Let us take an in-depth look at the use of fear appeals and their
    relationship with the market segment, for this will provide a
    valuable insight to advertisers. It is important to note that
    although people generally prefer positive arguments, a fear
    appeal can make an advertisement stand out from others. For
    individuals whose aroused fear or anxiety about the product is
    low, and those who would not normally search for information
    about the product, the fear appeal can be particularly effective if
    these individuals have been previously exposed to positive
    arguments.
    It has been found that it is better to put fear first in the order
    of presentation, to threaten someone close to the prospect
    rather than the prospect himself. While advertising a helmet for
    scooter-riders, the fear of injury to the head is the most
    appealing to the wife and to someone close to the rider. The
    rider himself may not accept the idea promptly because of selfesteem and of ego consciousness. The appeal of intense fear
    might be best for people who tend to be of low-anxiety and
    high self-esteem people, who exhibit a copying behavior, and
    who find the product to be of low relevance. There are many
    who have a low vulnerability to fear and anxiety. For example,
    life insurance companies find that fear appeals work beautifully
    with those who feel that they do not need coverage for their
    lives. Fear appeals are appropriate for breaking into new market
    segments. In fact, the susceptibility to fear appeals is one more
    approach to the market segmentation process. A careful analysis
    of those potential fear appeals, designed to arouse emotion in a
    group or audience, should be made a part of advertising
    strategy, wherein all ads addressed to this audience will incorporate such fear appeals. Thus, if appropriate fear appeals are
    defined, they become a useful tool in market segmentation.

    Advertisers have also successfully used messages communicating the joy and thrill (all, those soft drink, ads) associated with
    using the product. A humorous message attracts more
    attention and creates more liking and belief in the source,
    though it reduces comprehension. David Ogilvy, a well-known
    personality in the advertising profession, believes that humour
    has been over-used: “People are amused by clowns – they don’t
    buy from them…So many people in advertising are compulsive
    entertainers who seek applause rather than sales.”

    Positive Emotional Appeals
    Positive appeals highlight product benefits and attributes
    capable of influencing consumer behavior. They are love,
    humor, pride, prestige and joy. Most baby food products have a
    mother’s love appeal. Love for family is perfectly employed in an
    ad of Dettol soap that has been called “The Love & Care Soap.”

    Other positive emotional appeals involving price, prestige or
    exclusiveness are often used in ads of suitings. Advertisements
    of suitings by Raymonds, Digjam, Dinesh etc., employ
    emotional motives, “Suitings for the Connoisseur,” a Digjam
    ad campaign, is an example of appealing to those individuals
    who are experts in matters of taste and choice of clothing.
    Other emotional motives are illustrated in the following list:
    i. Desire to be different, as illustrated by people who build an
    ultra modem home in an area of traditional homes.
    ii. Desire to confirm, as in the case of teenage boy and girls
    who want to be “in jeans” because all their friends wear
    jeans.
    iii. Desire to attract the opposite sex, as shown by a teenage girl
    who buys a new cosmetic in order to make her skin more
    beautiful.
    iv. Desire for prestige, as shown by a person who buys the
    most expensive automobile (Mercedes, Toyota, etc.) he can
    afford in order to impress his friends.
    In making purchases, many combine both rational and
    emotional motives. In fact, a blend of buying motives usually
    is the basis of a purchase: An engineer may take up a management course at any of the prestigious schools because he feels it
    will make him look important in the eyes of his associates and
    help him in securing a better job in the industry and business.
    A woman may want to buy a new home in posh locality
    because it will improve her family’s social status and because it is
    within walking distance of a good school for her children.
    Moral appeals are those appeals to the audience that appeal to
    their sense of right and wrong. These are often used in
    messages to arouse a favorable response to social causes, such as
    prohibition, adult literacy, social forestry, anti-smuggling and
    hoarding, consumer protection, equal rights for women, social
    responsibility projects of corporations, rural development,
    siding weaker sections of society, employment generation, and
    so on. There are messages that appeal for generous donations
    for flood victims and for famine relief operations – these are
    often based on moral appeal. Many commercial advertisements
    are criticized on moral grounds. The most controversial ad
    campaigns are by multinational companies marketing baby food

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    And, lastly, so far as appeals to fear are concerned, this approach
    is useful for products that are of little interest to consumers
    when rational appeals are employed. Even in cases where the
    product fulfils a generally recognized need, fear appeals are
    effective. Take the case of life insurance. Fear appeals are still
    required to sell policies. However, fear appeals fail in the case of
    the cancer hazard of cigarette smoking, which is often rejected
    by most smokers.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    products. Many WHO experts are critical of these corporations
    that promote bottle-feeding against breast-feeding.

    sensuous. For Calvin Klein, sex has always been a favorite
    selling point.

    Sex Appeals in Advertising
    Sex appeal is being increasingly used in Indian advertising to
    overcome the culture in the print as well as broadcast media and
    to grab attention. Sex appeals in contraceptive ads have become
    explicit, and are more visual than verbal. Does sex really sell? Or
    is it a negative influence on consumer? The answer is not either
    affirmative or negative for these questions, and depends upon a
    number of factors.
    Effectiveness of ads is measured in terms of the objectives creating awareness may be the objective, and then brand recall is
    a measure of effectiveness. The advertising objective may be to
    make the consumer buy – here buying intention is a measure of
    effectiveness. The following summarizes the research studies in
    this context.
    Research shows that non-sexual illustrations are more effective
    than sexual ones while undergoing brand recall. Men remember
    the sexy illustration and neglect the brand. Favorably disposed
    people to the use of sex had a higher brand recall of brand
    names that used sex appeals in their ads.
    Negatively inclined people to sex had a lower brand recall.
    Research also shows that nude illustrations of female are least
    appealing, are associated with lowest quality product and least
    reputable company. Recently Seven’s research shows that explicit
    sex appeals do not interfere with the ability to recall brand
    names.
    It has also been observed that visual which is highly sexual
    interferes with the cognitive processing of the message since
    readers tend to spend more time on the ad as a whole. Information transmission is definitely adversely affected by sex
    appeal.
    Functional sex appeals have highest recall and so also symbolism.
    Inappropriate sex appeals have lowest recall. Fantasies are also
    used as sex appeals. Appeal that are consistent with the product,
    lead to a higher recall.
    There might be gender-related responses to sex appeal. Females
    may find the sexual ad offensive and so its use for a femaletargeted product runs a risk. A lipstick ad showing a female
    model that is seductive may grab the attention of the maleaudience rather than the targeted female audience.
    Connotative sexual appeals like symbolism are more acceptable
    than explicit appeals.
    The sexual appeals are justified in case of products like personal
    products, panties, bras, undergarments, and swimsuits. They
    may not go well with industrial products. The relevance of the
    appeal to the product is very important.
    The manner of sex portrayal, the sex of the models and the
    target segment also affect the effectiveness of the ad. Blatant
    references to sex are suddenly the in-thing in American advertising. Marketers promoting perfumes, jeans, alcohols, gloves,
    watches and cars are resorting to this route. Media clutter may be
    one reason that leads to the explosion of sexual imagery in
    advertising. Ads of perfumes have traditionally focused on the

    The late Justice Hidayatullah had ruled “where obscenity and art
    are mixed, art must be so prepondering as to throw the
    obscenity into the shadow.” We tend to agree with him. There
    is a thin line between nudity and crudity. Even an act of kissing
    has both sexual and non-sexual content. “Of no use to one, yet
    it is absolute bliss to two. The small boy gets it for nothing, the
    young man has to steal it and the old man has to buy it. The
    baby’s right, the lover’s privilege, the hypocrite’s mask. To a
    young girl, faith; to a married woman, hope and to an old
    maid; charity.”

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    Sex appeals are interpreted differently from time to time, region
    to region, person to person, country to country, and society to
    society. Even the same person reacts to them differently at
    different stages of his life cycle.

    Direct and Indirect Appeals
    Another way of classifying ad appeals, comes about whether we
    they are linked directly or indirectly with consumer needs.
    Sometimes advertisers are explicit about the need to which they
    are appealing, whereas, at other times, appeals are veiled or
    purposely kept ambiguous, and the consumer has to determine
    the relevance of the appeal to him.

    Direct Appeals
    Direct appeals are those that clearly communicate with the
    consumers about a given need, followed by a message that
    extols the advertised brand as a product that satisfies that need.
    In Industrial advertising, some ads may have a direct appeal,
    satisfying the customer’s technical need; but, in consumer
    advertising, the direct appeal plays a very limited role. Examples
    of direct appeal ads for consumer products are rare. In America,
    the hamburger was once advertised with the hunger appeal. The
    ad said: “When you get a man-size hunger, eat a whopper
    hamburger.”

    Indirect Appeals
    Indirect appeals are those that do not emphasize a human need,
    but allude to a need. Because advertisers understand the
    influence of needs upon selective perception, they leave some
    ambiguity in the message so that the consumers may be free to
    interpret it and the need to which the advertiser is appealing.
    Since this interpretation of the consumer is not difficult, there is
    no risk involved in keeping the ambiguity in the message.
    Indirect appeals are either product-oriented or consumeroriented, or may be a combination of the two. We shall now
    discuss each one of these indirect appeals in details.

    Product-Oriented Indirect Appeals: They are
    Grouped into three Classifications
    i. Feature-oriented Appeals: The basic message is about
    product features, characteristics and attributes. Examples:
    Instant Shine, Cherry shoe polish, ‘’Promise,’’ the unique
    toothpaste with the time-tested clove oil.
    ii. Use-oriented Appeals: The basic message emphasizes specific
    in-operation and/or post-operation advantages of the brand
    advertised. Examples: Anne French hair remover ad: “How
    much cruelty can a woman’s skin bear?” The headline is a

    iii. Product Comparison Appeals: “The basic message
    emphasizes the differences between the advertised brand and
    the competing brands. The advertised brand, of course, has
    a net advantage over those with which it is compared;
    otherwise the whole exercise becomes futile. Think of those
    ads of electric fans, when the product features of various
    brands are compared in the ad in a tabulated form – such
    features as the number of poles of the motor, the number
    of bearings, the price, warranty period offered, etc. A
    refrigerator advertisement compares the types of
    compressors used, whether high speed or low speed,
    electricity consumption, noise level, the quality of the white
    enameled body, extra tray, etc.

    Consumer-Oriented Indirect Appeals: They are
    Further Divided as Follows
    i. Attitude-oriented Appeals: The basic message is one that is
    in line with the consumer’s attitude – his value – belief
    structure. Example: The ad series by Shriram group, namely:
    “Indian Corporate Evolution. The Shriram Experience.” In
    one of the ads, it says: “we are Indians. We must remember
    our roots.” Then it goes on to state the group’s belief in
    Indian traditions and the advantages it shares with the
    country. This message refers indirectly to Maslow’s esteem
    need.
    ii. Significant Group-oriented Appeals: The basic message
    emphasizes the kind of group that uses or approves of the
    advertised brand. The group may be a reference group, a
    social group, or a peer group, or any other group that is
    significant for the consumer target. The ad says: “Some
    possessions define a character. Some distinguish it. A
    cigarette so distinguished, it’s by appointment to your
    Majesty.”
    iii. Life Style-oriented Appeals: The basic message emphasizes
    an identifiable life style relevant to a defined target market.
    Example: An ad of Charminar cigarette making an appeal
    with its strong taste. For some hard smokers, a “strong”
    cigarette can only give relaxation, particularly after a day’s hard
    work. One needs a Charminar.
    iv. Sub-conscious-oriented Appeals: The basic message is
    distinguished and is directed at the consumer’s subconscious (or unconscious) need. These messages are aimed
    at the buyer’s dream world, but are veiled in some manner by
    messages appealing to the buyer’s conscious mind. Example:
    ‘Petals’ brassieres of VIP are advertised with a dreamy
    message: “As you flower into a woman, you discover the
    epitome of international fashion. Discover Petals.”
    v. Image-oriented Appeals: Although all advertising appeals
    create a brand image in the minds of consumers, the imageoriented approach is distinct in the sense that here the

    advertiser, consciously and purposefully, makes an effort to
    mould a brand image. There is an intention to create a specific
    brand image. One strategy is to create a brand image that
    “fits” either the self-image or self-ideal image of the target
    market.

    Essentials of an Advertisement Appeal
    i. It must be thematically sound.
    ii. It must be communicative.
    iii. It must be interesting.
    iv. It must have credibility.
    v. It must have finality and be complete.
    vi. It must contain truthful” information.

    Selling Points and Appeals
    Selling points are those product attributes that are listed in the
    advertisement copy to impress upon the consumer the
    significance of a product to him. They could be specifications,
    quality statements, composition statements, descriptive or
    narrative or performance statements. Some selling points are
    primary selling points and the rest are subsidiary selling points.
    Selling points in order to be effective must have the force to
    appeal to a particular buying motive. So selling points successfully touch upon the buying motives.

    Notes

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    searching question. The- ad message discards other methods
    of hair removing – they are shaving, waxing, and threading.
    Then it goes on to inform you how gently hair is removed
    with Anne French. Another example is of Stayfree belt less
    napkins by Johnson & Johnson. It highlights the fact that
    there is no need of belts or strings or pins. How convenient
    it is’, taking away all the botherations of women!

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 21:
    TUTORIAL
    How far do you think “Sex” could be used as an appeal? Bring
    out the ethics in this context?
    Create appeals for the following products in the form of Voice
    Over or Copy for print.

    Cigarettes

    Liquor

    AIDS

    Computers

    Amusement park

    Paints

    Motorcycle

    Automobiles

    You could take an existing brand or create your own brand. In
    case of existing brand you cannot take their appeal. You are to
    create a new one.

    Notes

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    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the importance using
    endorsements.

    You will also understand via the case study on the
    effectiveness in using testimony.

    Case Study
    Opportunity is always knocking, goes a splinter thought of the
    popular aphorism. The trick is to open the door every time it
    knocks.
    For confectionery major Parle Products Ltd, the findings of a
    recent study conducted by ACNielsen afforded the perfect
    opportunity to set up an interface with Indian consumers and
    speak to them about the popularity of flagship glucose biscuit
    brand, Parle-G. An opportunity that Parle Products and Everest
    Integrated Communications – the agency handling the Parle-G
    account – grabbed with both hands. The result? A fivecommercial ‘testimonial’ campaign that underlines the findings
    of the ACNielsen study: that Parle-G has emerged as the
    world’s largest-selling biscuit brand.
    A cursory look at the commercials, just to get a hang of the
    campaign. The first commercial (‘boarding school’) is about this
    girl recounting her first experience of boarding school. She talks
    about the anguish that comes from leaving a big, well-knit
    family, the alien atmosphere of the boarding school, the tears
    of distress… ‘Phir maine papa ke diye hue jhole ko khola,’ she
    says. ‘Pata hai usme kya tha? Parle-G… Wahi pehchaani
    khushboo, wahi swaad. Aisa laga jaise main ghar par baithke
    Parle-G kha rahi hoon…’ The spot ends with the voiceover:
    ‘Barson se apna sa swaad. Parle-G.’
    The second ad (‘exam’) is about a man harking back to the ‘allnight study plans’ that he and his friends used to chalk out
    while preparing for their examinations. The plans, of course,
    stayed as plans, with the friends rarely ever burning the midnight oil. ‘Raat bhar chai pee, raat bhar Parle-G khaayaa, thodi si
    padhai kar li… aur exams hamesha achhe beet gaye,’ he shrugs

    and smiles. ‘Soye dimaag ko jagaaye, Parle-G,’ informs the
    voiceover.
    Ad three (‘college’) has this boy narrating the story of how he
    gave the very desirable ‘Tina’ a lift from college one rainy day. It
    turns out that fussy Tina was prone to a bit of whining, while
    our narrator was rather stretched for money. ‘Meri jeb mein woh
    das ka phata hua note! Usse paise mangta? Tchk…’ the ego
    kicks in. The solution presents itself in the form of a roadside
    dhaba. ‘Ek cutting chai, ek Parle-G. Uska to mood ban gaya,
    yaar…’ the boy says, thrilled. ‘No fuzool, paisa vasool, Parle-G,’
    the voiceover chuckles.
    The remaining two ads (‘school’ and ‘train journey’) are about a
    mother talking about her son tendering excuses for not having
    his lunch in school, and about a woman recalling a train journey
    where Parle-G helped assuage hunger when the train was left
    stranded in the middle of nowhere. All five commercials end
    with the slug, ‘Parle-G. Duniya ka sabse zyaada biknewala
    biscuit.’ (For the records, as per ORG figures, Parle-G enjoys a
    69-per cent share of the domestic glucose biscuit market,
    pegged at close to 2.7 lakh tonnes per annum. Closest competitor Britannia Tiger has a 24 per cent market share.)
    “The client told us about the ACNielsen report which said that
    Parle-G is the world’s largest-selling biscuit,” explains Prabhakar
    Mundkur, president, Everest Integrated Communications.
    “And we saw there was an opportunity to talk to the consumer
    and make her feel proud of the fact that she was among the
    millions of Parle-G consumers the world over. It was something that not many brands can boast of, and the opportunity
    of reassuring the consumer about her choice of the world’s
    most popular biscuit couldn’t be missed.”
    The ACNielsen report might have presented the brand a
    communication opportunity, but the agency was not content
    with simply drumming in the largest-selling-biscuit message. It
    wanted to create a campaign that was befitting “a world
    champion”; one that would “stand out of the clutter” and
    “speak to a wide spectrum of users”. The agency figured that
    the best way to achieve all this was to create a campaign featuring
    ‘real people’ as brand ambassadors of Parle-G. And, for good
    measure, layer in Parle-G’s five ‘driving propositions’ (taste,
    nutrition, meal substitution, mental development/alertness,
    and affordability/value-for-money) by making them integral to
    the campaign thought.
    “Parle-G’s consumer base is unique in the way it cuts across age
    groups, income groups and SECs,” says Shailesh John
    Khalkho, account group manager at the agency. “So although
    the core target consumers are young mothers and kids in the 6to-12 bracket, we can have a campaign that speaks to the entire
    spectrum of consumers. Also, different people have different
    reasons for consuming Parle-G. These can be broadly clubbed
    under the five pillars of taste, nutrition, meal substitute, mental

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    LESSON 22:
    TESTIMONIALS & CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    development and price. So we created five stories built around
    these five different propositions.” The ‘boarding school’ ad is
    rooted in taste and familiarity, ‘exam’ highlights mental
    alertness, ‘college’ has affordability at its heart, the ‘school’ ad is
    about ‘poshan’ (nutrition) and ‘train journey’ showcases the
    brand as a meal substitute.
    The most striking feature of the campaign is undoubtedly its
    ‘candid camera testimonial’ treatment. Absolutely nothing new
    about candid camera testimonials, sure. But given the brand’s
    history of doing montage-and-jingle advertising (can anyone
    think of a Parle-G ad sans the ‘swaad bhare, shakti bhare,
    barson se – Parle-G’ chorus?), this is one big departure. “This
    was a campaign about real consumers, so we wanted to do a
    ‘testimonial’ campaign with real people in it,” says Khalkho.
    “But we wanted to do interesting testimonials, and do them in
    a way that would not only look authentic, but also in a way that
    the target audience can identify with.”
    And if the campaign has achieved that end, credit should go to
    filmmaker Sumantro Ghosal, insists Milind Dhaimade,
    executive creative director at Everest. “Testimonials can be
    extremely boring and dry, and it’s hard to make them interesting,” he says. “But Sumantro did a lot of homework on this
    campaign. He created scratches, he helped us interview 150
    consumers to identify actual Parle-G experiences, he kept the
    scripts simple, he did some excellent casting and he layered
    everything beautifully. I cannot take the credit which is rightfully
    Sumantro’s.” Interestingly, Dhaimade reveals that the five
    ‘Parle-G situations’ in the campaign have been culled out of the
    interviews the team had with consumers. “These situations
    helped us make our point about the brand, and we only
    dramatized them a bit to suit the requirements of a TV
    commercial,” he explains. “The situations came from real life,
    that’s why they’re so relatable.”
    With the help of fresh examples bring out the relevance of
    testimony in the above case?

    Celebrity Endorsement
    What do you Exactly Mean by This Term
    Celebrity endorsement of products can fulfill either a strategic or
    a tactical purpose. In the case of Taj Mahal Tea, Zakir Hussain
    fulfills a strategic role. He is a brand ambassador. An intrinsic
    part of the brand itself in many ways. Distancing such celebrities from the brand at hand is a tough task. At times, the
    celebrity in question assumes a larger than life image that
    overshadows the brand and its delivery appeal.
    In the case of a Coke or a Pepsi, the celebrity is pretty much a
    tactical initiative that is run for a period of time to plug a
    particular proposition. In tactical initiatives that embrace
    celebrities, the name of an individual who is the flavor of the
    month is pretty much of an incidental issue. It is pretty easy to
    divorce celebrity from brand, and yet retain brand sanity.
    It has become a fashionable thing to use celebrities when you
    want your brand to jump into a point of contemporaneity that
    would otherwise take a great deal of effort to build in the good
    old way. The celebrity is an easy route! It hits back at you at
    times. Look at all the money that went with Hansie Cronje and
    our very own Salman Khan! In the case of our very own Mr

    120

    Khan, shooting a Chinkara worried many a wildlife enthusiast.
    A later violent image on the sets dampened it more. A much
    later accident in a drunken state drove in the nail further!
    I am sure now we have got a hold on the subject matter. To go
    on with more examples, there’s young Chandrachur Rocky
    Singh flaunting his choice of suitings and there is Raveena
    singing of love and a ballpoint pen. Akshay in Ruf and Tuf
    jeans. The other Akshaye on a speedboat surfing in his father’s
    footsteps, on lime freshness.
    Amitabh Bachchan hamming it as himself and his screen
    characters in a corporate film for a consumer electronics giant.
    This is advertising’s very own star track. And the star system is
    working out of the film star circuit as well. Cricket has created its
    own ad stars… Sachin Tendulkar, Azhar, Rahul Dravid… as their
    rating points go up so does their advertising appeal. Internationally tennis, baseball, basketball and soccer stars command
    millions in endorsement money while film stars have always
    plugged their choice of brands, all for a neat sum of money.
    Andre Agassi in Nike ads, Shaquille O’ Neill in the Pepsi
    commercials, Michael Jordan recommending his signature line
    from Nike, Air Jordan and players coming together to claim,
    “this is my planet” for Reebok.
    In Indian advertising the celebrity is hot property. The film star
    celebrity is naturally first choice. There are clients who come in
    from small towns with wads of cash looking for an ad film
    script and with a clear agenda… to make a film with their
    favourite star. But the film star route is not restricted to small
    towners alone flip through the ads and you will notice as many
    multinationals using star power, to sell their products. Why do
    we choose celebrities to endorse products when it costs an arm
    and a leg to put a celebrity under contract? Why do we deal with
    celebrity managers and the whole gamut of celebrity management to get the star of our choice, whose choice does the star
    finally represent, a star-struck client’s or the consumer’s? What
    happens to a brand if it becomes indistinguishable from the
    celebrity endorsing it, like the Nawab of Pataudi and Gwalior
    suitings? What happens when in an ironic twist a spokesperson
    becomes a celebrity because of brand advertising and then
    becomes larger than the brand like Lalitaji in the old Surf
    commercials? What happens when you run out of celebrity
    testimonials or endorsements can actually work two ways. One
    to bring quick memorability, recall and recognition for your
    brand which helps when your brand is fairly new so you can
    cash in on the linkage. If you are a multinational it helps you
    project an Indian face and often a popular Indian face. Celebrity
    testimonials work when your product makes logical sense in the
    celebrity’s life… like a beauty cream for film stars, a range of
    tough wear for a tough guy, a memory supplement for an aging
    prime minister, a pair of shoes for a famous player, and by
    logical transference of this peek into the celebrities behind-thescenes life, make it relevant to our own. But celebrity
    testimonials can never be an easy way out if you are looking at
    some long-term brand building. For that you need a creative
    idea and a celebrity is no substitute for an idea. A film with an
    all-starcast can still flop if the script and story don’t deliver. The
    consumer like the public is discerning

    In India today, the use of celebrity advertising for companies
    has become a trend and a perceived winning formula of
    corporate image-building and product marketing
    Associating a brand with a top-notch celebrity can do more than
    perk up brand recall. It can create linkages with the star’s appeal,
    thereby adding refreshing and new dimensions to the brand
    image.

    Celebrity Management: A ConceptSelling Challenge
    In a world filled with faces, how many do you remember?
    Admittedly the ones that evoke some kind of feeling in you,
    whether it’s humor, acceptance, appreciation or recognition
    could be it. These are the faces you’d turn to look at, the ones
    that would stop you in your tracks. And that’s when you have
    more than just a face. You have personality. Personality that’s
    reflective of your brand and promises to take it that extra mile is
    what you are looking at. As existing media get increasingly
    cluttered, the need to stand out has become paramount — and
    celebrities have proved to be the ideal way to ensure brand
    prominence. Synergising personality with product and message
    can create an instant breakthrough. Result? Brand buzz. People
    begin to notice opportunities come about. People want to be a
    part of the brand. Touch It. Feel it. Experience it. ‘Celebrities as
    Brands’ is a concept-selling challenge, as the current notion of
    celebrity management is far from ideal — it’s perceived as a
    business that merely attaches the celebrity to the brand to get
    that added advantage. However, the actual job is not mere
    brokerage — it’s about selecting a spokesperson whose
    characteristics are congruent with the brand image.

    So what Exactly is the Right Personality
    It’s one that can personalise your brand, is in sync with the
    product/service and is the perfect match for it. The one that
    puts buzz into your brand. Creates opportunities for advertising promotions and events. And forms the fertile ground for
    clutter-bursting ideas. Celebrity endorsement is a serious
    business, and if used effectively could have a lasting impression
    on the brand, its activities and its image. Right from Kapil
    Dev’s ‘Palmolive ka jawaab nahin’ to the most recent sensational association of Hrithik Roshan with Tamariind, celebrities
    have done wonders for brand recall.

    The Rewards of Using Celebrities for
    Your Brands
    Associating a brand with a top-notch celebrity can do more than
    perk up brand recall. It can create linkages with the star’s appeal,

    thereby adding refreshing and new dimensions to the brand
    image. It can also create media and promotion opportunities
    that sweep the consumer off her feet. Research conducted by
    Katherine Eckel, professor of economics at U.S. Virginia Tech,
    has revealed that celebrities or ‘higher status agents’ can get
    people to make a better choice but cannot influence ‘people to
    make a foolish choice’.
    In India today, the use of celebrity advertising for companies
    has become a trend and a perceived winning formula of
    corporate image building and product marketing. This phenomenon is reflected in the recent market research finding that 8
    out of 10 TV commercials scoring the highest recall were those
    with celebrity appearances. A few examples: Sachin TendulkarAdidas, Sourav Ganguly-Britannia, Leander Paes and Mahesh
    Bhupati-J. Hampstead, Shah Rukh Khan-Pepsi, Sushmita SenEpson and Aishwarya Rai-Coke. The effectiveness of the
    endorser depends upon the meaning he or she brings to the
    endorsement process. There is a three-stage process of meaning
    transfer which involves the formation of the celebrity image,
    transfer of meaning from celebrity to brand and finally from
    brand to consumer. This is what leads to effective celebrity
    advertising.
    The selection of a celebrity for a brand is done primarily on the
    basis of a marketing brief prepared either by the corporate or
    the advertising agency. Once the relationship between the brief,
    the brand and the celebrity is established, the association is
    accomplished. For example, when S. Kumar was to launch its
    new range of readymade garments, Tamariind, there was the
    realization that one brand of apparel couldn’t be very different
    from the others, and what would make the difference was the
    packaging. So in came teen heartthrob Hrithik Roshan. The
    brand personality of Tamariind matches that of Hrithik —
    Tamariind being a new brand and Hrithik the new heartthrob.
    The idea behind Tamariind is the ‘flavor you wear’ — a brand
    catering to the fun-loving and adventurous youth. And the
    ambassador chosen is a successful and extremely exciting
    personality — a youth icon of today’s times. So the marriage is
    apt and justified.
    The best advertising comes from a deep understanding of the
    consumer and how he/she connects with your brands.
    Therefore, the jhatka of Mirinda needs a personality with a
    sense of humour. That’s Govinda and Amitabh for you.
    However, there’s one fact that advertisers using celebrity
    endorsements need to keep in mind — never let the celebrity
    become your brand. In doing so, one runs the risk of killing the
    brand no sooner has the hype and hoopla around the celebrity
    faded.
    A classic example of the above is Dinesh Suitings, where Sunil
    Gavaskar, the brand spokesperson, was allowed to rule the
    brand, thus becoming bigger than it. No sooner had the
    association ceased than the brand lost its identity, thereby
    creating confusion in people’s minds.
    Therefore, the use of a celebrity must be proportionate to the
    objective.
    It is also important for one to be completely clear about why a
    brand should use a celebrity. Is it to boost sales or to boost
    image? Or is it just to keep the brand alive? If the objective is
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    What makes a celebrity testimonial work at a point of time
    when words like brand building and realism and real people are
    the current buzz. Strangely the same climax that has thrown up
    a host of real commercials, featuring real people with real
    emotions, really using the brand in question and subscribing
    wholly to brand values. The same consumer who is exposed to
    Surf Excel advertising is also exposed to Govinda in the
    doodh-ganga ad and Madhuri in the Lux commercial. But the
    consumer is willing to see category differentiation. A film star in
    a beauty soap ad is acceptable, but a film star endorsing a dish
    washing powder may require an unimaginable suspension of
    belief.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    increase of sales, the celebrity should be used for short-term
    promotions and brand activities. (A classic example is the Rani
    Mukherjee campaign for Bata which is believed to have helped
    boost sales for the ladies’ footwear brand, Sundrop, by a
    whopping 500 per cent.) In the event of an image-building
    exercise, the celebrity can be used for a longer period of time, so
    that the brand can derive the benefit of the celebrity’s image on
    its own.
    The association of Sushmita Sen, ex-Miss Universe, helped the
    brand Epson achieve instant recognition in the computer
    printer category even in the presence of other big brands in the
    market place. This is the power of celebrity endorsements

    Notes

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    LESSON 23:
    TUTORIAL

    You are required to pick 5 brands and analyze the choice of
    celebrity endorsement used. If you were to change that
    celebrity (for any 2 brands) who would be your ideal choice
    and why?

    Write a Long copy on Raymond’s suiting for the print media.

    Write a Short copy for Amul Butter to be put on Hoardings
    around your city.

    “Love is in the Air”, write a copy, which brings two college
    going people together by ‘Fun-cle Chips’.

    Notes

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    LESSON 24:
    MEDIA PLANNING & DECISION

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the different types of
    media for advertising.

    You will also understand media selection and planning.

    You will understand via this lesson the strategic decisions in
    media.

    You will also understand the significance of media
    scheduling.

    The focus out here will also be on alternative media and a
    recapitulation of various media types.

    The term media is plural for medium. In advertising terms,
    medium is a channel of communication, such as newspapers,
    magazines, radio and television. A medium is a vehicle for
    carrying the sales message of an advertiser to the prospects. It is
    indeed a vehicle by which advertisers convey their messages to a
    large group of prospects and thereby aid in closing the gap
    between producer at the one end and the consumer at the other
    end. Of course, this is from the viewpoint of advertisers and
    the audiences. There is another way of looking at the media,
    and that is from the point of view of the medium itself.
    Different media are organizations or enterprises for entertainment. They sell the product in the form of newspaper,
    magazine and radio and television programmes. At best, they
    are service organizations fulfilling the needs of listeners, readers
    and viewers for entertainment and information. Each medium
    designs its product to be more and more attractive among its
    audience. Each medium applies marketing concepts to the
    designing of the right product, selling it at the right price,
    distributing it through several outlets and, at times, taking the
    help of the right promotional means to increase its circulation
    or improve the popularity of its programmes. Newspapers
    publish, be it local news, national news, special interest information such as business, sports, housekeeping, science, etc.
    Similarly, television and radio stations broadcast programmes
    that are designed to attract larger segments of the public. In
    short, media too have to market their products properly.
    Once a medium has been well established and has built up a
    significant readership or audience, it is in a stronger position to
    attract advertisers who are on the look out for such media to
    reach audiences with their selling messages. Of course, they are
    willing to pay for this service. Thus, in addition to selling their
    products in the form of newspaper, magazine, radio and
    television programmes, the media are selling space or time
    which, in turn, earns large revenues for them. The money so
    earned out of selling advertising space or time which, in turn,
    earns large revenues for them. The money so earned out of
    selling advertising space and time ultimately helps to make the

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    CHAPTER 6
    UNIT – 4
    MEDIA TYPES & DECISION

    product itself (medium) cheaper and more attractive among its
    audience.
    It would not be inappropriate to mention here that it is
    advertising that has been instrumental in the phenomenal
    growth of the media. In the nineteenth century, publishers of
    newspapers and magazines were faced with the stagnant
    circulation of their publications, with the result that profits were
    limited. This was due to the fact that the entire cost of writing
    and production was covered by subscriptions and newsstand
    revenue only. If the circulation was to be increased, it was
    possible only when prices were reduced. With lower prices, the
    circulation went up, resulting in a widespread reach of advertisers for their selling messages that, in turn, earned more money
    for the media. Both the media and the advertisers seem to have
    been benefited in the process. The publishers increased their
    audiences, profit and sphere of influence; at the same time,
    advertisers could reach effectively their prospective customers,
    making mass marketing possible for them. Today, every
    medium, be it a newspaper or a magazine, the radio or television, has a department with the responsibility of selling
    advertising space and time. The media themselves do advertise
    and promote the sale of their advertising space and time, for
    this is one of the important activities of the media. For their
    growth and even for their survival, the media have to be
    constantly on their toes to achieve increasingly higher advertising
    revenue.

    Types of Media
    The media are classified into two categories:

    Above-the-line Media
    Press, TV, outdoor, posters, cinema and radio. The recognized
    agencies get ‘commission’ from these media.
    Below-the-line Media
    Those who do not give commission to the ad agency. The
    agency adds a percentage as a handling or profit charge or
    charges a service fee. The examples are: Direct mail, pas, SP,
    merchandising, exhibitions and sales literature.
    The following are the various categories of media available to a
    media buyer or an advertiser:
    1. Print Media

    i. Newspapers
    a. Daily
    b. Weekly
    c. Sunday
    d. Weekend Supplement.
    ii. Magazines
    a. Consumer Magazines: General interest, special interest
    magazines like Auto World, Interior India

    iii. Direct Advertising: Direct mail.
    2. Broadcast Media

    i. Radio: Vividh Bharati, FM.
    ii. Television: Terrestrial channels like DD and satellite channels
    like Star, Zee TV.
    iii. Narrow-cast Media: Video and Cable TV, Cinema, Ad Films.
    3. Outdoor Media
    4. Transit Advertising Media

    5. Other Media
    a. Specialty Media: T-shirts, buttons, caps, stickers, badges etc.
    b. Direct Advertising or Direct Marketing (DM).
    c. Internet: Media of the new millennium.
    Print media can be considered the first revolution. Electronic
    media like radio and TV are the second revolution. Digital
    media like Internet are the third and the most spectacular
    revolution. Digital media draws on the features of both print
    and electronic media. The entire complexion of mass media has
    changed due to what is known as interactivity. The individuals
    in it multiply the segmented target audiences. The whole mass
    can be considered to be one in a different perspective. The
    economics and demographics of media traditionally practiced
    become a matter of the past. Most renowned publishers have
    put their publication on Internet.
    Internet advertising affects not only product marketing, but also
    its manufacturing and distribution. A product can be ordered
    on Internet. The data becomes the input to the production
    system. The goods are sent directly to customers. Software is
    available to enable a reader to select the editorial matter of the
    newspaper available on Internet. It gives the freedom of choice
    to the customer.
    In digital media, we may come across ‘pay per view’ phenomenon e.g. DTH: direct-to-home TV. Even in the absence of
    advertising, digital media may be available at a reasonable cost.

    Media Selection
    As an electrical current flows from one end to the other through
    a conductor, so the advertising message is transmitted through
    the advertising media from the advertiser to the target audience.
    Advertising media are thus the vehicles that carry the advertising
    messages. Various kinds of media are available to an advertiser.
    Which one of these should be selected for a particular advertising is a strategic decision.
    Effective advertising refers to informing the public about the
    right product at the right time through the right medium.
    Conveying a right message through a wrong medium at the
    wrong time would be a definite waste of resources. Therefore,
    the right media selection is the crux of the success of the entire
    advertising campaign. However, the right message, the right
    timing and the right place of advertising are equally important.
    Media selection decision refers only to the selection of a specific
    medium of advertising, such as the newspaper, a magazine, the
    radio, or television, the mail service or outdoor advertising,

    whereas media planning is a general term encompassing
    decisions involving the time and place of advertising in
    addition to the selection of the medium. A media plan outlines
    how advertising time and space in various media will be used to
    achieve the marketing objectives of the company through
    advertising.
    The importance of advertising and its role as a powerful
    marketing tool need no further repetition, for this has been
    dealt with at great length in the introductory chapters. Promotion is one of the 4 Ps forming the marketing mix, and
    advertising is an important part of it. An advertising plan is
    based on an overall promotional strategy; and media planning
    follows the advertising plan. Media strategy is thus a part of the
    marketing strategy. In other words, the media plan is part of
    the overall market plan, and media selection is the last stage in
    the process of promotion through advertising. Media decisions
    are mainly concerned with the following:
    What are those available media that will serve our advertising
    needs best? Examples: Newspaper, magazine, radio, television,
    direct mailing, outdoor, etc. Which individual medium in each
    general category of media selected above will be the best vehicle
    for our advertising? Examples: TOI, India Today, MumbaiPune-Nagpur radio and Mumbai TV commercials.
    What could be the best combination or mix of media for our
    total advertising?
    What would be the best specific schedule for the release of our
    ads in each of these media?
    Media planning and media selection assume significance in the
    light of frequent reports that advertising is wasteful. One
    advertiser confessed: “Half of my advertising is wasted. The
    problem is, I don’t know which half.” Following the correct
    methodology and using quantitative models in media planning
    can achieve elimination of wasteful advertising achieved to a
    good extent. This is particularly true because, in the entire
    advertising cost, media charges are fairly substantial. The
    effectiveness of a well-designed advertising message depends
    upon “when” and “where” it is released. These are “time” and
    “place” decisions. In short, we may say that the success of
    advertising depends upon the right selection of media, the
    timely release of the advertisement message, its frequency and
    continuity, and the place of its release. All this signifies media
    planning.
    For the right media planning and selection, the advertiser must
    know the consumer profile accurately and the market to be
    reached, i.e., the target market. If you direct advertising to
    people who have neither the inclination nor the money to buy
    your product, you are wasting your effort which otherwise may
    be a good advertisement effort in itself. In this case, the
    advertisement is effective, while advertising is ineffective.
    Therefore, in order to get the most out of the rupees spent on
    advertising, it should be directed to the right audience. For each
    target, there is an effective message; and it is this effective
    message reaching the right audience that makes advertising
    most successful.

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    b. Business Publications: Industrial publications, trade
    publications, institutional publications, etc.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Media Planning: New Perspective
    In India, we are experiencing an economic slow down. Consumer buying is on the decline. Ad spends are curtailed
    Agencies are becoming learner. Clients are becoming more
    discerning about media usage. Though they are cutting and
    budgets, they want more effectiveness. In common parlance,
    this is called ‘more bang for the buck.’ Clients have become
    extremely vigilant on how agencies spend their money on
    media. Intuitive media decisions and exploratory tactics are out.
    Everything has to be substantiated. It is necessary to stretch
    every media rupee more and more. Though the broader media
    mix is planned annually, media planners are continuously
    shuffling the actual vehicles they choose channels or
    programmes in case of TV and publications in case of print.
    Clients want to know how involved their target audience is with
    a particular programming. Even though demographics cover the
    reach objectives, the target audience may be a passive viewer.
    Research on the involvement of the target groups is getting
    more attention. Agencies are making use of proprietary
    consumer involvement tools that help them measure media
    preferences of target audiences.
    There is a shift from planning based merely on reach to
    planning based on awareness/ involvement. The client wants to
    know whether his target audience bas actually seen the campaign. He wants to know whether the client was at home when
    the commercial was telecast. Media planning goes beyond media
    buying. It has to focus more sharply on consumer decisionmaking process and the importance of media in that process.
    Media has to make accountable. Media planners have started
    using more efficient media evaluation matrices. Audience
    involvement scores are now weighted while arriving at ROI on
    media spends.
    Media planning has become tactical psychographic, consumer
    and brand strategy-led and accountable.

    Media Plan
    1. The first step in media planning is the collection of useful
    information about the people or the market to be reached
    through advertising. The more detailed and specific the target
    market data available on geography, age group, sex, income,
    attitudes, interests, etc., the more appropriate the media
    selection would be. However, it is well understood that the
    available advertising budget is an important guide to the
    media selection. The task is to select a medium most suited
    to the target market at a given budget cost. This concept of
    “what-can-you-afford?” in media planning is equally relevant
    to small as well as large companies, for they do have
    something like a budget or an appropriation of fund for
    promotion. Irrespective of the size of the company, it finally
    settles for how much money it can afford to put in for a
    particular market for advertising and/ or for promotion.
    2. The second significant step in media planning is to decide
    upon the nature of the message to be conveyed to the target
    market. However, this decision necessarily follows a
    thorough understanding of the consumer profile. The
    message or the copy, by which name it is more accurately
    called, is decided in the light of the aspect of consumer
    behavior or motivation which is intended to be influenced.
    126

    3. Having gathered this significant information, the next logical
    step is to search for an ideal match of the audience
    characteristics of media with the target market profile and, at
    the same time, check for the perfect adaptability of the
    message (copy) requirement with the media. Following the
    media planning decision process, we have to take into
    account the other media concepts explained in the following
    paragraphs.
    4. Reach is expressed in terms of the number of households or
    individuals reached by a given medium over a period of
    time. This is usually expressed in terms of percent of total
    households or individuals in the target market. Sometimes,
    there is a possibility of duplication, i.e., two media may reach
    the target audience. National magazines have a different reach
    from that of the regional’ ones or other media, such as TV,
    radio, etc. National readership surveys provide information
    about published materials, whereas several other conducted
    studies may provide the reach percent of other media. One
    can buy reach with print in a specific geographical market by
    taking a combination of newspapers or magazines.
    Frequency refers to the average number of times different
    households or individuals are reached by a medium in a given
    period of time. The frequency of advertisement exposure of
    the target market depends upon the amount of reinforcement
    of the image required or the amount of reminding required
    having sustaining patronage from the target customers. The
    greater the frequency, the greater the probability of the advertisement message making a deep and lasting impression.
    To understand these concepts dearly consider the following
    illustration. A sample of viewers represents 10 TV Households
    (HHs) – Q to Z who watch a programme A over a four week
    period.
    HHs
    Weeks Q R

    S

    T U V W X Y Z
    Total Exposures

    1

    A

    A A

    2

    A

    – A

    – A A

    3

    A

    A A A

    4

    A A

    Total 3

    3

    4 1

    0

    – A A

    – A

    6

    4

    – A A

    6

    – A A

    4

    3

    4 1 0

    1

    20

    Exposures
    It is obvious from the above table that from 10 households 8
    watch programme A only. Two households U and Y did not
    watch the programme at all. It gives a reach of 80% to the
    programme A. Two households Sand Ware exposed to
    programme 4 times a week, three households (Q, R, V) are
    exposed to 3 times a week, and one household (T) is exposed
    to one time a week. Therefore, the average frequency is:

    = 20/ 8 = 2.5

    Reach
    Continuity refers to message deliveries over a period of time or
    a season. It refers to the of the media insertions. Advertisements are inserted at the time frequency round the year. This
    continuity. Shifting from one medium to another involves the
    sacrifice of continuity, but may be worthwhile for some other
    advantages that may flow from it.
    Gross Rating Points (GRP’s) refers to the total weight of a
    media effort. Quantitatively, it is equal to reach multiplied by
    average frequency. To illustrate, if 80% homes watch Chitrahar,
    and are exposed on an average 2.5 times within a four-week
    period, the total GRP’s are 200. If the target is 100 GRPs, it can
    be achieved by buying 10 spots in a programme with TRPs 10
    (lOX10) or 20 spots in TRP 5-rated programme (20 X 5). There
    could be umpteen numbers of such combinations.
    The size of the message measures the strength and effectiveness
    of impression. Size is expressed in terms of the space used in
    print media or the time occupied in the broadcast media.
    The above terms are interrelated and inter-dependant, and a
    different mix of these elements would yield different patterns
    of message delivery. Media planning, particularly under a given
    budget, must take into consideration the elements of reach,
    frequency, continuity and size. Unfortunately, there is no single
    combination of these elements that is ideally suited to all kinds
    of advertising. Each time the advertiser has to make the most
    suitable pattern to get the most out of the advertising rupees
    he spends. However, the advertising budget would continue to
    be a limiting factor in the final adoption of a specific pattern.
    The reverse relationship is equally important – that unless the
    message is sufficiently large – and delivered in sufficient
    numbers with sufficient regularity, the advertising rupees would
    be largely wasted. The job of a media planner is to effect a
    balance between the two approaches.
    This process, as you will appreciate now, answers the questions:

    When (the timing of the release)

    Which (the media selection)

    How (the coordination in media planning)

    How much (the budgetary allocation)

    In short, this process designs a course of action that shows
    how advertising time and space will be used so as to contribute
    to the achievement of marketing objectives. Media plan is the
    end product of media planning process.
    The media objectives are set keeping in mind the background
    of the market, the firm’s marketing strategy and its creative
    strategy. Media objectives thus contribute to the overall
    attainment of marketing objectives.
    Media objectives lead us to a definite media strategy to translate
    media goals into general guidelines involving planner’s selection
    and use of media. The best alternatives are selected.
    The details of the media plan are then filled up such as selecting
    the broad media classes, selection of media within these classes,
    and the actual media use decisions for each medium selected.

    The degree of synergy between message content and media
    provides the missing piece of the jigsaw that media selection
    often is. For substantive messages, TV may not be a right
    medium.

    Designing a Media Plan
    After having explained some of these media concepts, we shall
    now discuss some strategic considerations in designing a media
    plan.
    The first and foremost is the consideration of the market and
    the target consumers. We have said earlier that the advertiser
    must have a full understanding of the target market. Such
    information is available from consumer research studies. For an
    appropriate media plan, it is essential to know I the type or class
    of consumers – whether all types are women, children, and old
    people. They may be professional people, businessmen,
    farmers, working class people, etc. Newspapers, magazines,
    radio, television and other media, each has a different coverage.
    National dailies have different readership from the local or
    regional readers. This is equally true of magazines. There are
    sports magazines, each having and film magazines, as well as I
    business its own following. Similarly, the radio and television I
    have their own audience. Different radio and television channels
    as well as programmes have a different following.
    The type of the products and services to be advertised also
    determines the media to be selected. Industrial products and
    new products of a technical nature are advertised through the
    “Purchase” magazine. Products for exports are advertised in
    “Products from India” or in the “Product Finder,” Fashionwear is advertised in film, general or fashion magazines, such as
    Filmfare, India Today and Society, respectively.
    After the characteristics of the product come the characteristics
    of the distribution channel.
    Distribution outlets may be classified into national, regional
    and local. When advertising is done on a national basis, using
    adequate national media, the product should be made available
    nationally.
    When distribution is restricted to the regional level, advertising
    on the national basis would be mostly wasteful. In short,
    advertising would be of little or no value in getting the people
    to buy products unless these products are made available in an
    area that is within their easy reach. Even when the product is
    nationally distributed, there are pockets or areas in which the
    company wants to operate more intensely. In such territories or
    regions, advertising may be more effective if done through
    regional magazines or dailies, which have greater followers hip
    than the national ones. Similar may be the case with the
    broadcasting media. In India, this is significantly true, for we
    have many regional, languages.
    When products are sold through a network of dealers and
    distributors who are few in number, though influential,
    advertising to such few target customers may be more effectively
    done through direct mail or trade journals. In short, the
    characteristics of distribution determine media selection.
    Next to the above strategic considerations comes the copy
    formulation and its method of presenting the message, because
    only an appropriate media can give a proper expression to the

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Total exposures

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    advertisement message and create a lasting impression on the
    minds of consumers. Newspapers may carry advertisements
    only in black and white, whereas magazines may express the
    copy in color. The magic of color in effectively attracting
    attention to ad messages is well known. It has been found that
    orange, red and blue stand high on the attention-getting list of
    colors. Men prefer orange, while women like red. These
    preferences for colors are useful and significant. In fact, color is
    an important means of creating an emotional feeling around an
    advertisement and around the product advertised. Similarly,
    some photographs and actions in advertisements are more
    effective if expressed in color. Some advertisements need only
    to be announced on the radio. There is no need for visual,
    photo or action behavior.
    New products, when introduced, should be supported with
    advertising in media that can give exposure of the product to
    the audience as sensational news with some degree of urgency.
    National or regional dailies, radio and television are appropriate,
    but not the fortnightly or monthly magazines.
    The consumers of this segment like advertisements for a
    product, with the objectives of carving a segment of market for
    it and creating a strong brand loyalty by a conscious attempt at
    giving the product a personality. This necessitates the designing
    of advertisements highlighting the various personality attributes and traits of the target user or the group. The copy
    design of the advertisement message and the media through
    which the advertisement ‘is released should have a similar
    personality if advertising is to be very effective.
    Some advertisements appear in several magazines of diverse
    interests. This is true of consumer goods and consumer
    durable goods. In fact, this is not a very wise thing to do. Each
    magazine has its distinct class of readers, with a distinct social,
    cultural, and educational background. We have certain habits,
    attitudes and stereotypes about events and things around us.
    The common advertisement message may be effective with one
    set of readers but may not go down well with another group.
    Therefore, the right way is to design an advertisement message
    in the language best understood by the reader of each magazine. When there are no discernible differences among the
    readers, we may project a common advertisement message.
    Pictures in ads exert a powerful influence on the target audience.
    They speak a universal language. A picture is worth ten thousand words – so goes an old Chinese proverb. An ad with
    pictures requires no special training in understanding. Pictures in
    color in the print media are great attention-getters; but when
    pictures move and talk, it is almost impossible not to pay
    attention to them. That is why television ads are very powerful
    and effective. But the question that arises is: At what extra cost?
    In the first place, pictures with color cost more; but when color
    pictures are made to move and talk, an advertisement costs very
    much more. However, the gain in terms of extra audience
    attention should justify the extra cost incurred.
    Similar is the magic of words in creating and holding interest.
    One author has correctly said: ‘Words are the window through
    which we see images.” Just by naming a place, a person or an
    object, we often generate a rush of pleasant thoughts. Some
    words or expressions pack a greater emotional kick than others.
    128

    Their use in ad messages makes for greater emotional stimulus
    and arousal of imagery.

    Let us Recapitulate the Media Planning here with an
    Example
    In marketing communication, media, which carries the message,
    plays a very important role in the whole process as Media is
    consumed in varied fashion by an entire spectrum of populace
    and hence choosing the right Media is of prime importance in
    order for the communication to reach the target population.
    Politically speaking Media is often referred as the fourth estate parliament, executive, judiciary and the media. In today’s
    globalised economy Media exists primarily to deliver entertainment, information, and advertising to a vast audience. In an
    open and liberal economy Media and Advertising are inextricably linked. Advertisements have become one of the most
    important cultural factors in our lives and it will be prudent to
    say that Advertising is the force, which actually sustains all
    commercial media. This brings us to the process of Media
    Planning to effectively spend the advertising money.
    The starting point for a media plan must be the marketing
    situation. This analysis is done to get a bird’s eye view of the
    market in which the brand is operating and its relative position
    viz. a viz. its competitors. Advertising is used to communicate
    certain information to the prospects in order to attain the
    marketing objectives. Media are the means, which carry this
    communication to the target audience. This is followed by
    defining the Advertising Objectives, they are defines to avoid
    the possibility that different criteria are used by everyone
    involved right from Managing Director to the executive in the
    creative department of the agency. For example, the advertising
    objective could be driving saliency, increasing awareness,
    reinforcement of existing perceptions, improving the brand
    image, changing perceptions, inducing certain behavior and
    trials.
    There is one more dimension to copy strategy. The copy of an
    advertisement depends upon the type of media. When the
    same product is advertised on the radio, the message is put in
    such a way that it goes down effectively with the listeners.
    Sometimes messages are presented in a lyrical form, which is
    pleasant to the ears; but when the same product is advertised in,
    say, a magazine, the copy of the advertisement is read by the
    audience; and it should, therefore, be an eye-catcher. While
    reading an advertisement, we have more time to think and
    analyze it objectively. When the same product is advertised on
    TV, the audience has the opportunity of viewing it in addition
    to listening to it. The copy in such a case has to be different
    from the copy in the other two media. Therefore, in our
    opinion, it is equally necessary that a correct copy strategy be
    employed which is suitable to the media used for an advertisement.

    Media Cost and Media Ability
    To get the most out of the advertising rupees spent, the
    primary concern of the advertiser is media selection. The cost of
    buying space or time is weighed against the number of audience
    secured by such advertising. In fact, buying advertising space or
    time is nothing different from buying commodities. Usually,

    The selectivity offered by some media is useful for advertisers,
    for it enables them to reach & target market with minimum
    waste. In fact, the media themselves provides a great deal of
    information on the media about demographic characteristics.
    The objective of any media pi is to achieve the best possible
    matching of media and the market.
    The media ability is measured under the following heads:
    i. Distribution Measurement: Expressed in the number of
    copies circulated.

    Similar is the method of comparing the costs of buying space
    in magazines. The cost per thousand is the unit used, which
    measures the cost of reaching one thousand audience. In the
    case of television and radio, the rates are expressed in units of
    time, i.e., so many rupees per 10 seconds spot (film or slide) or
    per 20-second spot, etc. Again, the number of listeners or
    viewers varies from one programme to another, or from one
    radio station to another. Therefore, the more appropriate unit is
    the cost per commercial minute per thousand viewers or
    listeners.
    The cost aspect of the media and their ability to reach the
    audience and achieve the exposure has been worked out in the
    following example. For the sake of simplicity, only two
    magazines at a time are considered for the purpose of comparison. Table 1 gives information on the comparative efficiency of
    circulation and audience for two magazines, A and B.
    Comparison Basis
    Cost of 2-page colour ad
    (central spread)

    Magazine “A” Magazine”B”
    Rs.15, 000/-

    Rs.25, 000/-

    50,000

    100,000

    Circulation efficiency
    (cost per 1,000 copies)

    300

    250

    Readers (Nos. per copy)

    4/5

    3

    225,000

    300,000

    66/66

    83/33

    Circulation (No. of copies)

    ii. Audience Measurement: Expressed in terms of audience
    size, audience composition and the amount of audience
    exposure.

    Audience Efficiency

    iii. Exposure Measurement: The advertiser looks for the ability
    of the media to create advertising exposure. Once the media
    have produced the desired exposure, the quality of the
    message will determine the subsequent impact in terms of
    perception, communication and behavioral response.

    Magazine A, though having a higher cost of circulation, shows
    a better audience efficiency. Similarly, the exposure efficiency may
    be compared for any number of magazines. In Table 2
    comparison of the exposure efficiency of two magazines A and
    D have been shown.

    Magazines have different images in the eyes of readers, such as
    thorough coverage of subject matter; impartial and accurate
    reporting; stimulating reading; modem and up-to-date; good
    style of writing, personalized, etc.

    Comparison Basis

    The standard method of expressing advertising cost in
    newspapers is rupees per line of standard dimensions. Also,
    rupees per square inch or square centimeter is the cost of space
    buying in newspaper’ and magazines. A newspaper having a
    larger circulation will naturally charge a higher cost per line or per
    unit space. Local or regional newspapers have lower circulation
    and therefore, a comparatively lower rate than the national
    dailies. For the purpose of effective comparison, both the costs
    of buying space are to be reduced to the common denominator
    of line or unit space per unit of circulation. Some authors’ have
    formulated a milline rate unit. This is useful in the comparison
    of newspaper advertising rates. The milling rate is defined as:
    Milline rate =

    1,000,000 X Rate per agate line
    Circulation

    A newspaper with an agate line rate of Rs. 25/- and having a
    circulation of 100,000 would be cheaper than a newspaper with
    a line rate of Rs. 15/- and a circulation of 20,000. In the first
    newspaper, the milline rate will be Rs. 250/- whereas, in the
    latter newspaper, it would be Rs. 750/-. The milline rate is the
    cost expressed in rupees per line per one million circulations.

    Issue audience (No. of readers)

    Cost of 2-page colour ad
    Circulation
    Readers per copy
    Issue audience
    Exposures per reader
    Issue exposure
    Exposure efficiency

    Magazine “A” Magazine”B”
    Rs. 15,000/-

    Rs. 15,000/-

    100,000

    100,000

    3/5

    3/5

    350,000

    350,000

    1

    2

    350,000

    700,000

    42/83

    21/42

    (cost per 1,000 exposures)
    Both magazines A and D have the same circulation and
    audience, even though the cost of delivering the exposure is
    lower in magazine D than in magazine A. However, it may be
    remembered that exposure does not necessarily mean advertisement perception.
    A person may have been exposed to the advertisement without
    conscious awareness of the fact, and without remembering or
    changing his attitude as a result. In order to know the contribution of advertisement to perception, a detailed media research
    about the “seeing and reading” data of advertisements are
    required.
    So far we have talked about only the cost. However, the
    availability of media during specific hours of the day or night
    has an important bearing on media selection. In various
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    the question is asked: “How wide an audience do I get for every
    rupee I spend?” The media cost should be commensurate with
    the measure of the media’s ability to carry the message to the
    target audience. Media ability covers such qualitative values as
    audience characteristics, editorial personality, and contribution to
    advertising effectiveness; above all it refers to a “media image”
    capable of enhancing the perception and communication value
    of a message. For example, Channel A and Channel B deliver
    the same message and the same extension of advertising
    exposure to the same audience; but if, say, Channel A has a
    better reputation, honesty and good editorials, the advertisement in this may receive a higher perception and
    communication among its audience than if it is inserted in
    Channel B.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    television or radio programmes, time may not be available even
    if the advertiser is prepared to pay a premium rate. This is true
    of newspapers, too. Sometimes, a specific space in the total
    layout is not available. Some advertisers ask for space on the
    front page, which may not be available because it has already
    been booked, and are no longer unreserved.
    The role of a media planner is no longer confined to CPT (Cost
    Per Thousand) or TRPs, but I strategic as well. Questions on
    which media has a better degree of conversion, building brand
    salience against activities at point-of-sale, dictate a media
    planner’s job as much as building media reach.
    Summarizing media selection factors, we may say that they are:
    i. Media characteristics, such as editorial environment,
    flexibility, frequency and durability
    ii. Nature of the target market;
    iii. The nature and type of the product;
    iv. The nature of the distribution network; and
    v. Overall cost of the medium.

    Matching Media and Market
    Advertisers must always attempt to match the profile of the
    target market with the demographic characteristics of a given
    medium’s audience. Let us consider an example of cigarette
    advertising. The target market for this is men in the age group
    of 25 to 60 years. The advertiser would consider placing ads in
    magazines having a predominantly male readership. Advertising
    in magazines having a predominantly female readership would
    be mostly wasteful for this product. It may be true that rarely
    does any magazine have a 100 per cent male readership. Even so,
    when selecting a predominantly, men’s magazine, the advertiser
    would minimize wasteful expenditure. Some media, such as
    general interest consumer magazines and newspapers, network
    radio and television offer to an advertiser the means of
    transmitting ad messages to a: cross-section of the consumer
    market. Against this, some other media, such as spot radio and
    television, special interest magazines, business publications, and
    some business newspapers offer the means of reaching selective
    group of audience. The selectivity offered by some media is
    useful for advertisers, for it enables them to reach a distinct
    target market with minimum waste. In fact, the media themselves provides a great deal of information on the media about
    their demographic characteristics. The objective of any media
    planner is to achieve the best possible matching of media and
    the market.

    Geographical Selectivity
    This is different from the class selectivity described above. The
    class distinction is based on special interests. It may also be
    based on other demographic factors, such as sex, age, marital
    status and occupation. The selective class of audience is scattered
    throughout the country. If we want only o distribute and
    advertise our product on a regional basis, we have necessarily to
    have one more selectivity in our media selection, and that is
    geographical selectivity. In other words, we would like to have
    both geographic and class selectivity’ simultaneously while
    doing our media selection exercises. It may often be difficult to
    find a special interest magazine that will reach only a particular

    130

    limited geographic area. This would however, be feasible only
    when such special interest magazines bring out more and more
    regional editions.
    Finally, the durability of the message as a media selection factor
    deserves elaboration. The durability of the message refers to

    delivering the same message more than once. Where the
    repetition of an ad message helps to strengthen the selling
    impact, the durability of the message is of special interest to the
    advertiser. Some media have this characteristic. Broadcast media
    do not offer the durability that an ad message on television
    offers. The impact of radio commercials survives only for the
    time of announcement, unlike ad messages in print media,
    which do survive for a day, a week or a month, depending upon
    the nature of the publication. One may again refer to an ad in
    print media; but a radio listener or a television viewer cannot do
    so once he has heard or viewed it.
    Well, now I want you to see what Radio Mirchi has to say about
    Radio as a Media.

    Radio adds to Print







    Interactivity
    Frequency
    Reach
    Emotion
    Day long exposure
    Share of voice overcomes clutter
    Brings intrusiveness to a press campaign
    In a radio-plus-press, radio acts as a
    persuader/motivator/caller to action

    Radio Vis-à-Vis Outdoor




    Heard in full; no looking away or ignoring
    Interactivity
    Reach
    Emotion
    More matter to communicate

    advertising budget is a constraint, it is worth considering
    advertising only on a regional basis.

    iii. When the Market is Segmented and Based on
    Such Factors as Income, Social Status, Educational
    Level, etc.,
    The advertiser has to concentrate on these groups of consumers. Specialty goods require advertising that taps specialized
    audiences. This is known as the skim approach.

    The Media Mix

    In designing a media plan, three factors have to be borne in
    mind we get market information, competitive advertising
    efforts, and media considerations. Media planners must know
    how much their competitors are spending on adverting. What
    are their media mixes? And where are they spending advertising
    rupees? Media planners must take into account one of the
    different approaches to the use of advertising media. These
    approaches are media strategies. At any particular time, a specific
    approach, or a combination of two approaches, may be
    adopted.
    Media strategy defines and provides rationale for the recommended media. It is not a tactical plan. Four basic elements of
    media strategy statement are:
    (a) Media mix, (b) Usage of media, (e) Geographic allocation
    and (d) Scheduling ‘strategy.’

    Geographic Allocation
    The three major media strategies have been briefly discussed in
    the following paragraphs:

    i. National Plan
    When a company has achieved a nation-wide market for its
    product and its users are spread over the entire country, this
    approach is employed. In order to reach them through advertising, a nation-wide medium is employed. For this plan to
    become necessary, other approaches have already been successfully employed over a period before acquiring distribution at the
    national level.
    ii Regional or Zonal Plan
    Many advertisers do not go for mass advertising but concentrate
    rather on a regional segment. These are the key markets; and if
    distribution is limited only to these, why advertise nationally?
    Similarly, if only regional markets are the stronghold and the

    Media planning follows the adoption of one of the media
    strategies that forms part of the overall promotional strategy. A
    media plan is concerned with media selection – what type of
    media should be used? Magazines? Newspapers? Television?
    Radio? Outdoor? If magazines, then of what classes? Whether
    General interest magazines, women’s magazines, romance
    magazines, crime magazines, business magazines? If general
    magazines, then which specific ones are we looking at- India
    Today, Frontline? If newspapers, then which regions are to be
    looked at? If radio or television advertising is required, which
    radio and TV station should be covered? Media selection is a
    rational decision these days. Formerly, it was really the ‘wet
    finger’ method. The client would say ‘my wife loves so and so
    magazine – put an ad there.’ This kind of approach led to some
    silly decisions. When one agency put a vanaspati ad in Hindi,
    the client was offended. He said, ‘My consumers don’t read
    Hindi.’ He insisted that the ad should be in English.
    Once the media selection is decided upon, the next logical step
    is to determine the combination of “mix” of the media one
    must use. Considering the advertising company’s marketing
    objectives will arrive this at, its target market, media characteristics, and it’s matching with the target market. Also, the overall
    advertising budget does influence the nature of such mix, in
    addition to the available gross audience. As an example, to
    achieve certain advertising objectives, one may require to use a
    mix of 50 per cent television, 35 per cent magazine and 15 per
    cent newspaper. However, more than one mix may fulfill the
    advertising objectives, and yet be within the overall budgeted
    cost. But one should aim at a balanced mix. It should not be
    heavily weighed in favor of either frequency or reach.
    Frequency, as explained earlier, is the ability to deliver an ad
    message as often as possible within a given period of time,
    whereas reach is the number of households or individuals
    reached by a given media over a period of time.
    Some advertisers prefer to concentrate on one media type mix,
    whereas others like to have widely varied media mix. While the
    former offers the advertiser an opportunity to make a great
    impact on a specific market segment, the latter, being an
    assortment of media can deliver different messages about the
    same product to different market segments. Furthermore, if an
    ad is released in a varied media mix having a varied editorial
    environment, there is the probability that the ad message will
    not “wear out.” “Wear out” refers to the time it takes for people
    to become bored with an ad or a commercial. The varied media
    mix also increases the reach of the ad message because no two
    media have entirely the same audience. A certain percentage of
    each medium’s audience is not reached by any other medium.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Media Decision

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Commenting further on media mix, we may point out that
    those who are heavy viewers of television are light readers of
    magazines, and vice versa. When one concentrates on advertising on television, one is achieving a greater impact on heavy
    viewers and very little impact on light viewers.
    Thus, the impact is uneven. A media mix that contains the
    component of advertising in magazines in addition to advertising on television will level out the imbalance. However, by
    increasing the number of media in a mix, the advertiser will
    have to increase his total budget. Therefore, as said earlier, a
    balance has to be struck.
    Two more concepts, namely, duplication and gross audience, are
    worth considering now.
    Duplication refers to the number of prospects who are reached
    by more than one of the media in a mix. Many executives who
    read Business India, for example, also read the Economic
    Times. These: executives are counted in the circulation figures
    of both the publications. Ideally, every advertiser would like to
    have an unduplicated reach among its best prospects. But,
    actually, no two media have an “unoverlapped” audience. A
    certain amount of duplication, therefore, is bound to occur.
    However, the objective should be to select a mix with the
    minimum duplication; but at times this is unavoidable,
    particularly when one desires to achieve other advertising
    objectives as well.
    Gross audience refers to the total number of people exposed to
    all the forms of advertising used in a single campaign. This
    includes the audience for radio and television programmes,
    outdoor and transit displays, circulation figures of various
    publications, and the number of people who attend trade
    shows. While designing a media mix, the advertiser should
    know the gross audience size offered by each alternative
    campaign. This would help him to choose the mix that delivers
    the greatest number of exposure alternatives.
    We should not forget that we never buy media, but we buy
    audiences. The client pays an agency to buy audience attention to
    his brand.

    Media Scheduling
    Finally comes the media scheduling decision; that is, the
    scheduling and timing of advertisement.
    The schedule shows the number of advertisements that are to
    appear in each medium, the size of the advertisements, and the
    date on which they are to appear. There are many ways of
    scheduling any advertising programme. No single way can be
    said to be best for all advertisers. Each advertiser must prepare a
    specific schedule most suitable for its market and its advertising
    objectives. What may be good for one advertiser and his
    product may be bad for another. Even for the same advertiser,
    the best at one stage of the product life cycle may not be
    suitable at another stage. An advertiser, for example, may
    schedule to buy six pages space in a monthly consumer
    magazine. Alternatively, he may buy one-page space every
    alternate month. He may also decide to buy one-page space
    every month for the first three months; then he may not buy
    space for the next three months; and then again take one-page
    space every month for the next three months. There may be a

    132

    variety of schedules of advertisements. The last method of
    scheduling is known as the wave method, or the flighting
    method. In flighting, advertisements are bunched with the
    intention of providing a concentrated impact. The other
    method is the blitz schedule. The insertion of double-page
    advertisements in three consecutive issues of a magazine is an
    example of the blitz schedule. There are many more methods
    of bunching advertisements. However, the purpose of
    bunching is to provide concentrated impact with a single issue
    of the publication.
    We can follow a steady schedule or a ‘pulsed’ campaign.
    Normally, scheduling is done for a 4-week period. The six types
    of schedules available are:

    a. Steady Pulse
    It is the easiest. For instance, one ad/week for 52 weeks or one
    ad/month for 12 months could be an example.
    b. Seasonal Pulse
    Products like Vicks Balm, Glycodin Terp-Vasaka Syrup, Pond’s
    Cold Cream follows this approach.
    c. Period Pulse
    Scheduling follows a regular pattern, e.g., media scheduling of
    consumer durables, non-durables etc.
    d. Erratic Pulse
    The ads are spaced irregularly. Perhaps, we want to change the
    typical purchase cycles.
    e. Start-up Pulse
    It is concentrated media scheduling. It launches a new product
    or a new campaign.
    f. Promotional Pulse
    A one-shot affair it suits only a particular promotional theme.
    Heavy concentration during a period is the characteristic of this
    scheduling. For instance, financial “ advertising of company’s
    issue.
    The implementation of the media plan requires media buying,
    i.e., buying time and space in the various selected media. The
    buying of media is handled by the advertising agency on behalf
    of the advertiser.
    There are no short cuts, no rule-of-thumb methods of solving
    media selection problems. Each advertising situation is different
    and unique in its own way. Each medium has its own characteristics, and there is no single best way of advertising a product.
    Different solutions are appropriate in different situations for
    the same product. There are, moreover, various constraints
    from time to time.

    A Note on Television Rating Points (TRPs)
    These points were introduced in 1986 to assess the viewership
    of DD programmes by IMRB. The TRP survey is conducted in
    9 major cities of India. The data are collected on a weekly-basis.
    The panel consists of 3124 adult members. Each panel member
    records the viewership of different TV programmes in the diary
    specially given to him. The data is then analyzed. The panel has
    two groups: Primary audience of adults from TV owning
    households and Secondary audience of adults from non-TV
    owning households but who watch TV at least once a week.

    Media Planning for TV
    Based on ratings of the programmes, TV’s media planning was
    a simple exercise till mid-80s. However since the end-80s, DD
    restricted the allotment of sponsored programmes to 13
    episodes at a time, and in multiples thereafter of 13. The ratings
    started fluctuating since the viewership became fluid/unpredictable.
    TV Media Planning based on rating points (GRP: Gross Rating
    Points) specifies the total number of rating points that are to be
    achieved once the plan is executed. It then specifies programme
    genres that will be used. The choice of specific programmes
    from the genre is left to the TV buyers. The TV buyers fill up
    the spots on month-to-month basis. To illustrate, a buyer can
    be asked to buy 7,350 gross rating points. He then can buy
    these as follows:
    Gross Rating
    (Rating x No. Of
    Spots)

    Programme Genre

    Rating No. of Spots

    Prime Time Serial

    60

    60

    3600

    Film-based Programme

    50

    75

    3750
    7350

    Since then, we have a scenario of multi-channel multiprogramme. How to relate this to GRP based TV planning?
    One approach could be to consider the GRP and the viewership
    share both at the same time. Just as there is a market share of a
    product, each programme has a share of viewership, e.g.,
    Chitrahar had a rating of 66 p.c. in Mumbai in 1991 and there
    were 2 channels, giving Chitrahar a viewership share of 98%. In
    1992 the overall viewership of Chitrahar declined to 56 p.c.
    Therefore, its viewership share dropped to 79 p.c.
    Ratings alone are not sufficient. The share of viewership that
    each programme commands in a scene of multiple channels

    and multiple programmes is also important. High viewership
    programmes are not affected by certain loss of viewership but
    marginal programmes do get affected a lot. A dose watch on
    viewership share is therefore important to a media planner.
    Initially loss of viewership may not affect ratings but they will
    fall in future.
    Another important shift may occur in TV Media Planning.
    Instead of reach, the frequency will be a consideration in
    planning.
    Satellite transmission has enabled media planners to segment
    the TV viewers in terms of demographic characteristics.
    Formerly all ads irrespective of the nature of the product were
    put together for airing. More and more data in future will be
    available on demographic characteristic of viewers of specific
    programmes and channels. Right now, for each channel we can
    assign a social economic class. Star channels are for top class
    urban audiences, say A-1 in metros. DD caters to the masses,
    say D to E groups in urban areas and A to E in the rest of the
    country. Zee TV occupies the mid-band, say A2 to C in 5-lac
    plus areas. These groupings will move amongst these channels
    a great deal. New channel options will create their own band of
    followers. High reach levels by using one or two mass based
    programmes are not possible now. Audience fragmentation is
    thus a thing to reckon with, and spot buying will have to be
    spread among the different channels. The frequency level will be
    varied according to each channel to economize. Media plans that
    were made for a year are now being reviewed every two months.

    Telecast Time
    Satellite channels enjoy two or three prime time bands, e.g., the
    India band, the Dubai band and the Hong Kong band.
    DD’s prime time was so far restricted to 7 to 8 p.m. The other
    time slots for heavy advertising were the morning slot, and the
    early fringe slot (4-7 pm).
    In satellite channels, the advertising on Prime Sports is completely event driven.
    Star Plus advertising is spread over a five-hour period in the
    evenings and late fringes.
    Too many ads and lack of time distribution lead to commercial
    clutter, which is not in favor of the advertisers and viewers.
    Long ad capsules are not viewed.
    Commercial breaks within the programme have a higher recall
    value for commercials falling in the break (as compared to
    programme commercials). DD metro has adopted this format.
    The maximum amount of commercial time is restricted to 10
    minutes per hour. Hong Kong broadcasters follow what is
    known as 10 – 10 rule (10 p.c. of total transmission time can be
    utilized for commercials with an overall ceiling of 10 minutes extendable by 2 minuets. for station promotion – per hour. In
    India, experts recommend a 5 – 5 rule.
    What we need is better target specific programming. Programming can create prime-time slots just as Mahabharata created
    9.00 a.m. Sunday morning slot 01′- Zee Horror show has
    created 10.00 p.m. late evening slot. Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki and
    kyonki Sans Bhi Kobhi Bahu Thi have created prime time slots
    for star plus from 10.00 pm to 11.00 pm.

    133

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Programme’s rating point is the percentage of panel members
    who viewed that programmes. One TRP is equal to one per
    cent of TV audience. To illustrate, if Ramayana gets 75 TRPs it
    means 75 per cent panel members watched Ramayana during
    that week. TRP Weekly Reports provide data on weekly
    viewership city wise for different programmes. The data are
    broken down for both the primary audience and the total
    audience (primary audience plus secondary audience). TRP
    Monthly Reports give data of frequency of viewing, overlapping of viewership amongst programmes, cumulative reach for
    different episodes of the same programme. They also ‘give
    viewer’s profit. TRP reports are a good help for media planners.
    DD has started publishing weekly TRPs of its programmes.
    Feedback on viewership data is still not adequate. TRP is not
    representative enough. TV meters are expected to appear. As
    you will appreciate, the business of a TV broadcaster is to
    deliver “the eyeballs.” The issue is obviously audience share.
    TRPs are a quantitative analysis of TV audience. Research is
    now moving into qualitative analysis of TV audience. Software
    can be pre-tested. Audience involvement can be studied.
    Broadcasters do the research for effective media selling and
    agencies for effective media buying.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Media Cost Inflation
    Ad agencies grudge the insufficient budgets given by the clients
    who expect them to perform miracles. The clients feel they are
    receiving too little but paying too much. The agencies feel that
    budgets are too little to achieve what clients expect. Media costs
    of late have gone up. On TV, the cost of sponsoring a Hindi
    feature film on Saturdays has gone up from Rs. 1,12,500 for 10seconds to anything between Rs. 1,60,000 and Rs. 2,50,000
    depending upon the film.

    Fragmentation
    When Mababharata was being televised it had a peak of TRP of
    80 points, enabling advertisers to reach 80 .p.c. viewers at one
    stroke. However, with channel multiplication, the audience has
    got fragmented, and no programme commands such a high
    viewership. To achieve the same reach, the advertiser has to now
    put the commercial on more than one channel (at least three
    channels), and with more frequency. Kaun Banega Crorepati, a
    popular game show hosted by Amitabh Bacchan, reached a high
    TRP of 13-15 points, but then tapored to around 7 points. The
    most popular Kyonki Sans Bhi Kobhi Babu Thi also commands around 15 TRPs .at best.

    Increased Advertising Activity
    Since electronic media now give geographic selectivity and
    demographic selectivity and there is an overall increase in
    business activity, the advertising activity has increased simultaneously. Between 1991 and 1994, the number of brands being
    advertised on TV has tripled. There are more advertisers on the
    mass media. New launches further increase advertising and
    media activity. The clutter has made it more difficult for a brand
    to stand out. There is more competition for limited viewer
    attention. The budget should, therefore, be increased.

    Television
    The overall impact of media inflation and fragmentation is
    cushioned by a rapidly increasing base of TV homes – from 28
    million households in 1990 to over 60 million today.
    Now we must understand that there are quite a few homes in
    the rural segment that do not have TV or even the radio, so
    how do we reach out to them. Below you would find some
    very interesting mediums of reaching out to the public.

    Haats
    In India, 47,000 haats are held. They cater to the villages. The
    average visitor turnout is 4,500. These haats can be used for
    promotion, demos and sampling. They can create brand
    awareness.

    Melas
    Around 2,5000 me/as are held, only about 5,000 melas are
    commercial. These can be used to launch new brands and to
    build existing brands. Events can be organized. Melas can be
    used to create brand awareness.
    In rural India, print media is the least effective, considering the
    literacy levels. TV is effective, but continuous electricity is not
    available. Even then 35 p.c. homes have electric connections.
    Outdoor is most effective. Oral culture makes puppetry, Jatras
    and street theatre relevant.

    134

    India has 6.3 lac villages. Fifty per cent of villages are very small,
    having a population of less than 500, with limited purchasing
    power. Many of them do not have a single shop.
    Nearly 2.5 lacs villages have a population of 501-2000. They
    have around 5 shops each; still the sales are not good enough.
    There are around 60,000 villages with population of 2,000 plus.
    A company will have to concentrate on these sixty thousand
    villages, and potential villages from 501-2000 categories.
    A company can appoint distributors in towns with populations
    of around 20,000. If 200 such stockists are appointed, they can
    cover as many as 100,000 villages. Each stockist can redistribute
    products to 50 locations around the town. In case of durables,
    the distribution is easier because 90 p.c. products are purchased
    in these 2,000 small or large markets.

    Ambient Media
    Elephants wearing jackets of advertised products, aerial
    advertising, ads on taxis and buses and sporting events – these
    are all examples of ambient media. Ambient advertising
    medium is any form of advertising that is not mainstream, but
    is out of home. The product and the media chosen must be
    close to each other, to make an impact. In store ads put the
    product before the customer. There are bus-shelter ads through
    radio in u.K. Toilet walls, public urinals also come handy for
    such advertising. One ad message on the road read that ‘seen
    from here it seems you need some new underwear.’

    Prime Time
    It is the time at which the viewership is maximum; say between
    8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Prime time concept is related to advertising
    rates that could be set higher due to a high TRP.
    The product advertised during prime time gets maximum
    audience.
    Can we stretch prime time? Channels have tried to extend prime
    rime to 10.30 p.m. This is suitable for metro viewers who work
    till late hours and consequently view TV at this hour. Formerly
    prime time was up to 9.00 p.m. only, but when it is stretched
    beyond that it increases the ad revenue. The extended prime
    time slot now is 7.00 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Expanded prime time
    means reaching a broad based audience of different viewing
    patterns.

    Media Buying
    Formerly, media planning was taken seriously, and there was no
    emphasis on buying because the choice was restricted to press as
    the primary media, cinema as another important medium, TV
    commercial on DD derived from cinema ad, and radio, mainly
    the Vividh Bharati. Media planners tried to understand the
    characteristics of press, and interpret the findings of the NRS.
    OR was used to optimize the budget allocation to press. Media
    planning slowly became professional by adopting ideas like
    ~normalization of readership curve and opportunity-to-see
    (OTS). Media optimization models developed for the press was
    to be extended to the cinema, but without success. Media
    buying in the sense of negotiations with the media was
    confined to the cinema and the press. Large advertisers negotiated even cinema ads because Blaze had monopoly over
    theatrical release of cinema ads, and did not entertain negotia-

    of such consolidation flow to both the advertisers and group
    agencies.
    You will find below a ready reckoner for different media types
    and characteristics.

    Media boom of the late nineties have witnessed cut-threat
    competition amongst media to attract advertisers. Proliferation
    of media, the increased ad budgets led to price
    bargaining on the part of the agencies and as expected
    Media Newspap Magazin
    by the clients. Rather than the content of the
    ers
    es
    Factors
    programme on TV, what counted was the discount
    clinched from the media. Rather than the additional
    environment what mattered was the free space given
    by the press media. The focus has shifted from media
    Widest
    Limited
    planning to media buying.
    Circulati
    Circulatio
    1.
    Circulatio
    on
    Commissions
    n
    n
    According to Shunu Sen, the commission to media
    buying agency is 2.5 p.c. This is not enough to
    undertake media planning function. If both planning
    and buying are to be undertaken a commission of 4
    per cent would be fair. Media consultancy, an integrated total approach to media must receive at least 6
    per cent commission. But both clients and agencies
    Generally
    are indifferent to these aspects.
    Universal
    Ideally, media planning that decides the best placein appeal.
    Degree
    ment of ads should precede media buying.
    It permits Greater
    of
    restricted Degree of
    2.
    Howsoever, discounted bought out space or spot is,
    Selectivi
    Regional Selectivity
    it may prove costlier in the absence of planning.
    ty
    and
    A new break-up of traditional agency commission
    Linguistic
    that has been adopted informally by the industry is:
    selectivity
    • Strategic planning and creative work
    10 p.c.

    Media buying and negotiations

    2.5 p.c.

    Media planning

    2.5 p.c.

    The above remuneration structure becomes a part of
    AOR arrangement. This works in favor of the large
    agencies. Clients enter into AOR arrangements to
    avail of rate benefits.

    3.

    Generally
    very
    Large,
    Audien
    Limited
    but
    ce
    limited
    in
    To those Scope
    who can
    Read and
    Subscribe

    4.

    Message
    may be
    Varied at
    short
    Timelin Notice.
    Current
    ess
    Events
    may be
    Capitalize
    d

    Consolidation
    The bigger you are, the better is your negotiating
    capacity with the media. Interpublic Group is the
    world’s largest agglomeration of ad agencies that in
    India comprises McCann-Erickson, FCB-Ulka and
    Lowe Lintas among others. This group will set up
    Magna Global, which will represent aggregate media
    negotiating interests of most of Interpublic’s Indian
    entities, and will control Rs. 1,700-1,800 crore of
    media spend, Mind share represents HTA, O&M,
    Contract and Equs in India. It controls Rs. 3,000
    crores of billings. Media Edge represents Rediffusion
    and Everest. Several such mergers are in the offing.
    Such consolidation will change media planning. Large
    multi-product clients will enjoy tremendous economies of scale. A lot of clients want one agency to do
    media buying for all their brands. Though consolidation is a big opportunity, there are going to be
    magnified problems of client conflicts. The benefits

    Direct
    Mail

    Radio

    Cinema

    Outdo
    or

    Limite
    Restricted
    Restricte
    d
    to the
    d
    Good
    To
    Number
    To local
    local
    Circulation
    of mailings
    Populatio
    Circul
    n
    Contacted
    ation

    Higher
    degree
    Of
    selectivity

    Restricte
    d
    Regional
    and
    Linguistic
    Selectivit
    y

    Restricte
    d
    Local
    Selectivit Local
    y
    Selecti
    vity

    Limited
    to
    Limited to
    Those
    a live
    who
    Mailing list
    CinemaPossess
    which
    Going
    Radio and
    Should
    Populatio
    who
    constantly
    n
    Tune into
    Be
    the
    reviewed
    Program
    me

    Highest
    degree
    Lack of – Of
    Timeline timeliness;
    ss;
    Selection
    Absence of the’
    of
    Right time
    News
    and
    Right
    value
    message
    Possible

    Restricted
    Timelines
    s’,
    Dependin
    g
    Upon
    Program
    me
    Planning

    Timelines
    s
    But at a
    Higher
    cost

    Limite
    d to
    Local
    Peopl
    e

    Uneco
    nomic
    Timeli
    ness

    135

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    tion from small advertisers. Even press ad negotiations were
    also confined to big advertisers. The situation overwhelmingly
    supported media planning, but was not conducive to media
    buying. This remained so till 1990.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Media
    Factors
    Flexibility
    Of time,
    Design
    layout.
    And color

    5.

    6.

    Life

    7.

    Repetitive
    Value

    Newspapers

    Magazines

    Direct Mail

    Outdoor

    Higher degree
    Of flexibilityBut at
    Proportionatel
    y
    Higher costs

    Good degree
    Of flexibility
    But
    uneconomical

    High degree
    of
    Flexibility

    Less
    Flexibility

    Very limited
    Life

    Longer life,
    Commensura
    te
    With
    Frequency or
    Issue and
    Use for
    Reference

    Subsequently
    Longer life,
    Depending
    Limited life’
    upon
    The usefulness
    Of the
    Literature

    Very shortLived unless
    Repeated
    Very
    Frequently

    Longer
    Life

    Repetitive
    Value
    Restricted to
    Frequency of
    Publication

    Repetitive
    Value depends Quick,
    On frequency Repetition
    of
    Possible
    Mailing

    May be
    Repeated in
    every
    Show but not
    To the same’
    Audience

    Seen every
    Time
    Prospect
    Passes by it

    Message may
    Be repeated
    Every day
    and
    Adopted to
    the
    Day’s need

    Most effective
    Because of
    Memory and

    Well-planned
    Newspaper
    In locating
    Effectivenes New
    8.
    s customers
    Buying in
    market
    The
    And
    Elaborate
    supporting publication
    Explanations
    To support

    136

    Cinema

    Restricted
    Flexibility,
    Highest degree Depending on
    The
    Of flexibility
    availability-.
    Of time

    Very
    effective
    In case of
    Goodwill of

    9 Suitability

    Radio

    Very effective
    Because
    Less effective Made
    Because of
    Effective by
    High
    Messages
    use
    Memorizing
    Of cartoons Value
    And
    elaborate
    Explanation

    Suitable for
    Suitable for
    Very suitable for
    Suitable for specific
    Articles of
    all
    Types of
    Goods,
    Articles having a
    Daily use in Most suitable Very suitable
    goods
    according well defined
    For Local
    Having wide
    To Make a
    Consumption
    Brand
    Market and
    Goods
    To the nature Limited &
    Wide
    Needing
    constant
    Enlightened
    Explorations Of the
    Demand
    magazine
    market

    Newspapers

    Magazines

    Direct Mail

    Radio

    Cinema

    Outdoor

    10

    Secrecy

    No Secrecy
    can be
    Maintained
    Because of
    Universal
    appeal

    No Secrecy;
    Competitor
    s
    Also read it

    Privacy &
    secrecy may
    easily be
    Maintained

    No secrecy

    No secrecy

    No secrecy

    11

    Economy

    Moderate
    costs
    Per
    advertiseme
    nts
    To numbers
    contacted

    Higher
    costs per
    advertiseme
    nt
    But less
    overall cost

    Cost depends
    Upon the size
    of
    The mailing
    List

    Costlier

    Moderate
    cost as a
    whole
    But higher
    per
    Contract
    cost

    Cheap on the
    whole but
    Higher per
    Contract cost

    4

    Magazines

    4

    Radio

    Disadvantages
    Disadvantages

    Advantages
    Advantages

    u Good reproduction

    u Higher cost per contact

    u Demographic
    selectivity

    u Long-term advertiser
    commitments

    u Selectivity and
    audience segmentation

    u Regional/local
    selectivity

    u Slow audience build-up

    u Geographic flexibility

    u High frequency to
    generate retention

    u Entertainment
    carryover

    u Commercial clutter

    u Long advertising life

    u Limited demonstration
    capabilities

    u High pass-along rate

    u Lack of urgency

    u Short-term ad
    commitments

    Advantages
    Advantages

    u Immediate and portable

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Media
    Factors

    Disadvantages
    Disadvantages
    u No visual treatment
    u Short advertising life

    u Background
    distractions

    u Long lead time

    4

    Television
    Advantages
    Advantages
    u Wide diverse audience
    u Low cost per thousand
    u Creative and
    demonstrative
    u Immediacy of messages
    u Entertainment carryover
    u Demographic selectivity
    with cable

    Disadvantages
    Disadvantages
    u Short life of message
    u Expensive with high
    campaign cost
    u Little demographic
    selectivity with network
    u Long-term advertiser
    commitments
    u Long lead times
    u Clutter

    4

    Outdoor Media
    Advantages
    Advantages
    u High exposure
    frequency

    Disadvantages
    Disadvantages
    u Short message

    u Moderate cost

    u Lack of demographic
    selectivity

    u Flexibility

    u High “noise” level

    u Geographic selectivity
    u Broad, diverse market

    137

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Internet and World Wide Web
    Advantages
    Advantages
    u Fast growing
    u Ability to reach narrow
    target audience
    u Short lead time
    u Moderate cost

    4

    Disadvantages
    Disadvantages

    Fax
    Fax Machines
    Machines

    u Difficult to measure
    ad effectiveness and
    ROI

    Video
    Video Shopping
    Shopping Carts
    Carts

    u Ad exposure relies on
    “click through”

    Computer
    Computer
    Screen
    Screen Savers
    Savers
    Interactive
    Interactive Kiosks
    Kiosks
    Ads
    Ads in
    in
    Movies
    Movies and
    and Videos
    Videos

    4

    Media Selection Considerations

    Cost
    Costper
    perContact
    Contact

    Cost
    Cost per
    per
    Contact
    Contact

    Reach
    Reach

    Reach
    Reach

    Frequency
    Frequency

    Frequency
    Frequency

    Audience
    Audience Selectivity
    Selectivity

    Audience
    Audience
    Selectivity
    Selectivity

    Factors
    Factors
    Influencing
    Influencing
    Media
    Media Mix
    Mix
    Decisions
    Decisions

    4

    Media Scheduling
    Continuous
    Continuous Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Flighted
    Flighted Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Pulsing
    Pulsing Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    138

    Examples
    Examplesof
    of
    Alternative
    Alternative Media
    Media

    u Not all consumers
    have access to
    internet

    Media Selection Considerations

    Types
    Types of
    of
    Media
    Media Schedules
    Schedules

    4

    Alternative Media

    Seasonal
    Seasonal Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    4

    The
    The cost
    cost of
    of reaching
    reaching one
    one
    member
    member of
    of the
    the target
    target market.
    market.
    The
    The number
    number of
    of target
    target consumers
    consumers
    exposed
    exposed to
    to aa commercial
    commercial at
    at least
    least
    once
    once during
    during aa time
    time period.
    period.
    The
    The number
    number of
    of times
    times an
    an individual
    individual
    is
    is exposed
    exposed to
    to aa message
    message during
    during aa
    time
    time period.
    period.
    The
    The ability
    ability of
    of an
    an advertising
    advertising
    medium
    medium to
    to reach
    reach aa precisely
    precisely
    defined
    defined market.
    market.

    Media Scheduling

    4

    Continuous
    Continuous
    Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Advertising
    Advertising is
    is run
    run steadily
    steadily
    throughout
    throughout the
    the period.
    period.

    Flighted
    Flighted
    Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Advertising
    Advertising is
    is run
    run heavily
    heavily every
    every
    other
    other month
    month or
    or every
    every two
    two weeks.
    weeks.

    Pulsing
    Pulsing
    Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Advertising
    Advertising combines
    combines continuous
    continuous
    scheduling
    scheduling with
    with flighting.
    flighting.

    Seasonal
    Seasonal
    Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Advertising
    Advertising is
    is run
    run only
    only when
    when the
    the
    product
    product is
    is likely
    likely to
    to be
    be used.
    used.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    “Quote-Unquote What few Stalwarts have to say
    About Media.”
    • “Word of mouth is the best medium of all.”
    – William Bernbach, quoted in Bill Bernbach said . . . (1989),
    DDB Needham Worldwide.
    • “The buying of time or space is not the taking out of a
    hunting license on someone else’s private preserve but is the
    renting of a stage on which we may perform.”
    – Howard Gossage, quoted in Randall Rothenberg, Where
    the Suckers Moon: An Advertising Story (1994), New York:
    Alfred A. Knopf, p. 188.
    • “As long as media is mass – when the consumer had no
    choice, when it was networks – you could fuck the consumer
    all day long with ring around the collar, because she had to
    get up and turn off the set to avoid it. With cable and
    interactive sets, with that remote control, you can’t do that.
    It’s got to be the polite invitation, instead of the harangue.”
    – Don Pepper, head of worldwide new business for Chiat/
    Day, quoted in Karen Stabiner, Inventing Desire (1993), New
    York: Simon & Schuster, p. 92.

    Notes

    139

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 25:
    TUTORIAL

    How would you promote a brand of Chawanprash in a
    town, which does not have TVs nor do they have radios.

    Watch any programme of your choice on TV, and analyze the
    number of commercial breaks, the durations of each
    advertisement, the type of advertisements shown and the
    audience watching the programme. Please match the Target
    audience of the brand advertised and the audience profile
    watching the programme.

    Pick an Economic Times and Times of India and compare
    the type of advertisements in both the newspapers. Analyze
    also the placing of the advertisements based on the various
    newspaper sub headings, like, Sports, Editorial, Business,
    etc.

    Explain the medias in which the following brands would
    advertise:

    ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

    Ried & Taylor

    Nirma Detergent

    Xerox Photocopier

    Omega Watches

    Tiger Biscuits (Rs. 2/ pack)

    Mercedes S Class

    Tiger chaap Agarbattis

    Coca Cola

    Aids Awareness

    Why do you think that selection of media plays a vital role
    for an advertising manager of Pepsodent Toothpaste? Not
    more than 150 words.

    Listen to any programme on FM Radio and analyze the
    advertisement style and the duration of them. Also compare
    them vis a vis television advertising. What benefit do you
    think the advertiser would have got in placing an
    advertisement in the radio media?

    Visit / talk /mail a company which hosts website of general
    interest on the WWW. Understand the relevance of
    advertising in the new media and the type of clientele that
    they look at. Also understand the Reach and Impact of
    advertising via the new media route.

    Notes

    140

    LESSON 26:
    UNDERSTANDING CAMPAIGNS

    You will understand via this lesson how to make a
    campaign.

    Few award-winning campaigns are given; this will give you a
    perspective of how agencies make an advertisement.

    Three Phases of Campaign Creation
    There are three phases involved in the creation of any campaign.
    (i) Strategy Development Phase, (ii) The Briefing Phase and (iii)
    The Creative Phase.

    i. Strategy Development Phase
    This phase decides the objectives and contents of communication. It analyses the research data and decides positioning of a
    brand. The strategy formulation is in modern day’s agencies a
    team effort. The creative persons form a part of this team not
    as creative persons but as a mind. There are brain- storming
    sessions. The team throws up the ideas. These ideas ultimately
    make up the strategy. The brilliant in the team pick up one or
    two ideas from the total ideas generated and develop them. Our
    strategy should give us a competitive edge.
    AI Ries and Jack Trout started focusing on the strategy side of
    advertising business in the late 60s when they first started
    writing about positioning. Everybody else was talking about
    creativity, whereas they decided to talk about strategy. They
    found that clients did not want to buy strategy from an ad
    agency.
    I want that you appreciate the importance of strategy development phase. If the strategy is wrong, no amount of creativity
    will help. If the strategy is right, despite the poor creative work,
    we can sell due to right strategy. However, right strategy and
    creative campaign is a winning combination. Mere creativity and
    no strategy never work. To your client, you should tell what you
    are trying to achieve in your communication.
    The strategist is the left-brain oriented, very linear in thinking,
    very logical in deduction. The strategy formulation leads to an
    advertising brief.
    If you want to catch fish, you have to think like a fish. If you
    want to catch a consumer, you have to think like a consumer.
    That’s the first principle. What most companies do is they think
    like themselves. They spend all their time with themselves’ (AI
    Ries and Jack Trout).
    Bob Isherwood, creative director, Saatchi & Saatchi, Australia
    emphasizes that a good effective ad has to be married to the
    right strategy, if it has to sell. He is also a strong believer of the
    theory that a creative director is as important a member of the
    strategizing team as the account director is especially if it
    involves a product launch.

    ii. Advertising Brief to the Creative
    As a matter of fact, the client has to brief the agency about the
    strategy. However, most of the time this does not happen. The
    agency is supposed to brief itself. The strategy formulated is
    communicated to the creative people. They are briefed about
    how to create the advertising the product needs. The strategy
    should be communicated with clarity. The strategist should be a
    good motivator for the creative team.
    Proper briefing is going halfway as far as creativity is concerned.
    Bad brief to the creative team results into bad work. Good
    brief ensures good work.
    Within the creative team, the copywriter and visualiser work
    together and it is difficult to attribute the final product to either
    of them. Yes, when they are working, there are sparks of
    creativity. Please appreciate that briefing completes half the job.
    Creative campaigns are creative due to a good brief.
    It is critically very important to question the brief. Very often, a
    brief is a set of clichés. We have to get the real situation.
    Creative brief of strategy contains a key consumer insight. If
    the brief acquaints you with the consumer, and how his mind
    works, it has the seeds of creativity in it. It gives stimulus to
    creative team.
    Success or failure of the advertisement is largely dictated by the
    brief.
    It is the job of a client to tell the agency what he wants to say
    and it is the agency’s job to decide how to say it.
    Great briefs inspire great work. Briefs should have clarity and
    single-minded objective. They should aim at a target person.
    The idea is to have the desired response. All briefs must
    suggest a benefit or a product plus.
    iii. The Creative Phase
    Here the lateral thinkers come on the scene. They leap from a
    single unidirectional idea of the strategist to an advertising idea
    that will add value to the product/brand. The creative persons
    are supposed to be right-brained – lateral thinkers, irrational
    thinkers as against the accounts director who is left brained, i.e.,
    logical. They make connections that had not existed before.
    They rearrange the order of things. They create abruptions in
    the consumer mind. There should be a beautiful marriage
    between the strategy and the lateral thinking by the creative
    people.
    The creative director’s post has become a more responsible one.
    He does not remain content with a clever copy or stimulating
    visuals. He is required to understand the product and its market
    completely. He is now an overall ad man, an all-rounder. He
    participates in research and has active role in positioning. He
    does not follow a policy of art for the sake of art any more. He
    sits at briefings alongside the client servicing people. Creatives

    141

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Learning Objectives

    CHAPTER 7
    UNIT – 5
    CAMPAI MAKING

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    are involved in the whole campaign – right from the concept to
    the commissioning stage.
    Spink of the Lowe group says “Strong creatives are probably the
    cheapest competitive advantage that a company can have.” The
    best creatives are derived from a complete understanding of the
    product and the benefits it offers. But a thorough understanding of the target audience provides an edge. Norman Berry of
    O & M says, “It is the sensitive understanding of the audience
    that takes one’s creative from logic to magic.”

    Five Steps to Effective Advertising
    Prepare
    Good advertising begins with good information. And the best
    way to gather the information you need is with a little Q & A.
    Here are some basic questions that will help you prepare for just
    about any ad writing assignment.
    • DESCRIPTION. What is the product/service/opportunity
    in 50 words or less?
    • PURPOSE. What does it do? How does it work?
    • PRICE. How much does it cost?
    • FEATURES. What are the vital facts about this product/
    service/opportunity?
    • BENEFITS. What will it do for people? What specific
    problems does it solve? Saves money or time? Makes life
    better? What is the prime benefit?
    • COMPETITION. Why is my product/service/opportunity
    better? How is it different? What attributes can I stress that
    they don’t?
    • GUARANTEE. 30 days free trial? Money back?
    • PROSPECT. Who is my ideal prospect? Male or female?
    Income? Lifestyle? Biggest concerns?
    • OBJECTIVE. What do I want? Inquiries, leads, sales, image
    building, traffic, etc.?
    • OFFER. What’s the deal? Two for one sale? Limited-time
    offer? Free information?
    • DEADLINE. When does my offer expire?
    • METHOD OF PAYMENT. Cash, bill me, VISA,
    MasterCard, etc.?
    • METHOD OF ORDERING. Mail, phone, fax, computer,
    etc.? 800 number?
    You’ll also want to collect these items to help you answer the
    questions:
    • SAMPLE. Do I have a sample of this product? Do I have a
    tape or video to explain the opportunity?
    • TESTIMONIALS AND ENDORSEMENTS: Letters from
    happy users? Media coverage? Celebrity endorsements?
    • COMPLAINTS. Letters from unhappy customers? (This
    tells you how to improve your product or offer.)
    • SAMPLES OF PAST PROMOTIONS. What was successful
    or unsuccessful?
    • TABOOS. What can never be said?
    • TECHNICAL RESTRICTIONS. No glossy paper for reply
    cards. No type less than 12 points. Etc.
    142

    BACKGROUND. Previous ads, brochures, annual reports,
    catalogs, article reprints, market research, competitor’s ads,
    memos, proposals, etc.

    Organize
    After you’ve assembled a pile of information, you next need to
    organize it. This is simply a matter of neatly rewriting the
    essential points in a more concise form and taking notes from
    the items you collected.
    Here’s the basic information you’ll need at hand:
    • Description
    • Purpose
    • Price
    • Features
    • Benefits/Prime Benefit
    • Guarantee
    • Prospect
    • Objective
    • Offer
    • Deadline
    • Method of Payment
    • Method of Ordering
    I’m not suggesting that the other information you have isn’t
    important. But these are the central points you’ll need in writing
    your ad.
    Write
    The Prepare and Organize steps can be used for any kind of
    advertising. However, Write, Edit, and Review as presented here
    is designed specifically for print ads. The general principles,
    though, can be altered to work with any media.
    Write your Headline

    1. Review your Prime Benefit, Offer, Deadline, Price, Prospect,
    and Method of Ordering, Description, and Guarantee.
    2. Choose the information you want to emphasize.
    3. Select a headline type (see “7 Headlines That Work” below)
    that best conveys the information you want to emphasize.
    4. Write several headlines and choose the best.
    Write your Subheads

    1. Review your Description, Benefits, Features, Offer, Deadline,
    Guarantee, etc.
    2. Choose the information that best expands on your headline.
    3. Write your subheads in order of importance. Use the active
    voice and make every subhead a benefit statement.
    Write your Body Copy

    Expand on each subhead. List features. Include legal or other
    technical information in the body copy.
    Write your Call to Action

    1. Review your Method of Ordering, Offer, Price, Deadline,
    and Guarantee.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    2. Write your call to action including all the above information
    that applies. Use the active voice and be straightforward and
    clear.
    Think through your graphics.
    You’ll need a graphic designer, but before you talk to one …

    Choose a visual that best illustrates your product/service or
    the primary benefit in the headline. It should work
    independent of your copy as a “visual headline.”

    Make sure you include your logo, your company or product
    name, your address, and your phone number.

    On your response device or coupon, make sure to repeat
    your Offer, Price, Deadline, Method of Payment, and
    Guarantee.

    Be sure your layout leads the reader from the headline and
    visual to the subheads, body copy, logo, call to action, and
    response device.

    Edit
    Edit your ad with more questions …
    • Does my headline get attention, select an audience, deliver a
    complete message, and draw the reader into the body copy?
    • Does my headline exploit human motivators such as fear,
    exclusivity, guilt, greed, envy, etc.?
    • Is my headline clear and to the point? Does it relate to the
    product/service?
    • Do my headline and visual work together to sell the
    product? (The visual should illustrate the product and the
    prime benefit, not a “concept.”)
    • Do my subheads logically expand on the headline in order
    of importance?
    • Do I ask for the order? Have I made it clear what I want the
    reader to do?
    Review
    Put your ad aside for a few days and read it later when you’re
    fresh. Try these techniques to review your ad.
    • Use the “Three Second Test” with a prospect. If they don’t
    know what your ad is about after glancing at it for three
    seconds, you need to simplify.
    • List negatives about your ad and correct them.
    • Ask yourself if there is a better way to accomplish your
    objective.
    • Try the “Stop or Go Test.” Circle references to you in red and
    references to your customer in green. When your ad is mostly
    green, it’s a GO.

    What is an Advertising Campaign?
    A series of related
    advertisements focusing
    on a common theme,
    slogan, and set of
    advertising appeals.

    Steps in Creating an
    Advertising Campaign
    Determine the
    advertising objectives.

    Make creative decisions.

    Make media decisions.

    Evaluate the campaign.

    143

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Setting Objectives:
    The DAGMAR Approach

    Unique Selling Proposition

    Goal
    Goal of
    of
    Advertising
    Advertising
    Objectives
    Objectives
    Define
    Define
    Target
    Target Audience
    Audience

    Desirable, exclusive, and
    believable advertising
    appeal selected as the
    theme for a campaign.

    Define
    Define the
    the Time
    Time
    Frame
    Frame for
    for Change
    Change
    Define
    Define Desired
    Desired
    Percentage
    Percentage
    Change
    Change

    Creative Decisions

    Executing the Message
    Identify
    Identify
    Product
    Product Benefits
    Benefits

    Musical
    Musical

    Components
    Components
    of
    of
    Creative
    Creative
    Decisions
    Decisions

    Slice-ofSlice-ofLife
    Life

    Scientific
    Scientific

    Lifestyle
    Lifestyle

    Develop
    Develop and
    and Evaluate
    Evaluate
    Advertising
    Advertising Appeals
    Appeals
    Execute
    Execute
    the
    theMessage
    Message
    Evaluate
    Evaluate the
    the
    Campaign’s
    Campaign’s Effectiveness
    Effectiveness

    Common
    Common
    Executional
    Executional
    Styles
    Styles

    DemonDemonstration
    stration
    Mood
    Mood or
    or
    Image
    Image

    Spokesperson/
    Testimonial

    Fantasy
    Fantasy

    Real/
    Real/
    Animated
    Animated
    Product
    Product
    Symbols
    Symbols

    Humorous
    Humorous

    Common Advertising Appeals
    Profit
    Profit

    Product
    Product saves,
    saves, makes,
    makes, or
    or protects
    protects money
    money

    Health
    Health

    Appeals
    Appeals to
    to body-conscious
    body-conscious or
    or health
    health seekers
    seekers

    Love
    Love or
    or romance
    romance

    Used
    Used in
    in selling
    selling cosmetics
    cosmetics and
    and perfumes
    perfumes

    Fear
    Fear

    Social
    Social embarrassment,
    embarrassment, old
    old age,
    age, losing
    losing health
    health

    Admiration
    Admiration

    Reason
    Reason for
    for use
    use of
    of celebrity
    celebrity spokespeople
    spokespeople

    Convenience
    Convenience

    Used
    Used for
    for fast
    fast foods
    foods and
    and microwave
    microwave foods
    foods

    Fun
    Fun and
    and pleasure
    pleasure

    Key
    Key to
    to advertising
    advertising vacations,
    vacations, beer,
    beer, parks
    parks

    Vanity
    Vanity and
    and egotism
    egotism
    Environmental
    Environmental
    Consciousness
    Consciousness

    Used
    Used for
    for expensive
    expensive or
    or conspicuous
    conspicuous items
    items

    144

    Centers
    Centers around
    around environmental
    environmental protection
    protection

    Media Types
    Newspapers
    Newspapers
    Magazines
    Magazines
    Radio
    Radio
    Television
    Television

    Major
    Major Types
    Types
    of
    of
    Advertising
    Advertising
    Media
    Media

    Outdoor
    Outdoor
    Internet
    Internet
    Alternative
    Alternative Media
    Media

    Cost
    Cost per
    per
    Contact
    Contact
    Reach
    Reach
    Frequency
    Frequency
    Audience
    Audience
    Selectivity
    Selectivity

    The
    The cost
    cost of
    of reaching
    reaching one
    one
    member
    member of
    of the
    the target
    target market.
    market.
    The
    The number
    number of
    of target
    target consumers
    consumers
    exposed
    exposed to
    to aa commercial
    commercial at
    at least
    least
    once
    once during
    during aa time
    time period.
    period.
    The
    The number
    number of
    of times
    times an
    an individual
    individual
    is
    is exposed
    exposed to
    to aa message
    message during
    during aa
    time
    time period.
    period.
    The
    The ability
    ability of
    of an
    an advertising
    advertising
    medium
    medium to
    to reach
    reach aa precisely
    precisely
    defined
    defined market.
    market.

    Brand Measure

    Chennai

    Coca- Most
    34.3 29.9
    Cola favourite

    23

    25.9 21.7

    Most
    18.9 21.5
    favourite

    25.9 25.6 29.3

    Trichy

    Coca- Most
    20.1 15.1
    Cola favourite

    14.4 14.8 14.4

    Trichy

    Pepsi

    Most
    14.3 23.9
    favourite

    24.3 29.4 34.9

    Chennai Pepsi

    The challenge facing Coca-Cola’s regional team was to identify
    the reason for this eroding preference and to find a solution to
    regain preference in the T.N. market.

    Campaign Objectives
    1. Regain preference for brand Coke from brand Pepsi over a
    period of 4-6 weeks by identifying and using a truly local
    insight to achieve a stronger connect with the T.A.
    2. To ensure that this preference gain translates into an increase
    in intention to transact with the brand.

    The Coca-Cola Brand Essence

    Media Scheduling
    Continuous
    Continuous
    Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Advertising
    Advertising is
    is run
    run steadily
    steadily
    throughout
    throughout the
    the period.
    period.

    Flighted
    Flighted
    Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Advertising
    Advertising is
    is run
    run heavily
    heavily every
    every
    other
    other month
    month or
    or every
    every two
    two weeks.
    weeks.

    Pulsing
    Pulsing
    Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Advertising
    Advertising combines
    combines continuous
    continuous
    scheduling
    scheduling with
    with flighting.
    flighting.

    Seasonal
    Seasonal
    Media
    Media Schedule
    Schedule

    Advertising
    Advertising is
    is run
    run only
    only when
    when the
    the
    product
    product is
    is likely
    likely to
    to be
    be used.
    used.

    Below are few of the successful campaigns. You are to see their
    style of campaigning making.

    Coca-Cola
    Agency : Leo Burnett

    With Coke, I can make everyday moments magical which makes
    me a winner every time. I am relaxed, uninhibited and inspired
    with a Coca-Cola that raises my involvement in my passion
    making the overall experience magical and hence memorable.

    Target Audience
    Demographic profile
    Junior college / College going young males. Age: 15-19. SEC A,
    B, C
    Understanding the Tamil Youth Culture – Whom to
    Target
    The Tamil youth like all other places have a class divide. There
    are
    • The Peter’s
    – English speaking, brand conscious, popular with girls…
    “Metro”
    • The Muni’s
    – They are the masses, Tamil-speaking, down-to-earth in
    dress and mannerisms, unlikely to possess personal
    transportation…infact prefer to travel by the local buses.
    But that’s where the similarity ends.

    Connecting with the Tamil Youth
    Coca-Cola Gaanam

    The aspiration set is not the Peter…but the Muni

    Marketing Challenge
    In October 2000 had seen Coke way ahead of Pepsi in both the
    Chennai and Trichy regions, the scores on key preference
    parameters (Most Favorite brand and Total Favorite Brand) had
    shown a dramatic dip in the last quarter of year 2000.

    Have communication that is about them and not try and
    project the Peter image as the role model/aspiration set

    To relate with the Muni’s we have to talk directly to them.

    A Closer Look at the Muni’s
    • Usually dressed in garish shirt with an undefined pattern and
    dull brown terrycot trouser.
    • He is lanky, but fiercely strong.
    • The typical youngster pretends to study
    • All he does in truth is pay a token visit to class once in a
    blue moon and hang out with his college buddies
    (group) the rest of the time.

    145

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Media Selection Considerations

    Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.
    ’00 ’00
    ’00 ’01 ’01

    Region

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    He takes pride in belonging to one of these groups.

    Objective II. Translate Preference into Intention to Buy

    And will go to lengths to prove that his college is the most
    notorious, most brattish, and therefore most happening
    college.

    Purchase intention figures from the Continuous Consumer
    Track:

    The other important aspect about him is an amazing level of
    confidence.

    Brand

    Chennai Coca-Cola

    He truly believes that he and his group of friends are the
    kings of Chennai.

    Measure

    Feb
    ’01

    Mar
    ’01

    Purch int-Def.
    will buy

    30.6

    38.9

    44.9

    54.3

    42.4

    46.7

    72.3

    78.5

    Chennai

    He also has phenomenal enthusiasm and an ability to have a
    ball.

    Purch intCocaDef+Prob. will
    Cola/Coke
    buy

    Trichy

    Coca-Cola

    He may not have too much to look forward to but he
    dreams big and has a whale of a time each day.

    Trichy

    Purch intCocaDef+Prob. will
    Cola/Coke
    buy


    Region

    Girls occupy a large part of his thinking.

    He is extremely frustrated by the fact that he has hardly
    any chance of interacting with girls.

    And when he does try girls seem to dislike him.

    So he fantasises a whole lot.

    The Creative Device
    The Muni and his Gaana
    • Gaana is the pulse of the Tamil youth.
    • A unique form of music, where a group of friends invent
    a song impromptu
    • The essence of the gaana is in the spontaneity
    • It is one of the primary entertainers in the life of a Muni
    during college.
    • They groove to it
    • And use it to express their worldview, their enthusiasm
    for life and their sense of humor at any given situation.
    • Gaana provided the perfect mix of solutions – perfectly in
    sync with the brand values, very relevant to the “Muni” of
    Tamil Nadu and a device allowing for a vivid creative
    expression.
    The Results
    The Gaana commercial went on air in mid-April and ran
    through end-May

    Temptations
    Agency: Contract

    Background
    • The Current State of the Market
    • The Need Gap Analysis
    Campaign Objective
    1. To create a new premium category in the chocolate market
    2. To communicate to the chocolate lover segment the
    availability of a truly international chocolate eating experience
    The Target Audience
    • Going beyond demographics and understanding the real
    chocolate lover
    • The importance of taste, the eat experience- what it should
    be, what it means
    Creative Strategy
    • Brand Positioning
    • The Brand Proposition
    • The Communication Objective
    • Challenges faced while developing communication
    Bringing It Alive in Media-

    Objective I: Regain preference

    The Strategy

    The Gaana commercial was aired mid-April through end-May.
    Over this period of 6 weeks, the preference scores in both
    Chennai and Trichy regions showed a dramatic increase, as
    represented in data from the Continuous Consumer Track
    conducted on a regular basis by Coke and ORG.

    Region

    Brand

    Chennai

    CocaMost
    21.7 22.3 22.8
    Cola/Coke favourite

    Chennai Pepsi

    146

    Feb Mar April May
    Measure
    ’01 ’01 ’01
    ’01

    Most
    29.3 24.3 24
    favourite

    Trichy

    CocaMost
    14.4 15.5 13.9
    Cola/Coke favourite

    Trichy

    Pepsi

    Most
    34.9 25.2 24.1
    favourite

    30.4
    22.8
    21.7
    23

    Purch int-Def.
    will buy

    Conventional Media supported by Innovations

    Conventional Media

    TV; Outdoor; Press

    Innovations

    Web site- www.temptationsworld.com

    Contest linked to purchase

    Advertising at ATM kiosks

    Sampling exercises at restaurants

    Week Long Promotion at Crossword Book Store

    Cinema Slides- before the movie came started

    Evidence of Results
    • Objectives Achieved
    • Sales

    Market Share

    Brand Awareness

    Kinetic Style
    Agency: Mudra

    Upsetting the applecart in the
    scooterette category. In Style!
    Circa 1994, TVS launches Scooty, thereby creating a new category
    – The Scooterette. It picks up market share and dominates the
    category with over 70% market share since launch.
    The strength of Scooty being lower cost, the key segment that
    used it was the college going teenagers in urban India, although
    it carried a disadvantage of a lower powered engine (60cc.). Of
    course, it was the preferred gearless scooter for those who
    couldn’t afford a Kinetic.
    Kinetic perceived immense opportunity to supplement its
    brand equity in the lower segment. To take the bull by the
    horns, Kinetic launched Style in 1999.
    Style was functionally superior in many aspects. Firstly it came
    with a 75cc power packed engine complemented with wider
    plusher seats and more storage space. A better product spiced
    with the right kind of communication might just about be
    enough to wrest market share from the leader it was reckoned…
    The whole strategy was distilled to the following objectives.
    Communicate functional superiority of Kinetic Style with
    regards to space and power, thereby reposition TVS Scooty and
    eat into its sales. The journey began…
    Who should Style speak to? In this non-aspirational category
    given the propensity to switch to motorcycles, targeting female
    collegians would make the Style effeminate. Working executives
    were more rational in their purchase decisions and were sold out
    to motorcycles for want of economy.
    Also, research threw up the fact that for young male collegians, a
    scooterette served as a surrogate motorcycle – Their ultimate
    dream. Also, a scooterette was seen to be a grudge purchase
    since parents were decision makers. A product proposition of
    better power and comfort would appeal more giving them
    vicarious pleasures of owning a motorcycle.
    Style honed in on the key insight:
    “Collegians rarely traveled single.They always moved around in
    pairs with friends.”
    The product strengths of bigger seats, more engine capacity
    coupled with the competitive need gap of underpowered
    engine gave birth to the creative hook – Twins.
    While twins fought for comfort all along their childhood trying
    to fit into spaces like a bathtub and a swing, the moment they
    find themselves on a Kinetic Style, their fights cease. They now
    had found a vehicle that was perfectly “Made for Two”.
    Press and outdoor was used to launch the Style regionally, and
    then TV followed it in a mix of regional and national channels.
    Was Style successful? Sales of Style picked up by almost 200%
    (1247 units p.m. – 3654 units p.m.) gaining directly from Scooty
    sales (16848 units p.m. – 12112 units p.m.).

    Apart from this, image perceptions as per the IMRB research
    LINKTEST model post communication confirmed the
    following findings:

    Kinetic Style is more powerful and spacious than other
    scooterettes

    Kinetic Style can seat two people comfortably unlike other
    scooterettes

    Kinetic Style is a ‘Scooterette-Made for Two”.

    Kinetic thus romped home with more sales and improved
    brand image… in Style!

    Hitachi Air-conditioners : “Perfect !”
    Agency: Leo Burnett

    Market Scenario
    The market for Room Air-conditioners was small and crowded
    with entrenched players and multi product, multi national
    brands. The market was largely undifferentiated and besotted by
    ‘me-too’ functional and cooling claims and category clichés. The
    presence of a large unorganized sector, the small market size
    and historically “low involvement” nature of the product
    ensured that the market was highly price sensitive. Brands rely
    heavily on dealer push, familiarity and incentives. In sum, the
    entry barriers for a new brand, particularly a brand that wanted
    to sell at a premium were very high.
    Marketing Challenge
    To penetrate this market with at least 50% growth without
    compromising on a price premium of at least 10% (on the
    assumption, that the market will grow at about 30% which was
    the reported growth for the previous year).
    The role of advertising in this ambitious target was to bring
    Hitachi into the consideration set of the prospective customer.
    To that end it was imperative to – build awareness – create
    Salience for the brand as a superior technology product (in a
    market where technology had never been a driver).
    What was it that the Campaign was Designed to
    Achieve Then
    • To bring alive the unique and customized features that made
    Hitachi LogiCool a superior and premium product offering.
    • Thereby create a place for Hitachi’s technology in a market
    that had not seen any significant product improvement for
    many years.
    In a crowded and undifferentiated market, driven by mostly
    functional and cooling claims, the brand’s primary agenda was
    to be noticed. Also, afford a premium in a traditionally price
    sensitive market, the brand needed a halo and a credible value
    claim.
    Who was the Most Likely Target
    Hitachi’s most likely audience, at this stage, was a relatively
    younger male. A new generation AC buyer, at ease with
    technology and gizmos. Unafraid to indulge in pleasure and
    comfort. His need to own the latest, and most importantly his
    need to assert his individuality, formed the stepping-stone to
    the creative.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Creative Strategy
    Step 1
    Create a brand halo: “logiCool”. LogiCool became both an
    umbrella and a hook that delivered credibility and value.
    Step 2
    Bring alive the technology.
    For those who seek Perfection as a creative platform allowed us
    to deliver the brands core proposition, in a manner that not just
    engaged but appealed to the core target group. It brought to the
    fore Hitachi’s ability to cater to a very basic insight: the “perfect
    temperature” is a very personal need. The bald bearded, fussy
    protagonist, who ran across communication, delivered an
    extreme and exaggerated version of the brand’s obsession with
    “perfection”.
    a. Television commercials used subtle humour and engaging,
    unconventional formats to complement the mystery of the
    LogiCool technology, making it warmer and more relevant.
    b. Press advertising took the LogiCool claim further,
    disseminating information and driving traffic.
    c. Magazine advertising meanwhile delivered the “brand
    Hitachi”.
    What were the Results
    • Awareness levels shot up.
    • Spontaneous awareness grew by about 52 % (from the
    figures we had available for the previous year), reflecting the
    emergence of the brand in the active consideration set.
    • The brand showed very positive scores on “technology”,
    among the set of “spontaneously aware consumers”
    • The market failed to grow at even a third of its projection,
    but the brand exceeded its targets.
    • Most importantly, in a market that saw prices plummeting
    and brands jostling for a share of the pie, Hitachi maintained
    its price premium without compromising volume objectives.

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    Notes

    In a market category that is growing at a snail’s pace, is there
    place for another brand new brand?

    India, yellowing of whites will be addressed by Tide. So Tide
    and Ariel are not exactly interchangeable.”

    Why launch another brand in a segment when you already have
    one, especially when you have worked very hard over the years at
    making the existing brand a success?

    In the pricing of the two brands too, P&G has drawn a
    distinction. While Ariel comes for Rs 145 per kg, Tide’s price is
    Rs 120. For a half kg, Ariel comes for Rs 80 and Tide, Rs 68.
    For 200 gm, Tide is priced at Rs 30 against Ariel’s Rs 36. And
    unlike the US, there are no plans, in the immediate future, for
    variants in Tide. “We have launched the regular Tide here,” says
    Jejurikar. “As of now, there are no plans for launching variants.
    If specific consumer needs come up in the future, we may
    consider variants.”

    These are the questions that most practitioners of marketing
    have been asking recently! The new brand in question is Tide,
    which Procter & Gamble (P&G) recently launched in India.
    And, it has been launched in the premium segment of the
    detergent powder category, where the company already has Ariel
    (P&G defines premium in the detergents category as being any
    product over Rs 70 per kg). Stranger still, Tide and Ariel are
    seemingly seen by the company as interchangeable and are
    normally not launched in the same market anywhere in the
    world. So in the US, Tide rules the roost but there is no Ariel.
    In Europe, Ariel is what the company offers; Tide has not been
    launched in any country out there. In Japan, there’s only Ariel.
    Moreover, by P&G’s own estimates, the overall Indian urban
    detergents market has been growing at a dismal pace of just
    over one per cent per annum. But, points out Mr. Shailesh
    Jejurikar, marketing director at P&G India, the premium
    detergents market has been growing at three-to-four per cent in
    value terms. “And compacts have been growing at around 13
    per cent (in value terms); Ariel, in fact, has registered a 14 per
    cent growth over the last quarter.” He adds that over the last
    quarter, the maximum growth in the detergents category has
    been from Surf Excel (a product from competitor Hindustan
    Lever’s) and Ariel, both compacts.

    A Portfolio of Brands
    Mr. Jejurikar responds, “In some categories, it helps to have a
    portfolio of brands. While it may be true that in the US, P&G
    has only Tide, there are different variants to it. And there are
    other brands from the P&G stable — Cheer, Bold, Gain. In
    Europe, there is an additional brand in Daz, besides Ariel. But
    in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, both brands exist side by side. In
    Saudi, Tide and Ariel have a 60:40 share of the two brands’
    total turnover. In Egypt, it’s the reverse.”
    It all depends, he says, on one question: is there a consumer
    need? In India, the premium segment is growing. There is a
    specific consumer need for great quality of cleaning — a
    dimensionalisation of whiteness. Tide has been launched to
    address that — the quality of whiteness in cleaning.
    In that, P&G is drawing a distinction between Tide and Ariel.
    “In all markets where both brands have been launched,” says
    Mr. Jejurikar, “Ariel stands for the best in cleaning. It will keep
    redefining the standards of cleaning plus something more.
    Could be germs-free. Or as we had advertised sometime back,
    no pilling. Ariel will always give the best in performance; it will
    talk about the best in global technologies, helping the consumer
    redefine standards in cleaning. For the non-Ariel consumer in

    More Market Share
    Then there is the issue of a market share for P&G. In India,
    says Mr. Jejurikar, P&G still has three-fourth way to go in
    powder detergent market dominance. In Saudi, it commands 70
    per cent of the market. In some other markets, it enjoys around
    40-to-45 per cent share. “In India,” he admits, “we have a fair
    way to go.” And a portfolio of brands, feels P&G, may be the
    answer. For example, what used to be Ariel Super Soaker in the
    regular powder detergents segment, has now become Gain,
    priced at Rs 49 per kg. “Even in the US, Gain is offered more as
    a value proposition.”
    Consumers in India haven’t exactly been showing predictable
    patterns in product usage and brand loyalty. Their upgrades and
    yes, even downgrades, have been unpredictable in the recent
    years. Given this, isn’t there a possibility that Ariel users may
    shift to Tide? “Yes, there is that possibility,” admits Mr.
    Jejurikar. “But our challenge is, can we bring more people into
    the P&G detergents fold? Ariel has to find new ways of
    bringing in consumers. As the year unfolds, we have strong
    plans for both Tide and Ariel. You may even wonder at the
    high levels of activity on Ariel. Over the next 12 months, we
    have planned strong action on Ariel to ensure that its consumers will not want to switch to another brand.”
    And what about competition. Won’t it respond as strongly?
    “Competition may come up with special direct offers,” Mr.
    Jejurikar guesses, declining to comment further. Incidentally, if
    you have been watching detergent ads on television, there seems
    to be some competitive action on. Tide’s advertising has shown
    the offer of this unnamed product for maximum whiteness
    effect. The consumer tries the product and lo and behold, she
    gets the promised whiteness. After which the product’s brand
    name is revealed as Tide.
    Cut to Hindustan Lever’s Rin Supreme ad where this unnamed
    detergent powder that is offered for trial does not provide that
    super whiteness. And then along come this woman talking
    about the super whiteness that Rin Supreme offers, while the
    man who had offered the unnamed detergent gets pushed to
    the background by a group of women talking about the
    excellent performance of the Hindustan Lever brand.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 27:
    CASE STUDY & CAMPAIGN MAKING

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Comparative advertising? Sure sounds like it. And if it is, it
    looks like the year’s competitive action will find Rin and Tide at
    war.
    Whatever the warfare may unfold, Mr. Jejurikar is convinced
    that the planned action on P&G’s two detergent brands will
    have an impact. “Between June this year and July next year
    (P&G’s financial year), we plan to significantly and meaningfully
    grow our category share. Most laundry consumers know the
    difference between the products on offer. You provide a
    performance and the consumer evaluates it vis-a-vis price.”

    More Action this Year
    On “why P&G chose to launch Tide this year, and not last year
    or the year before or even next year?” he says, “Our reason for
    the launch happening this year is that globally, changes at P&G
    have allowed for faster launches. Over the last three years, we
    have been working on existing brands, building a solid base.
    Now there are new launches coming up.”
    Sure enough, this year finds P&G getting active with new
    launches. January this year, saw the national launch of Whisper
    Ultra, the most technologically advanced sanpro product in
    P&G’s global stable. Tide followed on May 3. Since April,
    Tempo, a tissue brand and Tampax, P&G’s global tampon
    brand, are being test marketed at Tamil Nadu and Delhi, and
    Tamil Nadu respectively. “Tempo and Tampax are between
    nine-to-twelve months away from a national launch,” estimates
    Mr. Jejurikar. “And even here, we will still have to evaluate.
    Tampax, after all, is in a very nascent segment in India.”
    This year then, at least in terms of advertising communication,
    Indian consumers will see a lot of action in laundry detergents.
    It is unlikely that P&G’s competitors, specially arch rival
    Hindustan Lever, will not react strongly, or even go detergent
    proactive. So get ready for a lot of action, hype and high noise
    levels. Surprising how something as mundane as washing
    clothes can be made so much of by its solution providers.
    Your agency has been hired to make a campaign for Tide. Create
    a Print and an Electronic advertisement at the cost of 1 crore for
    6 months.

    Notes

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 28:
    TUTORIAL

    You are the advertising person handling the brand PARX. You
    are required to now position PARX as a revolution in Tee Shirt
    market. Identify the target audience and create a creative and
    media strategy for the brand. In addition you are also to think
    of innovative promotional exercises to ‘reach’ out to the public.
    In addition please create the print advertisement and explain the
    components of it. The work should be ideally done in syndicates and 30 minutes time to be devoted on the making,
    thereafter syndicate presentation.

    Notes

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    UNIT III
    ADVERTISING STAKEHOLDERS
    LESSON 29:
    UNIT – 6
    CHAPTER 8
    AD AGENCIES – A LOOK
    ADVERTISING ORGANIZATION

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the structure of an ad
    agency.

    It will give you an idea as to the type of role you might play
    in the organization.

    It was only by the beginning of this century that the agency
    started to prepare advertisements and deliver them through the
    advertisements media. Lord and Thomas was probably the first
    agency in the USA, with a reputation for creative work in
    advertising. It hired copywriters, who did a marvelous job. One
    of the famous advertisement deliveries of this agency was for a
    new washing machine. Other agencies also started adopting the
    new services; and soon many advertisement agencies had
    established departments for copywriting, artwork, layout
    design, media selection, etc.
    Over the next several decades, the advertisement agency
    improved the quality of its services, besides offering additional
    new services at extra charge. Agency growth has never looked
    back since then It has grown in size and influence through the
    years, demonstrating an ability to create effective advertising.
    Towards the end of the first half of this century, there were
    several large agencies offering a full range of advertising services.
    They produced effective advertisements by taking into account
    consumer psychology and human needs and wants. Creative
    advertising appeals effectively influenced consumers to buy the
    advertised products and services. In fact, advertising at this
    stage, became a part of the overall marketing mix, furthering the
    sales and marketing strategy.

    It is estimated that advertising industry will be worth around
    Rs. 10,000 crores by the year 2001. Even discounting media
    inflation, it is a lot of business.
    An advertising agency, (abbreviated to ‘ad agency,’) is a team of
    experts appointed by a client to plan, produce and place
    advertising campaigns in the media.
    Advertising Agencies account for billings of Rs. 2000 crores per
    annum. The need for people grows in proportion to billing. It
    employs today 10,000 people. It will need twice this number.
    2000. They are constantly in need of a diversity of talents both
    on the creative as well as product side.

    Evolution & History of Advertising
    Agency
    Volney B Palmer in Philadelphia started the first Ad agency as a
    space broker in 1841. He acted as a simple agent, selling space
    for his client newspaper on a commission basis. He made no
    effort to help the advertiser prepare copy, design a layout and
    provide the many specialized services now performed by a
    modern agency.
    Since then, the nature of an agency has changed considerably,
    but the method of compensation in the form or a fixed
    percentage of advertising billing continues in spite of the
    inherent defect of the system, for the agency generally recommends only a higher media budget than may be appropriate.

    152

    An advertising agency is shortened as ad agency. Ad agency is a
    team of experts appointed by clients to plan, produce and place
    advertising campaigns in the media. They are called agencies,
    because literally they are agents of the media who pay them the
    commission, and the media thus becomes the principal. Media
    pays commission to only accredited agencies (INS accreditation),
    The agency works for the client, but draws its sustenance from
    the media (nearly 75 p.c.).

    The Working of Ad Agencies
    To begin with, the agencies started as one-man agents who
    booked space in the media. Even today, in our country, there are
    so many one-man agents who book space in the media. Soon
    the space booking was handed over to the contact-man, and
    creative wordsmiths adept at sloganising undertook the actual
    construction of the ad.
    In the course of years, the ad agency became service-oriented,
    and was able to offer every possible service including marketing,
    market research (MR), and public relations (PR).
    Ad agencies have evolved over a period of time. These days we
    have mostly studio-based agencies, some industrial and
    specialized agencies, and hot-shops who only plan creative
    campaign by engaging the services of freelancers.
    At Madison Avenue, most of these large agencies of the world
    fiercely compete for new accounts, resulting in a shift of
    millions of dollars of billing from one agency to another.
    Advertising Age is an official publication of the American
    Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA).

    Mumbai is considered to be the Mecca of Indian advertising.
    These days agencies are also being set up at Bangalore, Madras,
    Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Delhi.
    In India the ad agencies are sole proprietary concern, partnership
    or private limited companies.
    It is better to operate agencies on professional lines, rather than
    as a family. It is good to install MBO (Management By Objectives). An agency must necessarily plough back at least 75 % of
    its profits into business.
    The advertising agencies are shifting from the creative mode to
    the marketing mode. Today the onus is on the agency to supply
    the client with data on his industry; the days of the clients
    briefing the industry are almost over. The agencies are expected
    to maintain database. There is a leaning towards software for
    optimizing media usage, and computerization of studio
    functions.
    In India, the legal structure of ad agencies is that of a small
    proprietary concern or a big partnership. Sometimes, they are
    private limited companies, either big or small.
    Indian advertising is a fragmented business. There are over 733
    agencies accredited to INS. The top 25 account for 50% of all
    billings. In addition, there are many accredited agencies.
    It is the top 25 agencies, most of which are headquartered in
    Mumbai, that set the pace and define the shape of the industry.
    Agencies like HTA, Lintas, Clarion and O & M have shaped the
    entire advertising industry in the country. Many Indians firms
    are coming up, by importing Western ad techniques.
    Many agencies die a premature death. Most people do not
    appreciate that an agency –like any other business – must be
    properly managed. It is simply not enough just to have great
    idea. In recent years, there has been a healthy trend towards
    sound management practices, especially financial planning and
    control.

    department of the client briefs him. He communicates this to
    the agency people.
    He reaches out to different clients for seeking new business.
    Even clients who want an agency’ to work for them contact the
    accounts executive. This business development work makes it
    virtually a marketing manager of the agency.
    Do Right-brained People make Better Account Directors

    The faculties of logic and reason are supposed to reside in the
    left-brained people. While intuition and creativity are believed to
    be in the right. So far, accounts director was considered suitable
    if logical and systematic, i.e., left-brained. But if he has to
    motivate a team, he should be inspiring and creative too, i.e.,
    right-brained.
    Copywriters

    They are the wordsmiths who do the wording of an advertisement. They are bright and talented. They have a flair for
    language. They contribute to the theme of an advertisement.
    Creation of successful copies for different clients establishes
    them in this field.
    Visualisers

    These are artists who put on paper what has been thought out
    by the copywriter. They in fact design the ad.
    Creative Director

    He co-ordinates the copywriting and designing. He is a senior
    professional who is seasoned in an existing advertising agency
    set-up to take on this mantle.
    Production Department

    Persons of diverse talents like printing technology, DTP,
    photography, typography etc. are involved here.
    Media Planner

    He has to allocate the advertising budget amongst media. He
    has to select the appropriate media. He decides about the
    frequency, size and position of an advertisement. He decides
    about its publication date. He receives the tear-off copies from
    the media when the ad is published. He is guided by the media
    research, which he undertakes, or by research undertaken by an
    outside agency.
    Media is the most professionalized department of advertising
    agencies.

    This is a highly paid profession. It is a conspicuous high wage
    island. People operate on high profile. Their life-styles are
    opulent because of high expense accounts ‘of entertaining
    clients. They got their elitist brand due to this reason. But high
    salaries and freedom are necessary to attract talents.

    Marketing Research

    Women have been an integral part of this profession. We have
    examples of Rhoda Meha; (OBM, Media Director), Nargis
    Wadia (Interpub, MD), Usha Katrak (ASP for many years), Tara
    Sinha (Tara Sinha Associates Delhi; Formerly, Clarion).

    Most of the media today sustain on advertising revenue. They
    sell space or time. While selling space or time, they have to
    convince the client about the reach of their media vehicle, the
    composition break-up of their readers and the pricing of their
    space/time selling. They monitor the market, survey their
    readers, and highlight their readers’ demographic and geographic characteristics. They also maintain relationship with the
    media department of advertising agencies who buy space/time
    on behalf of clients.

    Let us Look at the People Working in an Agency
    Accounts Executive

    It is a key career option in advertising agency. He is called an
    Account Director when he is a member of the Board. He is a
    link between a client and his staff. The marketing or advertising

    Modern agencies are integrated set-ups. They provide a range of
    marketing services. Research data become very useful as input to
    the creative process.

    The Media

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    In India, advertising business is worth Rs. 8,000 crores. There
    were only 62 advertising agencies in 1958, which increased to 168
    in 1978, more than 2.5 times the numbers in 1958. There are
    more than 500 ad agencies today. The oldest and largest
    advertisement agency in India is Hindustan Thompson
    Associates Ltd. The second largest advertisement agency is
    Lintas.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Ancillary Services
    These are needed to produce/create advertisement. A whole
    range of services like studio service, photographic service,
    printing service, gift item producers etc. fall into this category.

    Freelancers
    These are professionals who work independently and have a
    successful track record. They are copywriters, jingle singers, radio
    announcers, artists, visualizers, technical writers etc.

    In Jocularity it is Often said that
    “Advertising is a funny business because it is not only a
    business – it is half a business, quarter a profession and quarter
    an art.”
    Every business entity, irrespective of its size, ownership and
    kind of business, does take the help of advertising – the push
    that makes things happen. Advertising is a function of
    marketing, and pushes the product in the market for bigger
    sales. The different kinds of advertising have been discussed in
    the introductory chapter. Here, we shall be concerned with the
    study of the organization that plan~, produces and places
    advertising campaigns in the media and the internal organization of the advertising department. When a firm has decided
    upon an advertising programme as part of its overall promotion mix, it needs to have a system and an organization to
    implement it for the attainment of the desired objective. Firms
    do have an advertising and publicity department to manage the
    advertising function. In some small firms, there may not be a
    separate department in the name of advertising, but the
    function is either looked after by the marketing manager or the
    chief executive. The company’s advertising department usually
    relies on outside experts, often the advertising agency which
    prepares the advertisement messages, selects appropriate media,
    and arranges to release them. The advertising department of a
    company has only a limited creative function, primarily a
    supervisory one. This department is merely a liaison point in
    the company for the agency, though it is responsible for the
    advertisement budget, and supervises the performance of the
    agency. An advertising manager has to co-ordinate with the
    marketing and sales function, so that the advertising efforts may
    be fully integrated with the firm’s marketing and sales strategy.
    He has also to perform the managerial task of formulating
    advertising strategy and planning advertising through the
    advertising agency. The agency often assists the advertising
    manager in programme formulation.
    Very importantly let us look at the function of a very important
    person in the organization – the advertising manager. We shall
    also look at the various ways the he could run the agency and
    the organization structure of an ad agency.

    The Advertising Manager
    The advertising manager usually works under the marketing
    manager for effective advertising. However, in some organizations, he may function directly under the higher management.
    Whatever may be the hierarchical levels, the advertising
    programmes should be in conformity with total marl planning.
    Product managers and brand managers have also to co-ordinate
    with the advertising department for appropriate advertising
    efforts, so that a particular product or brand may receive

    154

    adequate promotional support. The hiring of an advertising
    agency is a function of the advertising manager. If the agency
    has to be changed, the advertising manager to that effect makes
    the recommendation to the higher management.
    In a large corporation, the advertising staff is employed for
    different product/brand like Product or brand managers
    develop the advertising and promotion needs of their products
    or bran! Similarly, sales managers determine the kind of
    advertising support they need for sales, and distribution
    managers inform it of the advertising support they require. A
    manager, who is known as the advertising manager, coordinates
    all these requirements. He sets the advertising objectives al
    communicates them to the agency. In a typical, large-size
    organization, the advertising manager reports to the vicepresident in charge of advertising, sales promotion, publicity
    and public relation with a view to determining an effective total
    promotion mix. The advertising manager and r department
    work closely with the agency in the preparation of the ad
    budget, the media schedule the creation of individual ads and
    the schedule of their release. Very large organizations may hire
    services of more than one ad agency to cater to the varying
    nature of their advertising jobs.
    VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF ADVERTISING.
    SALES PROMOTION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

    Ad
    manager
    Agency
    Plates

    Sales promotion Manager
    Premiums Printed
    Materials
    Specialty
    Firm

    Media

    Direct
    Mails
    Letter Service

    House Organs
    Annual reports
    Agency

    Agency

    Sales
    Outlet

    Finished Art
    Printer

    Finished Art

    Printer

    Sales
    Outlet

    Mailing Service

    Sales Force

    Publicity

    Mail or Other
    Form Of
    Distribution

    Post office

    Organization of a Typical Advertising Department

    Organization Structure of Advertising
    Department
    All major advertisers maintain an advertising department. The
    structure of the department however may vary from one
    organization to another, as each one tries to develop a form,
    which is most suited to one’s requirements. The principal forms
    of organizational structure are based on (i) sub functions of
    advertising, such as copywriting or artworks (ii) communication
    media (iii) geographical spread (iv) product and (v) end users.
    Irrespective of the specific form, the advertising department has
    to perform several functions. Principal among these are setting
    advertising goals, plans and budget, selecting the outside ad
    agency, maintaining contacts, providing support to the marketing staff and monitor the functioning of the ad agency.
    Selecting the ad agency is one of the important tasks of the
    advertising department. Several criteria, including experience,

    tance advertising is given to the total operations of the firm.
    There are several alternatives. These are:

    As you know, there are different categories of advertisers.
    Depending upon their functions, each organization develops its
    own structure, of which advertising department is a part. What
    is important in this connection is to analyze the functions an
    advertisement department is expected to perform.

    Report to the Chief Executive (Chairman/MD.)

    Report to the Director (Marketing)

    Report to the divisional head if the firm is a multi-division
    firm and responsibility is delegated at the division level.

    Organization is a Manufacturing Unit
    Manufacturing firms carries out bulk of advertising. It is
    therefore, necessary to understand the various principles on
    which the advertising department can be organized in manufacturing units. The basic principles are:

    a. By Sub-functions of Advertising
    Advertising as a function can be segmented into its various
    components, such as, Copywriting, Art Production and Media.
    A specialist who in turn reports to the advertising manager can
    handle each component.
    Advertising Manager

    Copywriting Manager

    Art Manager

    Production Manager

    Media Manager

    b. By Media
    Advertising Manager

    Newspaper

    Broadcasting

    Manager

    Manager

    Magazine

    TV

    Outdoor

    Direct mailing

    Product B

    Product C

    Product D

    d. By Geography

    In operation it gets the necessary product, market, and budget
    information from the divisions and then controls the execution
    of the various programmes by:
    1. Providing the needed information and guidance to the
    advertising agency and other services;
    2. Then reviewing and approving the completed work before
    getting division approval
    A Decentralized Advertising Activity is operated and controlled
    by individual units located in each major division, usually
    reporting to a division head or to a division marketing or sales
    head. The division advertising, sales and marketing people and
    control both the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the advertising job,
    getting only advice and counsel plus miscellaneous services
    from a central advertising function.

    2. Most companies entrust their advertising work to outside
    agencies and it is more convenient with them in a centralized
    way.

    Interface with other Departments
    Advertising Manager

    Zonal Manager A

    ZM(B)

    ZM (C)

    e. By End User
    Advertising Manager

    Consumer

    Centralized Advertising Activity has been defined as that which
    – is located at or directed by headquarters, reporting to corporate
    sales or marketing head or in top management.

    1. It is difficult to transfer the tasks of preparation and
    execution of creative advertising from to the many without
    loss of efficiency to a great extent.

    Advertising Manager

    Market Manager

    Sou1d advertising be done on a centralized basis or should the
    responsibility be delegated to lower levels – say product or
    geographical divisions?

    In practice, however, it has been found that most companies
    follow the centralized pattern of advertising organization. There
    are at least two important reasons for it.

    c. By Product

    Product A

    Centralization or Decentralization

    Institutional

    Government

    Market Manager

    Market Manager

    Reporting Structure
    The advertising manager has to report to somebody who is
    higher up in the organizational structure. To whom the
    advertising manager would depend upon how much impor-

    Advertising and, therefore the people, manning the advertising
    department, do not function in a vacuum. Advertising is a tool
    of marketing. It is done to achieve a specified short-term or
    long term goal. The advertising staff, therefore, must actively
    interact with other departments most importantly, marketing
    and sales. The interaction has to be intensive to draw up a
    coordinated plan, of which advertising is a part. In fact, not
    only the advertising department, but also the outside advertising agency it may have employed, would have to be actively
    associated with the formulation of the marketing plan.
    In companies, which realize the importance of advertising in its
    proper perspective, the advertising department gets useful
    inputs from sales, product and brand managers; from Marketing heads, General managers and top management and also
    from many others in the engineering and manufacturing
    departments who provide valuable advice in respect of appeals
    to be focused and also other advertising matters.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    size, track record and the quality of the personnel, are considered in the selection process.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Functions of the Advertising Department

    Functions of Advertising Agency

    Just as the organizational structure of an advertising department varies, the activity profile also is subject to change from
    one organization to another. Kleppner has identified 14
    activities, which include all the major functions an advertising
    department in a manufacturing organization is supposed to
    carry out. These are:

    Accounts Executive or Director: Key Executive of
    Agency
    The agency’s key executive is Accounts Executive (he is accounts
    director when he is a member of the Board in case of a limited
    agency).
    Account in advertising parlance means a client. Thus Hindustan
    Lever is an account for Lintas, or ITC is an account for Lintas.
    This accounts executive is a link between the agency and client.
    Functions of Accounts Executives
    He understands what the client wants. He has to get this done
    through his agency. The marketing or sales or advertising
    department of the client briefs him. He communicates this to
    the agency people. He is also called client service executive.
    Account Planning or Client Servicing.
    An ad agency’s primary function is to create advertising, and
    account-planning function provides a basis for this. Account
    Planner has to perform a number of functions.
    1. Planning the objectives of the advertising: Here he makes
    use of skills of analysis, synthesis, logic and insight.
    2. Selecting and evaluating research feedback on the basis of
    which the team makes judgments and takes decisions.
    3. Making the objective and the feedback relevant and
    stimulating to the rest of the team particularly the creative.
    An account planner may not head the account team mayor. But
    the above function should be attended to. It is better to invest a
    separate person with the composite responsibility. The positive
    use of research is establishing a dialogue between the creative
    team and the consumer is a valuable contribution that’ a
    planner can make.
    Selecting and evaluating research feedback on the basis of which
    the team makes judgments and takes decisions.
    Making the objective and the feedback relevant and stimulating
    to the rest of the team particularly the creative.
    An account planner may not head the account team mayor. But
    the above function should be attended to. It is better to invest a
    separate person with the composite responsibility. The positive
    use of research is establishing a dialogue between the creative
    team and the consumer is a valuable contribution that’ a
    planner can make.
    The importance of account management in client-agency
    relationship is on the decline. Successful account managers are
    true experts on their client’s brand and competitions, and have a
    clear point of view. Clients talk to them, and use then as
    sounding boards. The client seeks their advice.
    They are also used as surrogate brand managers, especially for
    getting things done. Account managers lacking expertise face the
    threat of extinction.
    Planning in agencies conforms to brand responses – the desired
    responses that a brand’s advertising should generate. But when
    we advertise, apart from brand responses we also generate
    advertising responses, – effects on our target audience like
    amusement, education, entertainment moving effect etc. Many
    times, these advertising responses are an essential part of what

    1. Determine in consultation with top management the
    advertising goals, the advertising budget, and the advertising
    plan.
    2. Help select the advertising agency.
    3. Set up a plan of activity, allocating which work is to be done
    by the agency and which by the advertiser. Establish with top
    management the internal division of such noncommissionable duties as sales promotion, research and
    public relations.
    4. Transmit the policy and problems of management to the
    agency; keep it informed of changes in marketing strategies
    and other related areas.
    5. Decide upon the proportion of the appropriation to be
    assigned to different tasks in the advertising programme
    depending upon the importance of these tasks.
    6. Approve the plans for advertisements by the agency and by
    others who work on the advertising problems.
    7. Prepare, purchase and issue sales material – point-of-purchase
    displays and direct mail, including receipts, dealer advertising
    service, premiums (unless company has separate premium
    departments).
    8. Prepare, issue and control billing of corporate advertising.
    9. Keep the sales force informed of forthcoming advertising.
    10.Prepare portfolios of advertising for the salesman’s use in
    showing advertising to the trade and to other distributors.
    11.Work with the sales department in preparing special
    programmes.
    12.Prepare instruction manuals for those who will sell and use
    the product; all in all, do everything possible to make the
    most effective use of the advertising investment.
    13.See that all mail enquiries are answered with mailings as
    required.
    14.See that all bills are properly checked; keep an account of
    funds and prepare proper reports for management.
    The ad manager in charge of an advertising department has
    both managerial and operational functions. He is responsible
    for interacting with agencies and the media. He pays attention to
    outdoor aids. He takes part in campaign planning and media
    planning. He frames an ad budget, and allocates it. He is
    responsible for broadcast media. He gets POP prepared. He is
    the man behind SP and merchandising. He maintains press
    relations, and PR functions. He brings out a house-journal. He
    is appointed on the basis of his knowledge of advertising and
    journalism, his knowledge of the industry, his management
    background, and his marketing background. He maintains a
    good clientagency relationship so essential for the success for the
    campaigns.

    156

    Modern days agencies have two major sections.
    Agency
    Creative Side

    Accounts

    Marketing

    Accounts

    Creative

    Executive

    Research

    Supervisors

    Directors

    Production Media
    Dept.

    Cont.

    Public
    Relations

    Production Side

    The two sides are supplementary to each other. Now the
    creative section has a team of bright, talented copywriters who
    do the wording of an advertisement. Copywriters contribute to
    the theme of an advertisement, like a college girl asking another
    the secret of her flawless complexion, and as an answer coming
    to know that it is Clearasil Cream. Now this is called copy
    platform. These copywriters report to their head, who may be
    called Copy Chief ’ or Chief ’ Copywriter.
    But merely the copy is not enough. The visua/iser puts on
    paper what has been thought out by the copywriter. He in fact
    designs the ad. He takes the help of layout artists, typographers’
    and finished artists who prepare the final artwork. As you will
    see, creative energies of copywriters must be coordinated with
    the design energies of the visualisers. The person who performs this role is called the Creative Director. So now we can
    put here the organizational structure of the Creative Section of
    an ad agency.

    Accounts

    Field

    Asst.

    Staff

    Planner
    Buyer
    Outdoor
    Film/TV/Radio

    Copy

    Visualization

    TV
    Production Asst

    Traffic Controller

    The top management of an ad organization consists of a Plan
    Board. This comprises of a committee of department heads, be
    it media, accounts, PR, creative, etc. it plans campaigns by
    consensus.
    The other is the Review Board. This committee reviews and
    criticizes a campaign, which it has not planned or created.

    Now we shall come to the studio-based production department, which delivers a complete approved ad copy. This
    department is in charge of the production manager who has
    several assistants. For prints ads, these people do typography,
    lettering, blocks, stereos, and electros. They also supply text and
    artwork for photogravure process. Production manager
    organizes the workflow (copy and artwork proofs and corrections – final copy as per time schedule). In larger agencies this
    workflow is under the control of a traffic controller. Some part
    of the production work can be bought from free-lance sources.
    After this the Media planner understands the budget and how
    the ad is to allocated in various medias.

    The overall structure of the top management looks something
    like this:

    In addition to this the agencies also have a Marketing Research
    Department, which does product research, consumer research,
    positioning studies, price and distribution research, sales and
    packaging research and motivational research.
    The administrative manager, with office, accounts and finance
    functions are few of the other departments. Some agencies have
    a separate Public Relations cell. So this is what an agency looks
    like.

    Chairman

    Plans Board

    MD

    OR
    Creative Groups

    Account
    Exe.

    Checking

    Creative MR
    Director Dir.

    Production Media PR
    Dir.
    Controller

    Accounting

    Language Administrative
    Copy Dept.
    Dept.

    Office

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Chief of the Agency

    the brand is offering the consumer. Failure to see advertising
    responses makes our planning remote and ineffective.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    New Business
    The agency, like any other business organization, has something
    to sell. The business of the agency should, therefore, grow so
    that, at any stage, its volume of business may justify its facilities
    for the services that are offered by it. Moreover, growth is one
    of the desirable requirements of any business. It is, therefore,
    logical to have a separate cell in the agency, which is responsible
    for the growth of business. This growth may be achieved either
    by increasing the business with the present accounts or by
    getting new accounts. The first is within the jurisdiction of the
    account executive, while he may look after the second in a small
    agency. In large agencies, the top management assumes this
    responsibility. It has a few executives who are exclusively hired
    for developing new accounts. Some agencies aggressively solicit
    new business by themselves engaging in advertising.
    They highlight the agency’s competent personnel, the resources
    and the facilities at their disposal, the influential accounts they
    service and the successful -advertisement campaigns they have
    handled.

    Development of New Agency System
    Agencies grew in size, offering more varied and specialized
    services. Later, in order to cater to the needs of overseas clients,
    and as more multinational corporations came into being;
    advertising agencies acquired a multinational character. Simultaneously, some other forms of agencies came into being. They
    are the boutique agency, the a fa carte agency, and the in-house
    agency. Copywriters and art directors, instead of being tied up
    with a single agency, set-up their own shop to sell the creative
    function at a fee. These shops have come to be known as
    creative “boutiques.” In an a fa carte agency, each service is sold
    on an optional basis at an individual fee. The advertiser, as its
    name implies, owns the in-house agency. In fact, this is nothing
    but the advertising department of a company. Large corporations have in-house agencies, which operate and control the
    entire advertising programme by themselves. For example,
    Reliance has Mudra, Malhotras have Bharat Advertising, Golden
    Tobacco has Govan Advertising and Lohia Machines have
    Shrishti. By contrast, Lever which promoted and owned Lintas
    Worldwide diverted its holdings and in India too, the
    Hindustan Lever followed suit.
    As Sajid Peerbhoy rightly remarked ‘An in-house agency can
    hardly be sacked.’ Here, objectivity and creativity may also suffer.
    When corporations have a variety of products and services to
    sell and have a multi-divisional set-up, the in-house agency is
    very economical to have.
    Before we go into a discussion of agency compensation, one
    more salient point regarding the agency’s organization structure
    deserves detailed description. This is the facility of the art
    studio within the agency. A small agency or space-broker may
    “not have an art studio. Hiring an outside artist in that case
    does the artwork. But, in our understanding of the modern
    agency, everyone has a well-developed art studio.

    Notes

    158

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via the case study the issue of the
    agencies to become more environmentally attuned.

    Indian advertising industry is alive, kicking and growing. Forget
    the head-banging growth of 49.5 per cent logged during 1995.
    That growth was after all triggered off by fresh waves of
    liberalization. Even the current growth rate of 18 to 20 per cent
    is okay considering the fact that it is thrice our GDP growth rate.
    There are more reasons to cheer about. The Indian advertising
    industry is turning globally competitive, Indian advertising
    agencies account for more than 33 per cent of the Asia-Pacific
    profits and ranks the seventh highest profit-contributors in the
    global advertising world.
    That is why so many global players straddle across the Indian
    advertising scene. Sample this data: the share of global agencies
    in Indian advertising is nearly 47.4 per cent. These global
    advertising agencies in India are clamoring for higher returns
    from their activities in India. And Indian advertising skills are
    considered the best by world standards. Agrees Vijay Varma,
    chief operating officer of Mudra Communications: “Advertising is an intellectual-oriented business and the analytical skills of
    Indian advertising agencies are among the best in the world.”
    True. Media and account planning tools and skills in India are
    far superior and rank only next to America’s and China’s.
    Commendable. More so because Indian account and media
    planners are working in a market stacked with odds: the market
    is complex and the culture diverse. “In India, there must be at
    least 100-odd channels and around 400 publications covered by
    the Audit Bureau of Circulation,” says Apurva Purohit, media
    director with the Mumbai-based FCB Ulka.
    Despite this diversity, the advertising industry is set to grow.
    Emerging e-initiatives, mushrooming of dot-coms and rising
    rural spending are only a few of the many bullish factors that
    are promising great times ahead for the Indian adworld. Says
    Ramesh Narayan, president of the Mumbai-based Advertising
    Agencies Association of India (AAAI): “The advertising
    industry is set to grow healthily. For, consumerism is rising and
    India is opening its markets for more global competition. The
    rule of the thumb is that greater the competition and greater
    the consumerism, higher will be the growth in advertising.”
    And new opportunities are opening up for the Indian advertising industry. These opportunities are: insurance, healthcares,
    dot-coms, direct marketing and financial advertising on the Net.

    Rising Defaults
    It is not hunky-dory all the way, however. There are quite a few
    irritants on the ground. One of them is the rising incidence of
    client defaults. Agency clients are not only delaying payments,
    they are defaulting as well. This is putting pressure on advertising agencies, which are already surviving on wafer-thin margins.

    For, despite client defaults, advertising agencies have to pay
    media houses on time.
    How about going to courts? That is ruled out because litigation
    involves a lot of time, energy and money. Going to AAAI
    could be a last recourse. Alas, AAAI has no teeth. At the most,
    what AAAI can do is to send letters to all advertising agencies
    imploring them not to accept any advertisements from the
    defaulting clients. But, any action taken normally works against
    the advertising agency, which has lodged a complaint with
    AAAI. As soon as other advertising agencies realize that there is
    a problem between a client and his advertising agency, there is a
    mad rush to grab that client. So, in most cases the agency just
    prefers to wait. And the wait sometimes gets stretched interminably.
    Such functioning exerts tremendous pressure on the margins
    of an advertising agency. Smaller agencies, which do not have
    floats, have to turn to banks and financial institutions to
    borrow money. So, margins get whittled down depending upon
    the time the clients take to pay up and whittled down margins
    mean cash flow problems.
    What needs to be done now? INS members should take the
    initiative and refrain from accepting advertisements from
    defaulting clients. However, at the end of the day, it is a
    problem that advertising agencies have to deal with. Of late,
    INS has taken one major step though. It has ensured that all
    payments relating to dot-com advertisements should be made
    in advance.

    One-stop Solutions
    Rising incidence of defaults is just one of the problems. Clientservicing today calls for more effective inputs, changing market
    dynamics is demanding faster responses from advertising
    agencies and the market is turning more competitive. Says
    Narayan of AAAI: “Satellite television is exploding and Indian
    consumers know today what his counterpart is enjoying
    elsewhere in the world. So, their aspirations have been soaring
    and they have begun to demand more.”
    Alongside, media costs too are soaring. As media vehicles
    remain fragmented, rising media costs are getting fuelled
    further. So, the challenge for the industry now is to get on to
    the next smart cost-effective idea, which can add to brand equity.
    Says Varma of Mudra Communications: “Offering a better
    output has become the newest challenge for the Indian
    advertising industry.”
    How are advertising agencies going about this? They are shifting
    focus to become one-stop advertising solution-providers. The
    top five advertising agencies in India are diversified. For
    instance, Lintas has a public relations arm LinOpinion and a
    market research agency called Pathfinders. The Mudra group has
    a well-integrated set of subsidiaries that supports its functioning. O&M and Hindustan Thomson Associates too are

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    TUTORIAL: CASE STUDY

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    diversified. And Trikaya Grey has repositioned itself as a
    communications company.
    But, mere diversification is not enough. The biggest challenge
    facing advertising agencies today is acquiring new skills. For, the
    world of media is transforming rapidly. Broadcasting is giving
    way to narrow casting. This is redefining traditional paradigms
    and the focus of advertising agencies is shifting from marketing-many to marketing-one.
    What’s more, Internet is ushering in online advertising and
    advertising on hand-held devices is rapidly catching up too. All
    these developments are then forcing advertising agencies to
    acquire new skills and offer integrated communication solutions
    to clients across assorted channels. Says Narayan of AAAI:
    “That is why workshops, seminars and training programmes
    are fast becoming a must for advertising agencies.”

    Automated Media Buying
    All these changes are bound to influence media buying and
    media management too. Very soon, media management will
    assume tremendous importance in the Indian advertising
    matrix. “Media will soon be at the forefront of the advertising
    strategy table,” says Purohit of FCB Ulka. Needless to say, roles
    of media buyers will become more complex with data getting
    more sophisticated. Meanwhile, multiplicity of channels will
    mean greater audience segmentation. Advertisers will have to go
    beyond television rating points and find more efficient means
    of assessing ad spend.
    As customer relationship management (CRM) assumes
    importance, technology will play an important role in advertising. Technology will drive the initiatives in devising better ways
    of reaching consumers. Technology makes it possible to finetune customized communications and so chances are that
    media buying will become highly automated.
    Already, global advertising agencies are talking about automating and integrating offline and online media. Plans are to extend
    the same core technology that is being used to offer customized
    communication on the Net to other media as well. That means,
    it will be possible to deliver targeted advertisements both in the
    traditional media and on the Net.
    Such focused advertisements will soon be a reality. For, sharing
    of psychographic and demographic information are all becoming possible? Days are not far when online and offline
    media-buying companies will be fully integrated and automated.
    This is already beginning to happen. AdRelevance has begun to
    integrate online and offline data through parent Media Metrix.
    Abroad, Double-click had a plan to marry its offline and online
    databases. But, the plan was shelved thanks to the controversy
    about invasion of privacy.
    However, once these issues are resolved such integration and
    automation would happen fast. With the possibility of
    interactive television happening in India in a couple of years,
    days of such automation and integration are not very far. Says B
    Venkataramanan, group media manager with the Mumbaibased Hindustan Lever: “Advertising agencies should be at the
    cutting edge of technology and at the same time should adapt
    to local market conditions.”

    160

    Emerging Scenario
    That means adaptation is two-fold. Indian advertising needs to
    adapt to all those emerging technologies. As Internet turns
    more pervasive, Indian advertising is bound to see more
    opportunities and challenges.
    Advertising on the Net is going to be a hot area. The Indian
    advertising turf might soon see advertising networks and
    interactive agencies mushrooming up, thanks to the fact that
    more advertising agencies and software companies specializing
    in media latching on to the technology bandwagon.
    As the bandwagon gathers speed, the gap between interactive
    agencies and advertising networks is bound to get bridged. In a
    bid to gain muscle, large interactive will get into advertising
    networks and large ad-networks are bound to get into the
    promising business of interactive.
    Further, as technology dictates the content of advertising,
    specialized niche advertising agencies will emerge on the Net.
    Once interactive advertisements catch on in India, the number
    of advertising agencies offering specialized services will also
    move up.
    Not just that. These specialized advertising players might go in
    for strategic alliances to gain competencies. For instance, players
    specializing in rich media technology might end up forming
    strategic alliances with advertising networks.

    Net Initiatives
    So, then all these new initiatives call for new thinking. Advertising agencies will have to assess new media opportunities and
    build effective strategies. For instance, there exists an opportunity to tap small and medium companies for online advertising.
    Online advertising might soon become the proverbial pot of
    gold at the end of the advertising rainbow. True, online
    advertising accounts for a very small percentage of the total
    Indian adspend at the moment. But technology initiatives are
    bound to fuel online advertising soon.
    Number of online advertisers is bound to rise. And there are
    scores of small advertisers who can latch on to online advertising in a big way. Such opportunities are tremendous and
    tapping them calls for educating small agencies on online
    advertising. In this Internet age, it is essential that advertising
    agencies leverage technology and deliver smart one-stop
    advertising solutions.

    Client Agency Relationship
    You must realize that as competition increases, companies are
    demanding more from their advertising agencies. Hence, clientagency relationships are more prone to stress and strain than
    ever before. There must be compatibility among the clients, the
    agency and the brand. Some clients have a rating method for
    their agency. Some clients tend to change when other agency
    gives an alternative marketing plan. Some clients spread their
    budget on more than one agency. Some clients prefer on
    appraisal system for the agency. Clients sometimes switch over
    to new agencies when the creative team of the old agency moves
    out to a new agency just to maintain ‘brand continuity.’
    The classic to-and-fro shuttles between a client and an agency are
    comparable to the matrimonial dithers of Elizabeth Taylor

    logical patterns. Creative people are like naughty people. The
    secret of creativity is simplicity.

    i. International alignments may cause a change.

    Fourthly, the account executive must have ability to understand
    the client’s problems.

    ii. Management changes.
    iii. Product conflicts with mergers, takeovers or new product
    introductions.
    iv. Disenchantment with each other.
    v. Brand failures.
    There can be a variety of minor reasons like payment disputes,
    differences of opinion about communication strategy etc. Most
    of the reasons for break up also become the reasons for a
    winback account. The break-up may not be for professional
    reasons, but for personal and cultural reasons. In future, CAR
    will be much more professional than emotional.
    Agencies will no longer be creative business consultants. They
    should be seen as a gateway to a whole range of other services.
    Some big brands like Disney are not big advertisers. They
    succeed on the strength of brand experience. There could be
    more idea- and fee-based agencies in future. The ideas could be
    media-neutral. There will be multi-media teams. There will be
    ideas specialists. Small agencies will merge into big agencies or
    sell out. There will’ be consolidation.

    Basic Principles of Client-Agency
    Relationship (CAR)
    These principles are:
    i. The agency avoids advertising a close substitute competing
    product. The client, too, avoids engaging the services of
    another competing agency;
    ii. The agency receives the green signal from the client for all the
    expenses incurred on his advertising;
    iii. The agency keeps the media commission for itself, and the
    client undertakes, to foot the bill promptly;
    iv. If the media grants any cash discount, it is passed on to the
    client;
    v. The agency is not taken to task for media lapses in terms of
    scheduling, positioning, etc.

    Basic Principles of Agency-Media
    Relationship
    These principles are:
    i. The agency alone is responsible for payment to the media;
    ii. The agency does not allow any cut from the commission
    received from the media to go to the client;
    iii. The media do not discriminate amongst the agencies dealt
    with, and follow a uniform policy for all the agencies;
    iv. The media do not alter the advertising material without the
    prior consent of the agency.

    Selection of an Advertising Agency
    First and foremost, the agency must be known. Previously
    unknown agencies are not preferred.

    Thirdly, the agency must have a sound track record, a good deal
    of experience.

    Fifthly, you may look at the accounts they handle, and the
    accounts they have gained and lost. In other words, the work
    they have produced for other clients does matter.
    Sixthly, the personal equation of the client with the agency also
    matters. If you know them personally, they are compatible with
    you.
    Seventhly, their ability and presentation may make you opt for
    them. Premier Auto (the company that makes Fiat cars) was
    shopping around for an agency to launch its 118 NE. It invited
    presentations from various agencies and then shifted its account
    from its old agency Sistas to Ulka. More and more clients prefer
    to invite presentations for campaigns of new products and then
    award the campaign to the agency that they think has made the
    best presentation.
    Lastly, there are some unique considerations, some prefer a
    small, some a medium, some a large agency. Increasingly, clients
    prefer to fragment their business, giving different products to
    different agencies.
    Other factors that need consideration is the staff of the agency
    and its caliber, its flexibility, practical and consumer-oriented
    approach, the use it makes of MR, its media understanding, the
    attention it gives to the client, its growth, the ability to handle
    below-the-line publicity, and its
    International tie-ups.

    .

    So creativity, commitment to client and the quality of its topmanagement goes a long way in the selection of an agency.
    Unfortunately, many think ‘creativity’ is just another way of
    saying, ‘I like the agency.’
    Mr. Jacques, Chairman, BBDO quoted Unilever chairman as
    saying, “If our agencies become no more than efficient distribution systems, we will have to go elsewhere for ideas.”

    Client-Agency Relationships (CAR)
    The average tenure for a client-agency relationship is 9-10 years
    in India, and about 5-7 years in the developed countries. The
    frequent client-agency breaks now are attributed to more
    involvement of top management in ad decisions, and more
    changes in the top management itself. Global alignments also
    affect the local accounts. Some clients keep separate agencies for
    handling different categories worldwide. A client may walk out
    whenever there is brand or creative fatigue: Creative agencies
    generally have shorter tenures, because they tend to continue a
    particular creative even when the market situation changes.
    When agency is changed, generally a brand is repositioned, e.g.,
    Thums up was a fun brand. Then it became a taste the thunder
    brand. Now it is ‘I want my thunder’ brand, while such
    repositioning is done, the core values of the brand are kept
    constant.

    Secondly, the agency must have creativity. Creative people are a
    little crazy, non-conformist. Creativity does not follow any
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    which show ‘on – again and off – again’ refrain. Many times
    accounts shift to a new agency and again come back to the old
    agency. The client-agency relationship may break due to any of
    the following factors:

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Client Turnover
    When an advertiser leaves one ad agency and switches over to
    another, it is known as client turnover. The various reasons for
    client-turnover are:
    i. The account is not profitable;
    ii. The advertiser is interested in a new medium with which the
    present agency is not familiar;
    iii. The client and agency perceive the ad strategy in a drastically
    different manner;
    iv. Lack of coordination between the top executives of the client
    and the agency;
    v. Change for the sake of change;
    vi. Staff changes also lead to client-turnover;
    vii.Perceived unreasonableness of the other party;
    viii.Loss of confidence;
    ix. When the client does not like the ad programme conceived
    by the agency;
    x. Politics and nepotism result in client-turnover;
    xi. Separation of client and agency is an easy thing to bring
    about.
    Researchers have identified as many as 40 factors, which
    influence the sale of a product, advertising being one of them.
    But the Agency is almost always blamed if something goes
    wrong, and the relationship terminates. There are three reasons
    for this:
    1. It is very difficult to measure advertisement’s contribution to
    the success or failure of a product.
    2. Legally, it is so simple to terminate a relationship (e.g., a few
    weeks’ notice).
    3. New people in the client’s office might like to have a change.
    Again, sometimes creative people leave an agency. The client
    therefore naturally changes to a new agency, because the people
    who worked for him are not there.
    Many times, there is a change for the sake of change. Clients
    prefer an agency that is currently popular. Sometimes, the agency
    itself voluntarily resigns from an account. Maybe, there are
    differing perceptions. Maybe, the agency is accepting another
    competitive account. Agencies also abandon a consistently
    losing account. Agencies resign when the client is over-bearing.
    Many ad people resent the diktats from the client about their
    own professional work.

    Agency Compensation
    The method of paying the agency has been a subject of much
    discussion nowadays at almost all the meetings of advertisement agency associations and advertisement clubs. There are,
    basically three methods in practice. They are:
    a. Commission System: This is the most common and the
    oldest system of remuneration. The agency is paid a fixed
    commission by the media on the advertising bill for the
    advertisement space bought by the agency. This fixed rate of
    commission is 15 per cent in the USA, as well as in India.
    Though the rate varies from country to country, the rate of
    15 per cent is almost universal. For example, an agency places

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    a full-page advertisement in a magazine, which costs, say, Rs.
    10,000/-. After the advertisement has run, the magazine (the
    medium) will bill the agency for Rs, 10,000/-, less 15 per
    cent. This means that the agency will pay to the medium Rs.
    8,500/-. The agency, in turn, will bill the advertiser for Rs.
    10,000/-. Thus, Rs. 1,500/- will go towards the efforts made
    and the services rendered by the agency in the preparation of
    the advertisement and its delivery in the medium. Indian
    Newspaper Society (INS) accreditation earns the agencies 15%
    commission and 60 days of credit from the media. Nonaccredited agencies have to pay the media in advance and get
    10% commission, which in real terms translates to a
    miserable 5 p.c. The popular criticism of this method is that
    the agency is always tempted to recommend for several
    deliveries through expensive media in order to draw a larger
    remuneration.
    These days some agencies get compensation on ‘sliding scale
    of commission.’ It is inversely based on volumes of media
    spends. The larger the billings, the lower is the commission
    percent paid. Some question the logic of linking ad
    payments to media billing or media volumes. The sliding
    scale works like the royalty payments to an author.
    b. Fee System: The system came into effect following a
    controversy between an advertiser and an agency. The former
    argued that 15 per cent commission was too high a rate;
    whereas the agency took the stand that it was
    unremunerative for the many services rendered to the client.
    The fee system is used in TV advertising; when once the
    commercial is created, it may be used over a long time. A flat
    fee is paid to the agency for the specialized services
    performed by it. The fees charged depend upon the number
    of ad people working on an account, salaries, man-hours,
    and overheads. A dollar in salary, as a rule of thumb, accrues
    to a dollar in overheads. A profit margin of 10-25 p.c. is then
    added along with performance-based bonus. The agency
    develops a ‘scope of work’ document for the client and then
    develops resources against this plan. These resources are
    charged on a time-basis or man.-hour basis. The final fee
    tally is not related to billings.
    c. Service Charges: The third type of compensation consists of
    service charges. These are added to the cost of materials, and
    services bought by the agency for the client in artwork,
    photography, typography, plates, etc. Normally, it is cost plus
    15 per cent.
    In practice one of the above systems of compensation, or a
    combination of the fee-and-media commission plan, or a
    method by which commissions granted by the media are
    credited against professional fees, is used.
    Industrial advertising, involving the preparation of catalogues
    and sales materials, and retail advertising, point-of-purchase
    materials for advertising and direct mail prices do not usually
    involve a commission. Here, the fee basis of compensation is
    mostly employed. When new product advertising is involved,
    the agencies are remunerated on a special fee basis.
    The agency-advertiser relationship is like the physician-patient or
    the lawyer-client relationship; the patient pays the physician’s fee,
    whether he gets relief or not. However, the quality of the

    Trends in Compensation of Ad Agencies
    Several multi-brand advertisers are going in for bulk media
    purchases through a single source (either an ad agency or an inhouse outfit). Here the agency is appointed as AOR; Agency on
    Record. AOR creates and releases its own advertising. In
    addition, AOR releases advertisements created by another
    agency. Thirdly, AOR releases the software it has invested in.
    Generally, when two agencies are involved, the releasing agency
    gets 21 p.c. and the agency that provided creative gets 12.5 p.c. In
    case of software, the situation is complicated.
    Some clients may opt to purchase creative work on a flat fee, and
    negotiate media commission on the basis of volume with
    AOR.
    Compensation at the rate of 15% of billing is called billingbased compensation. Compensation on the basis of costs is
    called fee-based compensation. Internationally a third option
    has emerged – Performance-based compensation whereby a
    performance falling below expectation will earn the agency only
    14% commission and a performance which is successful will
    earn it 16%. However, this is too subjective.
    Clients these days are reluctant to pay a blanket rate of 15 p.c. on
    media billings, since they argue this is too high and illogical.
    What is paid is not linked to what is put in. Media inflation
    increases the agency’s remuneration. Specialized service providers
    have challenged the agency’s monopoly. Clients take business
    elsewhere if the agency is not ready to negotiate the 15 per cent.
    There is a tendency to discount the compensation.

    Commission System
    Though lousy, there is, no better alternative to commission
    system. ‘Payment by results’ is experimented with. But still
    commission system is not a dinosaur. It may not be the best,
    but it is the ‘least worst’. Fees are okay to sell time, but advertising agencies sell ideas of unlimited value. Commissions put a

    value on an idea. The media spend is an index of the value the
    client attaches to the idea. Commissions, however, cannot relate
    efforts taken by the agency and the rewards earned. There can be
    a combination of fee-based system and commission. There can
    be several variations of commission – fixed scale commission,
    sliding scale commission.

    Undercutting by the Agencies
    Advertising now competes with sales promotion and direct
    marketing (DM) for funds. There is no breakthrough in
    advertising theory ever since the concept of positioning
    materialized. In fact both these facts are not responsible for the
    not so healthy bottom-lines of the advertising agencies in the
    States. The culprit is the haggling over the advertising commissions by the clients. US Agencies have been receiving less than
    the prescribed 15 p.c. since long. In a way, it is a pricing strategy
    for an ad agency to attract its clients. The subject of commission
    negotiation is an anathema to Indian agencies. Unconfirmed
    reports suggest that even Indian agencies have started offering
    kickbacks to the clients. However, it is not done in a transparent
    manner, and so becomes unpleasant and unethical. With
    transparency, no one will deny this basic marketing right to
    maneuver price in this manner to the agencies. Lower prices may
    damage an agency’s reputation for quality. High prices may be
    associated with quality, but if it is an illusion, and the delivery
    does not match the expectations, there can be a rapid decline in
    business.
    Let commission negotiations be open. This will be conducive
    for growth in the long run. The bottom-line will be healthier, if
    extravagance shown by the ad people is curtailed.
    All said and done, 15% commission is ideal.

    Article
    In a significant move, the Advertising Agencies Association of
    India (AAAI) has set up a ‘steering committee’ to examine the
    issues concerning the agency remuneration system in the Indian
    advertising industry. The committee’s members have been
    selected from its 16-member executive committee.
    According to AAAI president Sam Balsara, extensive inquiries
    (based on both number and volume) have revealed that the
    vast majority of business conducted by AAAI members is on a
    15 per cent commission basis (creative plus media agency
    commission). “Of the 3,000-4,000 advertisers, there may be a
    handful who for a variety of reasons may be operating on a
    commission or fee that is lower than 15 per cent, but a few
    exceptions do not make the rule,” he says.
    The AAAI step comes in the wake of the Indian Newspapers
    Society (INS) warning agencies that it will “carefully scrutinise
    the operations of accredited agencies as and when required and
    disaccredit those who violate INS rules and regulations.”
    Even though many large and multinational advertisers are
    reported to be operating on less than 15 per cent commission,
    an AAAI release says it’s not because of the meltdown of the
    commission system but because of the nature of global
    arrangement between multinational advertisers and their club
    agencies.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    physician’s services will be ultimately reflected in the number of
    patients visiting him, or the volume of business he has. But
    there is no direct link between the fee paid and the effectiveness
    of medical treatment to an individual patient. As a patient, he is
    entitled to get an effective cure in return for the fee he has paid.
    The lawyer, too, takes the fee, irrespective of the judgment in
    the case. However, he faithfully argues the case for his client.
    This raises the question of the efficacy of the remuneration
    method of advertising. The ideal and desirable method must
    relate compensation to its effectiveness in some form or the
    other. Only such a method will have a greater acceptability
    among the advertisers. Not only this, such compensation
    method will encourage the growth of a greater measure of
    professionalization in advertising. This, however, looks simple
    but is difficult to implement, because the necessary condition
    for the success of any such compensation plan is to find
    methods for measuring advertising effectiveness. Once this has
    been achieved, it would not be difficult to correlate it with the
    compensation payable to the agency. The possible future
    methods of compensation, using suitable scales for measuring
    the effectiveness of advertisement, can be devised. However, till
    other alternative methods are available, we have to continue
    with the existing methods.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    As the advertising market grows and evolves, so do advertiser
    requirements and there could be certain situations where the
    agency commission is not 15 per cent. Media buying or media
    planning plus buying are separately paid for. The entire gamut
    of services in the area of Creative (consumer research/insight,
    strategy, creative) is not availed of.
    The fee system, however, does not always reduce agency
    commission. In fact, in cases where it is related to the volume
    of advertising, it may actually be higher than 15 per cent. While
    in the global marketplace, it is the fee system that is followed,
    this may not be suitable in India for the majority of small and
    medium advertisers as arriving at the amount is usually an
    elaborate and time consuming process.
    Says Mr Balsara, “We strongly look down upon members who
    may reduce agency commission under pressure from clients or
    in order to win new business. Agencies in their own self-interest
    should resist such temptation for short-term gain, as in the
    long-term this would impair the industry’s ability to attract, pay
    for and retain the best talent.”
    What are your views on this?

    Agency of Record (AOR) Concept
    Heavy spenders are centralizing Media buying. They appoint a
    single agency to buy space-time for all its brands, e.g., Unilever
    has appointed HTA as the central media buying agency for the
    Unilever group of companies, though the creative work is
    executed mainly by Limas. HTA, in its turn, has set up an
    agency of record (AOR), Fulcrum that aims to deal with Lever
    brand exclusively. Media marketers now negotiate with the big
    buyers and that is the basis of the concept of AOR. AOR starts
    investing in updated and accurate data and sets up system which
    otherwise were taken for granted. It bargains for a bulk amount,
    and is not taken for a ride by the intermediaries. So far only
    media planning function was given some thought, but now
    clients have accepted that media buying is also equally important, and is a specialized activity in its own right. However, AOR
    sings a requiem to 15% ad agency’s commission. It is still a
    moot point how far an AOR can do justice to the’ client.
    There is a lack of qualified people in this field. We do not have
    specially trained media buyers in India. They are just negotiators.

    Selecting Your Ad Agency
    Most small businesses don’t have huge advertising budgets, it
    is important the money you do have are spent wisely. That
    means working with an agency that can really meet your needs
    and with which you feel comfortable. Not all advertising
    agencies can deliver everything they claim. There are lots of
    companies vying for your precious money, so carefully consider
    the following issues before committing to any contractual
    agreement.
    1. Define your objective in hiring an ad agency. What do you
    want to achieve? What should be different after the agency
    goes to work for you? What kind of working relationship do
    you prefer?
    2. Check out sources. Consider work you’ve seen or heard that
    has impressed you. Call friends and colleagues you trust and
    get their recommendations. Attend professional or trade
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    association meetings, and talk to members who have used
    agencies before. Seek out their opinions, and note whose
    names come up often (both pro and con). Watch for articles
    about ad agencies in area papers, trade magazines and related
    publications (such as chamber of commerce newsletters).
    3. Once you have a list of candidates, screen them by phone.
    Ask about their backgrounds, projects they’ve worked on,
    the results they’ve had, their fees and anything else important
    to you. Then set up interviews with the three or four firms
    that impressed you the most.
    4. Interview The Finalists. Find out the following:
    Do they have experience working with your industry? What
    is their track record when working with companies like
    yours? Do they understand your business and the nuances
    of what you do? If not, are they willing to research the
    information they need?
    Is there chemistry? You can tell if there is a good “fit” with
    an ad agency. A good agency will express interest in getting to
    know you as an individual and learning more about your
    company. They will be good listeners and quick learners.
    They will make good suggestions and react quickly to your
    questions and opinions. They should demonstrate the
    ability to anticipate what is best for your business and be
    prepared to disagree with you if they feel you’re on the
    wrong track.
    Do they show originality and creativity? Based on the
    agency’s previous work, do you feel these people understand
    how best to “sell” your product or service? If you operate a
    home health-care agency, for example, you probably don’t
    want an ad campaign that features technology over
    tenderness. Sensing your clientele, the agency should know
    enough about you to put together the appropriate message.
    Are they reliable and budget conscious? No amount of
    chemistry and creativity can make up for a missed deadline or
    an estimate that’s way off. Be sure the agency has not only
    the creative skills needed but also the time and commitment
    to devote to your needs. Whether you’re the biggest or
    smallest client in their stable, you should be able to count on
    consistent attention to detail. They should be available to
    answer your questions and be accountable for delays and
    expenses.

    Picking Your PR Firm
    When looking for a public relations firm, you will probably hear
    plenty of so-called experts say PR is better than advertising. This
    isn’t necessarily true: PR is simply different from advertising.
    In many instances, PR carries more weight because it seems to
    imply a third-party endorsement. We all know ads are paid for
    by the business advertised and thus are inherently biased. A
    positive mention in the med.3ia, however, sends a different
    message. Rightly or wrongly, it is considered more objective and
    believable than an ad.
    While the advantage to PR is that it is seen as less self-serving
    and often more honest than ads, the disadvantage is that you
    have no control over the timing, the placement or the spin
    given to your mention by the media. But when advertising and
    PR efforts are partnered together, the results can be spectacular.

    Foreign tie-ups help the agencies in their new role as brand
    builder; Brands are built around their inherent feel and core
    values, e.g., ‘Colgate’s fresh breath energy’, The functional
    attributes of the tooth paste are side tracked. Tata Tea’s Asli
    Tazgi campaign, stresses on vitality and freshness, rather than
    strength and flavor. Tie-ups help build the brand values.

    The local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America
    (PRSA) can provide a list of members available for hire. Because
    PRSA members agree to abide by a code of ethics, you are likely
    to find firms and individuals you can trust.

    Commonality of work culture emerges as the main determinant
    of equity participation. However, this does not mean that if
    there is 10 p.c. stake of a foreign agency, the mindset would be
    integrated to 10 p.c. The trend is towards greater foreign equity.

    The need is to look for references and testimonials when
    choosing a firm, also consider recommendations from local
    media and the amount of attention you can expect to get.

    The management and strategic capabilities of the top five or six
    Indian advertising agencies and their contributions to worldwide profits can be ranked among the best. Indian advertising
    agencies account for more than 33 per cent of Asia-Pacific
    advertising profits.

    “Choosing a PR firm is like selecting a nanny for your child.”
    You want [an agency that] will represent you and protect your
    `child’ as if it were your own. But don’t approach a firm with
    unrealistic expectations. No one can get your company on the
    front page of Times of India if you’ve done nothing newsworthy.”
    The PR arena is becoming more and more specialized. Many PR
    firms now focus on clients within a single industry, such as in
    environmental issues, health care or transportation. If it’s
    important to you that your PR agency has a deep knowledge of
    your business niche, then start noticing which companies in
    your industry get the kind of press you would like, and find
    out what PR firms they are using.
    You may have to balance the need for an industry-specific PR
    firm with the constraints of your budget. If you have limited
    resources, a smaller, more general PR firm with a wide variety of
    clientele and experience could be a better choice than a more
    expensive, more specialized firm.
    In an effort to get your business, PR firms may exaggerate their
    knowledge of your industry. If you’re seeking a firm with
    specialized experience, don’t hesitate to quiz the principals
    about their knowledge of your field. Ask for examples of what
    they’ve done for others in your industry.

    Winning Partnership
    Almost always, PR and advertising firms send their best and
    brightest employees to make the sales pitch to you. Be aware,
    however, that those may not be the people you end up dealing
    with.
    If you can afford it, aim to deal with the decision makers at the
    advertising agency or PR firm. But don’t lose sight of the fact
    that sometimes a staff person can do what you need just as well
    . . . and more economically. The key is to know from the
    beginning of the relationship whom you’ll be dealing with on a
    daily basis.
    For many small businesses, hiring an advertising or PR agency is
    a huge step down an unfamiliar path. But if you take the time
    to carefully assess your resources before you select an agency to
    help guide you to your goals, the journey to a more profitable
    business can be an exciting one.

    Foreign Tie-ups
    Agencies now have a new role – they are brand stewards rather
    than just account managers or creatives or media planners.

    However, Indian advertising agencies are far too ethnic in their
    communication and thus have a limited universal appeal. Not
    only execution, even their ideas are ethnic. This should change.
    We should be ready for advertisements through automated
    teller machines, WAP devices and interactive television?
    India is an emerging economy. So, television and the Internet
    are expected to grow exponentially. And Internet on mobile
    devices will grow even faster. We are in a growth curve that is
    looking upward. Sure, we are catching up fast. Ironically, both
    the bullock cart and space technology are going hand-in-hand in
    India.
    Yes, advertising agencies are gearing up to grab the emerging
    opportunities. For instance, O&M India has already put in place
    people for its interactive division. They are up-to-date on ebusiness solutions, advertising on WAP devices, Internet and
    interactive television. They are constantly at these developments
    and are preparing themselves for the future. Already they have a
    business plan in place. Soon their interactive division will
    become a global outsourcing platform.
    Once data is available, online advertising will explode. Three
    years ago, they had just two people working in our New Yorkbased interactive division. Today, there are 250 people there. The
    point is it is necessary to understand these emerging media
    opportunities and what could be delivered through them.

    Advantages
    Mutual benefits. International brands are moving into Indian
    markets. Foreign agencies should do well to register their
    presence.
    International exposure benefits Indian agencies. Data exchange
    is mutually beneficial. Greater exchange of resource persons in
    near future ought to take place.
    Equity tie-ups are the biggest advantage. The world over, 100
    clients account for 75 p.c. of ad expenditure. Agencies handling
    these 100 accounts fall into specific groups (e.g., Unilever,
    Colgate Palmolive or P&G. Kellogs uses Leo Burnett and JWT
    and Coke uses McCann Erickson and Lintas. An agency, which
    is in one of these camps, will not get accounts from another
    multinational. It is obvious that at least a third of ad expenditure will be generated by multinationals.

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    Much of the same advice that applies to finding an ad agency
    applies to a PR firm as well. Start by defining why you need a
    PR firm and what you expect to get from it. Look for candidates
    by asking colleagues and others you respect for recommendations. Consult professional and trade associations and
    publications.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Agencies Aligned with International
    Networks
    Advertising Agency

    Foreign Partner

    Ambience D’Arcy
    Ammina Puris Lintas
    Bares Clarion
    Chrra Leo Burnett
    Contnct Advertising
    Enrerprise Nexus
    Equus
    EutO RSCG
    FCB-Uka
    Hindusnn Thompson Associates
    MAA Bozell
    McCann-Erickson
    Mudn
    Ogilvy & Mather
    Publicis Zen
    Quadnnt (formerly Pratibha)
    R.K.Swamy/BBDO
    Rediffusion DY & R
    Saarchi & Saatchi
    SSC&B
    Speer
    TBWA Anthem
    Trikaya Grey

    D’Arcy (formerly DMB & B)
    Ammirati Puris Limas
    Bates Worldwide
    Leo Burnett
    J. Walter Thompson
    The Lowe Group
    WPP
    Euro RSCG
    Foote, Cone & Belding
    J. Walter Thompson
    Bozell
    McCann-Erickson
    DDB Needham
    Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
    Publicis
    Ammirati Puris Lintas
    BBDO Worldwide
    Dentsu Young & Rubicam
    Saatchi & Saatchi
    Ammirati Puris Uncas
    Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
    ,TBWA World wide
    Grey

    Future of Advertising Agency
    The competition would be keen and intense in the advertising
    business in India in the coming years, but it need not pose a
    problem of survival if Indian advertising agencies show
    enough resilience to exploit emerging opportunities. The future
    of the advertising agency seems to be bright. Opportunity
    awaits the agency to broaden its scope of services in spite of the
    various emerging challenges on the advertising scene. These
    challenges pertain to market, media, motivations or putting
    messages across to the audience. An ethical standing in terms of
    the message formulation is concerned is also another area the
    Indian ad agencies should look into. Looking at the Information Communication & Entertainment age, the following are
    the ways the advertising should come of age.

    The challenge for advertising and marketing is to move from
    the familiar to the unfamiliar zone, to get on top of the
    changes and meet the varied needs of the consumers in the
    emerging ICE age. The key issue in this digital age is more
    of access than of ownership.

    The key is to move from mass customization to
    personalization.

    Traditional media buying companies and P R agencies will
    have to re-invent themselves to stay relevant in this ICE age.
    Speed, imagination and excellence in execution will always
    remain relevant

    Integrating technology with the ICE factor.

    IT and Agencies
    Information Technology (IT) has been accepted by the ad
    agencies by and large, but still it has not made many inroads
    into the creative and production departments. Agencies so to
    say, are becoming ‘wired.’ Creative has the least use for computers. A felt-tip-pen is still considered better by art-directors than a
    computer. Of course, digital cameras are now being used for
    shoots. CDROMs are a source of information, images. They are
    window to the global culture.

    Your Future in an Advertising Agency
    In case you want to make a career in the advertising field
    especially as an account executive, the following will give you a
    general idea about what the job entails. Robert S. Aitchison
    suggests 29-ways to be an accounts executive
    1. He should get along with people, not only in client’s
    organization but also in his own agency organization.
    2. He must be a good planner.
    3. He makes available the facts about the product so that the
    job of writing is not unduly difficult.
    4. He will strive for creative and imaginative approaches.
    5. He will be sure about the copy theme chosen.
    6. He does not solely depend upon literature. He interacts with
    people in client organization. He insists on seeing the
    product being made. He takes the trouble to see it in use. He
    interacts with the trade.
    7. He always thinks- in terms of client’s best interest first.
    8. He believes in teamwork.
    9. He makes sure that the creative people get an opportunity to
    see the client’s plant and the production process. He exposes
    them to the trade.
    10.He appreciates the work of the creative people to meet a
    short deadline.
    11.He does not keep things pending and then expect the
    creative people to meet a short deadline.
    12.He puts requests to other departments in writing.
    13.He accepts the blame for the mistakes made.
    14.He is open to new ideas and does not have a closed mind.
    15.He knows the difference between a good creative and a bad
    one.
    16.He believes that ads are related to sales.
    17.He knows when to fight and when to retreat.
    18.He explains the problems of working to the client. He
    knows that no agency is perfect.
    19.He advises against certain wasteful expenditures.
    20.He honestly admits if he does not know an answer. He does
    not bluff.
    21.Sometimes things have to be done overnight but not always.
    Every job cannot be a rush job.
    22.He anticipates client’s needs.
    23.He makes it convenient to attend client’s sales meetings.
    24.He is aware of media trends.
    25.He knows how far he should go in being a media expert.

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    26.He acquaints himself with the editorial environment of the
    media.
    27.He spends clients budget prudently.
    28.He is in a position to communicate effectively with the
    production department. He, therefore, knows enough about
    printing, engraving, film making etc.
    29.He will have a good idea as to when research inputs are to be
    used.

    Notes

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    LESSON 30:
    TUTORIAL
    1. Visit the nearest advertising organization in your city and
    find out the following:

    Organization Structure

    Role of the following personnel’s:

    Account Manager

    Creative Manager

    Media Manager

    Client Servicing Manager

    Also find out as to how they maintain cordial relationship
    with their clients.
    2. Visit any organization of your choice (but with an
    advertising department), interview the manager to find out
    as to what criteria’s do they lay out in order to select an
    advertising agency.
    3. Ask the same organization as NO. 2, as to are they happy
    with the compensation that they pay to the ad agency and if
    the compensation would be based on advertising: sales ratio
    would they prefer that or the mandatory 15%.

    Notes

    168

    LESSON 31:
    REGULATION IN ADVERTISING

    CHAPTER 9
    UNIT – 7
    ISSUES IN ADVERTISING

    You will understand via this lesson the need for regulation
    in agencies.

    The 3 case studies will explain to you the relevance of actually
    having regulations and the bodies which play a vital role in
    them and their role in the implementation of regulations.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Learning Objectives

    Lesson: Regulation In Advertising

    I have purposefully taken this advertisement. Although this is
    an AMUL advertisement but still, the adaptation of the subject
    matter will give you an idea as to what the controversy regarding
    MR Coffee was all about. Please note the subjective image now
    understand as to why there was so much hue and cry when a
    TV commercial was aired.
    Advertising regulation is a fascinating subject, and it is heavily
    determined by political attitudes. Those who believe in less
    government and think that business should be left alone to
    regulate itself tend to favor less advertising regulation. Others
    who believe government has a role to play tend to want more
    legislation and government regulation.
    To understand advertising regulation, a host of issues need to
    be addressed. One central issue is definitional- what is deception? One ad claimed that “Milwaukee’s finest beer,” is
    deception involved when many (particularly other Milwaukee
    brewers) argue that other beers are superior? What does “finest”
    mean? One advertisement claimed that a hair dye would color
    hair permanently. If someone exposed to the advertisement
    believed that the dye would hold for hair not yet grown and
    thus a single dye would last for decades, is the claim deceptive?
    Coming to Indian experience, put brand X fairness cream and
    you will get married.
    A basic issue in the enforcement of these laws against deceptive
    advertising, to which we now turn, is how to define and
    identify deception.
    Conceptually, deception exists when an advertisement is
    introduced into the perceptual process of some audience and
    the output of that perceptual process

    The input itself may be determined to contain falsehoods. The
    more difficult and perhaps more common case, however, is
    when the input, the advertisement, is not obviously false, but
    the perceptual process generates an impression that is deceptive.
    A disclaimer may not pass through the attention filter or the
    message may be misinterpreted.
    Dividing the definition into its three major components, it
    states that deception will be found if
    1. There is a misrepresentation, omission, or practice that is
    likely to mislead.
    2. The consumer is acting responsibly (or reasonably) in the
    circumstances.
    3. The practice is material and consumer injury is possible
    because consumers are likely to have chosen differently if
    there was no deception.
    Although some argue that this definition only codifies the body
    of law that preceded it, most observers suggest that the
    definition involves two major changes from prior positions
    that make it harder for an as to quality as deceptive. First, the
    deception must be likely to mislead. Second, the deception
    must occur in consumers acting responsibly or reasonably in the
    circumstances rather than simply occurring in a substantial
    number of consumers (even if they are naïve and unthinking).
    Thus, the consumer is charged with at least some minimal
    responsibility in interpreting the advertising.
    In the following discussion, we will look more closely at the
    three dimensions of deceptive advertising discussed above.

    A Misrepresentation or Omission
    There are a variety of ways in which misrepresentations or
    omissions can occur:

    1. Differs from the reality of the situation and

    1. Suggesting that a small difference is important.

    2. Affects buying behavior to the detriment of the consumer.

    2. Artificial product demonstrations
    3. Using an ambiguous or easily confused phrase.
    4. Implying a benefit that does not fully or partially exist.

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    5. Implying that a product benefit is unique to a brand.
    6. Implying that a benefit is needed or that a product will fulfill
    a benefit when it will not.
    7. Incorrectly implying that an endorser uses and advocates the
    brand.
    8. Making a claim without substantiation
    9. Bait and switch
    10. Identifying the advertising

    11.Telemarketing
    12.Intellectualproperty

    Corrective Advertising
    Corrective advertising required advertisers to rectify past
    deception by making suitable statements in future commercials.
    Some important issues could need your research on the subject.
    Any remedy should be nonpunitive in nature and should not
    be burdensome. How do you determine whether the corrective
    advertising is generating damage to sales or image? Any remedy
    should preserve First Amendment rights to express ideas.
    What about those ideas that are counter to the corrective
    message’s claims? Can an advertiser simply decide to stop
    advertising, thereby avoiding corrective advertising?

    Puffery
    A rather well-established rule of law is that trade puffing is
    permissible. Puffing takes two general forms.
    The first is a subjective statements of opinion about a product’s
    quality, using such terms as “best or greatest”. Nearly all
    advertisements contain some measure of puffery. “You can’t
    get any closer” (Norelco), “Try something better” (J&B Scotch),
    “ Gas gives you a better deal” (American Gas Association), “
    Live better electrically” (Edison Electric Institution), “State Farm
    is all you need to know about insurance,” and “Super Shell” are
    examples. None of these statements has been proved to be
    true, but neither have been proved false. They all involve some
    measure of exaggeration
    The second form of puffery is exaggerations extended to the
    point of outright spoof that is obviously not true. A Green
    Giant is obviously fictitious, and even if he were real, he
    wouldn’t be talking the way he does. In the 1927 Ostermoor
    case, the court pointed to the puffery argument in denying that
    a mattress company was deceptive in using an illustration
    appearing to depict that the inner filling of a mattress would
    expand to 35 inches when in fact it would expand only 3 to 6
    inches.
    Based on stated definitions and policy, puffing has been
    narrowed to the point where no deceptive claim can properly be
    termed puffery

    Remedies
    Cease –and – Desist Orders
    The cease –and –desist order, which prohibits the respondent
    from engaging further in the deceptive practice, It has been
    criticized as being a command to “go and sin no more”, which
    has little practical effect. By the time the cease- and-desist order is
    issued, the advertising may have served its purpose and another
    campaign may be underway anyway.
    Restitution
    Restitution means that the consumer is compensated for any
    damage. Restitution is rarely considered because of its severity.
    Affirmative Disclosures
    If an advertisement has provided insufficient information to
    the consumer, an affirmative disclosure might be issued.
    Affirmative disclosures require “clear and conspicuous”
    disclosure of the omitted information. Often the involved
    information relates to deficiencies or limitations of the product
    or service relating to matters of health or safety.

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    One problem with corrective advertising is that it has usually
    resulted in lawyers writing copy and insisting that it be run
    some arbitrary length of time.
    The implementation of the communication objective approach
    to corrective advertising will always face difficulties. The problem
    of ascertaining how misperception and its effect are to be
    measured and the appropriate target level of misperception that
    should be obtained reappears in this context. Judgments on
    such questions are required to set communication objectives.
    Obviously, a zero misperception level is not generally feasible.
    Yet regulators and the general public to which they must answer
    have difficulty accepting realistic standards. A key is to know
    whether the advertiser is making a good faith effort toward the
    objective. Copy testing could logically be used to address this
    point, but the parties would have to agree in advance on
    relevant and suitable tests, a difficult prospect. Another
    problem is the cost of measuring deception over time. The
    tracking required measuring the impact of the commercials- no
    problem for large advertisers, who do that anyway – could be
    costly for smaller advertisers and may require the government to
    share some of the costs.
    Corrective advertising has only rarely been considered, largely
    because of the difficulties in deciding on the target objective.
    However, it remains an important option and serves to focus
    attention on the central issues in deception cases.

    Another mechanism that inhibits deceptive advertising is the
    possibility of competitor lawsuits, in which firms charge that
    false advertising has caused them damage.
    I want you to read the following article and make observations
    about it.
    Videocon puts the lid on Godrej, Voltas “large” claims
    Namrata Singh
    MUMBAI, December 21: Godrej GE Appliances and Voltas,
    engaged in an MRTPC battle over “we are the largest” advertisement campaign for their twin-tub washing machines, have
    withdrawn their case as Videocon is launching the largest
    capacity twin-tub washing machine — Videocon VNA 700 T.
    Videocon will shortly introduce a new 7kg capacity twin-tub
    washing machine priced at Rs 9,990. It will, thus, be larger than
    Godrej’s Smart Wash (5.9 kg) and Voltas’ (5 kg) model. Further,
    VNA 700 T is cheaper than Godrej Smart Wash, priced at Rs
    10,978 and Voltas, priced at Rs 9,090.
    Godrej GE Appliances had dragged Voltas to the Monopolies
    and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) on the
    latter’s advertisement which claimed that it’s washing machine
    had the largest twin-tub. Following Voltas’ advertisement, a war
    broke out between the two, with Godrej GE launching a
    counter ad-campaign stating that Godrej Smart Wash was the
    largest. Godrej GE had stated to the MRTPC that Voltas’ claim
    is patently false as the washing capacity of Godrej GE’s twintub product is larger at 5.9 kg as against Voltas’ 5 kg.
    Godrej GE’s statement was based on the fact that the washing
    capacity of any machine is measured in terms of the weight of
    dry clothes that can be washed at a given point of time. Voltas
    put forth the argument that their product had a larger volume
    similar to that of TVS Super, TVS Super Plus and the other
    model of Godrej having a capacity of 5 kg.Volume wise, Godrej
    GE has a tub capacity of 54 litres compared to Voltas’ 50 litres.
    Those of TVS Super and TVS Super Plus have a wash tub
    capacity of 50 litres. As compared to these, Videocon’s VNA
    700T has a tub volume of 69 litres with cloth load.
    As an interim measure, the commission, in its hearing held on
    September 15, directed Godrej and Voltas to stop their
    advertisements claiming to have the largest twin-tub washing
    machine.
    Even before the MRTPC could draw a conclusion, the warring
    parties discovered that a third party (Videocon) was launching a
    washing machine with a larger capacity. This put to rest all
    squabbles between the two arch rivals.
    1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd
    Below are 3 case studies that you are required to do in order that
    you understand the subject matter. They pertain to Indian
    experience and will show you the fillip side to what deceptive,
    misleading advertising is all about. Please go over them and
    discuss the issue of this lecture.

    Case Study 1
    In South Africa, a bank ad. says ‘Beef up your account with us’
    and shows a cow. Hindu religious groups claim their sentiments have been hurt and the bank tenders an apology.

    Closer home, a father in a fairness ad. says ‘Kash mera beta
    hota’ (If only I had a son!). Consumer activist groups allege
    that this is exploitation of a social evil and so in bad taste. The
    issue goes up to Parliament and the ad. is banned.
    Cigarettes are known to be harmful for health. Yet they are
    readily available and sold. However, their advertising on
    electronic media is banned. And advertisers and advertising
    agencies alike wait with bated breath for a total ban on the
    category’s advertising.
    When a scantily dressed woman appears in a liquor or perfume
    ad, women’s rights groups complain of disrespect being shown
    to womanhood. The model is harassed; cases are filed in courts
    and the ad is forced to be discontinued.
    A man does bungee jumping in a cola ad. One boy in a far out
    town jumps from the fifth floor of a building in imitation and
    dies. Another man removes a can of soft drink from the
    mouth of a cheetah.
    Again, one boy puts his hand into the mouth of his dog. And
    this is enough for people to believe that such ads encourage
    dangerous practices among children and so the ads should be
    banned.

    Is the Environment being Harsh on Advertising?
    Is advertising actually a powerful influence or are consumer
    groups actually exploiting it to gain publicity and noticeability?
    Are the messages beamed out by other entertainment (movies,
    serials) and news media (TV and press) more sensitive to the
    world outside?
    Is advertising being singled out for harsh treatment because it’s
    the easiest to aim at?
    There is no doubt that advertising has a strong social responsibility, independent of its known commercial responsibility. In a
    free economy like India, it must be judged like any other media
    beamed to the consumer at large. Freedom of expression for
    commercial purposes must not be viewed differently from
    freedom of expression.
    The environment has changed dramatically in the last decade.
    The average Indian consumer is today more exposed to the
    West through travel and the entertainment media. And this
    means greater exposure to their values, lifestyles and social
    rituals.
    Not surprisingly, this has led to the average consumer becoming
    more liberal and open- minded. While he may not adopt many
    of those values and lifestyles, he has become more open to
    accept differing views.
    This is reflected in the mix-n-match culture we see around us —
    in food, clothes, language and even marriages where there is a
    shift from arranged marriage to arranged love marriage. With it
    has come more advertising — and the consumer growing more
    cynical of its claims and stories.
    Even in small towns, consumers say this about celebrity
    advertising — “He has been paid to say good things about the
    product” and “The product will cost more as the company has
    to pay for the advertising!”
    Clearly he has become more advertising savvy. In this context,
    to believe that advertising has an overwhelming power in
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    Competitor Lawsuits

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    bringing about social change is to give it greater weight than it
    deserves.
    Advertising is just one of the social influences in a capitalistic
    economy like India, and no less commercial than the others.
    Movies, serials, magazines — play as big or even bigger roles in
    shaping social behaviour.
    Movie stars are bigger than ad. models. Not surprisingly,
    movies are a final destination for all budding models. A recent
    WHO survey shows that 80 per cent of Bollywood movies had
    their heroes smoking — a very unhealthy but strong
    glamourisation of the smoking habit — stronger than any
    brand advertising. It is subliminal yet more powerful!
    The social backdrop of most of the K-serials is of the repression of women. Though the women come out winners in the
    end. And audiences accept this and they garner high TRPs —
    often connecting with the woman protagonist.
    Music videos like Kanta Laga and Yeh Vada Raha use women
    purely like sex objects. And such videos are mushrooming by
    the day and are beamed by music channels over and over again.
    (And in the name of glamour, the average Hindi film heroine is
    more scantily dressed than the vamps of yesteryears!) Action
    movies are replete with stunts that are very exciting to the
    average child and very dangerous too.
    These are however the harbingers of change, the barometer of
    consumer acceptance levels and hence should not be ignored. So
    the social responsibility of advertising needs to be judged in
    this context rather than in isolation.
    The time has come to let the Indian consumer decide what is
    good for him. In a democratic set up, where every individual has
    a right to vote and in a free economy, where he has a right to
    choose products he wants, there is no reason why he should
    not be allowed to decide what the stretching limit of the social
    code is in advertising.
    Over the years, the Indian consumer has shown great maturity
    in accepting and rejecting communication. In the early ’90s, M R
    Coffee advertised ‘real pleasure doesn’t come in minutes’ by
    showing explicit sex.

    Advertising must be sensitive to religious and political sensitivities — primarily because India is a religious country with a high
    religious sensitivity. And unnecessarily provoking it is not
    healthy.
    Advertising must not promote undesirable products —
    declared illegal by law i.e. drugs. However, in this context
    banning of advertising of liquor and cigarettes smacks of
    hypocrisy. Anything that can be sold openly should be allowed
    to be promoted openly.
    If the government does believe in the pursuation power of
    advertising, it is advised to take out a portion of the funds it
    annually collects as sales tax and excise duty and invest it in antismoking and anti-drinking campaigns!
    Advertising must not promote accepted social ills — Saying that
    ‘dowry is good’ or ‘it’s good to have a male child rather than a
    female child’ or ‘it’s hep to ride a bike without a helmet’ should
    be avoided as part of the social responsibility of advertising.
    Bringing an issue upfront as the fairness ad. did is not undesirable in this context.
    Finally, regulators and consumer groups must accept that social
    change is inevitable and much depiction must be seen in the
    context in which the advertising is beamed.
    Winds of change are inevitable and trying to slow them down
    or stop them is neither advertising’s responsibility nor its
    capability. And in such a situation, the ads. supposedly degrading women (liquor, perfume) and promoting bad behaviour
    among children (soft drinks) aren’t doing that. Let them pass.
    It may always be useful to remember David Ogilvy’s famous
    adage “The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife”. It
    often appears that advertising agencies respect the consumer
    more than the average consumer activist.
    Something worth thinking about!

    Do you Support the Author’s Views and Why

    The consumer rejected it and the brand sunk. At the same time
    when Subhash Ghai released Khalnayak, the song, Choli ke
    peeche kya hai, created a furore among women’s groups, but the
    average viewer accepted it in spirit and both the movie and the
    song became a runaway hit. Let’s respect the intelligence of the
    consumer and not take on the role of his moral conscience.
    This does not mean that there is no need to regulate advertising
    and its content. In fact, advertising is one fraternity that has its
    independent self-regulation body — ASCI — which monitors
    and guides advertisers to remain socially responsible.
    However, environmental pressures can make it difficult for even
    a body like ASCI to perform independently, open mindedly and
    fairly. The frame of reference needs to be recognized and
    accepted.
    Advertising must be truthful. Not misleading or ambiguous or
    make wrong factual claims that can get consumers to buy
    inferior products thinking these products are delivering more.

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    Case Study 2
    Advertisers who claim that their products are the best things
    since sliced bread bombard us. But, when can advertisers be
    taken to court for overstating the benefits of their products?
    Courts around the world have traditionally been generous
    towards advertisers. They’ve allowed what is called ‘seller’s talk’

    The ‘puffing doctrine’ developed in the west permits the use of
    superlative or hyperbolic terms like “amazing”, “perfect”,
    “wonderful” or “exceptional” so long as the products are not
    so shoddy or worthless as to make the terms wholly inaccurate.
    Indian courts have frequently ruled on deceptive advertising.
    One popular forum is the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade
    Practices Commission (MRTPC) where cases are brought on the
    grounds of unfair trade practices. Two recent cases of corporate
    advertising are worth looking at.
    In Director General (Investigation and Registration) vs. CanFin
    Homes Ltd the company — which is in the housing business
    — accepted fixed deposits from the public. In its advertisement
    for deposits, the company stated that its deposits were “risk
    free”. The director general argued that deposits were unsecured
    and could not be “risk free” and this was, therefore, a misrepresentation.
    The company pointed to its rating from credit rating agency
    ICRA Ltd. ICRA had awarded CanFin Housing an “MAA”
    rating indicating ‘high-safety’.
    The MRTPC held on April 2, 2002, that as viewed by the
    Supreme Court in Lakhanpal National Ltd’s case, the issue
    whether an advertisement contains a false statement and/or is
    misleading “could not be resolved by merely examining
    whether the representation is correct or incorrect in the literal
    sense”.
    In Lakhanpal National the Supreme Court said it was “necessary
    to examine whether the representation, complained of, contains
    the element of misleading the buyer. Does a reasonable man on
    reading the advertisement form a belief different from what the
    truth is? The position will have to be viewed with objectivity, in
    an impersonal manner”.
    Keeping these guidelines in mind the MRTPC held that CanFin
    Home’s advertisement was not an unfair trade practice.
    The Commission said: “The intention of the respondent does
    not appear to be to keep the depositors in the dark. The ‘risk
    free’ claim, on the face of it looks exaggerated. But we cannot
    ignore the fact that it is backed by credit rating done by ICRA
    that rated these deposits as ‘MAA’. The past performance of the
    respondent and, above all, the absence of complaints from any
    of the depositors lends further credence to the claim of the
    respondent.”
    More significantly, the MRTPC observed that, “in today’s
    competitive world, use of hyperboles and puffed-up statements couched in attractive words and phrases is an accepted
    practice in the advertising sector. Such advertisements cannot be
    struck down unless it is established beyond doubt that they
    contain a false or misleading representation which is prejudicial
    to public interest.”
    The Commission had to decide on a similar issue involving
    Tata Finance, which had also invited fixed deposits. The
    company claimed that by investing with it, depositors could
    have “100 per cent peace of mind”. This was alleged to be false
    and misleading because the company’s deposits were unsecured.

    In this case too the company argued that, “the high rating of
    FAA+ given by leading rating agency, Crisil, denotes high safety
    and timely payment of both interest and principal. The claim of
    ‘100 per cent peace of mind’ was neither baseless nor exaggerated and in any case cannot be construed as misleading.”
    The MRTPC agreed and held that the company’s claims could
    not be termed misleading or false even if it was considered
    “exaggerated”. These two decisions show that advertisements
    shouldn’t be taken literally. Advertisers should be careful about
    their claims but the courts won’t interpret every word as if it
    was a legal document.
    Based on the above case, explain what could be termed as
    deception and misinterpretation? Also highlight the issues of
    the 2 companies in question.

    Case Study 3
    The Indian Advertising Regulations
    MUMBAI: Even as the US has decided to ban outdoor
    advertising of tobacco products and in the UK live models are
    barred in tobacco ads, there is no enforceable code to regulate
    tobacco advertising in India.
    The only self-regulatory advertising code that could have
    “morally bound” the tobacco lobby was the one formulated by
    the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), which was
    prematurely struck down after the tobacco industry decided it
    could not adhere to many of its diktats.
    So now we have a code on advertising that has been formulated
    by the Tobacco Institute of India (a body of tobacco majors).
    Although it took shape in 1995 and underwent a revamp last
    year, it is yet to get the proposed ombudsman “comprising
    officials of TII, industry and eminent people” to oversee the
    implementation of the code.
    The TII has still to rope in the industry and the rules of
    procedure are yet to be finalised, since they have to be done in
    consultation with the ombudsman.
    The ASCI code, incidentally, broke down because of two key
    issues—celebrity endorsements and surrogate advertising (like
    the Red and White Bravery Awards or the Four Square and
    Wills Cricket Gear ads).
    Both these issues are linked to the same issue—that of
    targeting youngsters, say ASCI officials. Explains Sam Balsara,
    managing director of Madison DMB&B and one of the
    members who drafted the ASCI tobacco code, What we were
    worried about was that ads which use movie stars and other
    celebrities have a direct bearing on the minds of the youth, and
    ASCI strictly forbids this’’.
    The glamour and aspirational element is also harmful,’’ says
    Swarn Kohli, chairperson, Consumer Education and Research
    Centre and an ASCI member. “The glamour element associated
    with cigarette smoking is definitely pernicious. The swanky
    houses, lavish cars and rich lifestyles portrayed even in brands
    which are not targeted at the upper class is disturbing. But the
    main concern is that these ads portray (to youngsters) that
    smoking is the ‘in thing’. The small illegible health warning on
    the packs too needs to be reviewed and made bigger. Youngsters near colleges and schools also should not be targeted.”

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    or ‘puffing’ as it is also known. Under this doctrine exaggerated
    claims are fine as long they don’t cross the boundary and
    become deceptive or misleading.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    A survey has shown that advertising does not initiate tobacco
    consumption and it is other factors like peer pressure, for
    instance, that induces the youth to take to smoking. When
    questioned on why companies like ITC then spend crores of
    rupees on advertising if ads don’t induce consumption that is
    for building a trademark. There is nothing wrong if companies
    use their trademarks, which are perceived to be of high value by
    consumers, and diversify into new product categories.
    Wills, for instance, has extended its brand name to cricket gear.
    No one is stopping them from making bats, but then they
    should not show Sachin Tendulkar carrying a Wills bat.
    Tendulkar is a hero to millions of little children and youngsters.’’ The ASCI code required that if the name of a tobacco
    brand was to be used for any other product category, it was only
    fair that the same restrictions imposed on the tobacco brand be
    applicable to that category as well. If not, then the whole
    exercise becomes redundant.
    The second issue — that of surrogate advertising — had also
    got ASCI and the tobacco lobby in a non-negotiable mood.
    The Red and White Bravery Award instituted by Godfrey
    Philips is one such example. Says Gautam Rakshit, managing
    director, Avenues Advertising:“Role models portray the ideal
    behavior patterns for the youth of today. The Red and White
    Bravery Award is attempting to create role models for the young
    and the association of a role model with a brand of cigarettes is
    by implication stating that role models endorse cigarette
    smoking. This has a negative influence on young people.”
    Leave alone the ASCI code, even the TII code does not seem to
    have been adhered to by many of the members themselves. For
    example a provision states that ads shall not include any direct
    personal testimonial (written or spoken) urging or recommending the use of a tobacco product by a person of distinction in
    any walk of life in a manner which is particularly attractive to
    minors. However, The Akshay Kumar ads for Godfrey Philips’
    Red and White cigarettes all over the city are a mute testimony
    to the fact that the code is being violated.
    Another provision prohibits tobacco ads through any media
    primarily meant for schools, hospitals and places of worship, or
    on the compound walls of these institutions. However, the
    most blatant violation of this clause is seen
    within the premises of the Mahalaxmi temple at Haji Ali in
    Mumbai. Inside the compound wall of the main temple (at the
    coveted junction of Peddar Road and Bhulabhai Desai Road is
    a huge hoarding of Indian Tobacco’s Company’s (ITC) Wills
    Sport ad (cheering India for the World Cup). Just some weeks
    back a Gold Flake hoarding towered over commuters. A few
    yards away, near a smaller temple, a Four Square Cigarette
    signage illuminates another paan shop. The entrance near the
    Haji Ali Dargah too has similar shop signs of Will’s Filter
    Kings. Adds Mr Rakshit: “If there is a violation, then even at
    the cost of commercial loss it should not be used if the tobacco
    lobby is serious about implementing the code.” On direct
    marketing, the code says: “No known non-smoker or non-user
    of tobacco products will be sampled or contacted.” The catch in
    this sentence is the word ‘known’ Says Amol Bose of Amol
    Bose Advertising and past president of the Advertising
    Association of India: “It iswell-nigh impossible to ask every
    174

    individual whether he is above 18 or not, and there have been
    instances where youngsters have been asked to distribute
    cigarette samples near cinema halls.” According to Ms Viji
    Venkatesh of the Cancer Patients’ Aid Association, “A leading
    brand of cigarettes from ITC was freely sampled to all and
    sundry near Shivaji Park and at various discotheques.”
    While the tobacco code stipulates that minors (those below 18
    years) should not be targeted, Mr Rakshit says this whole
    business of minors is wrong. Its youngsters, period, who
    should not be targeted. A person could be 20 years old and yet
    be a potential target. Students who just enter college are clearly
    below the age of eighteen (assuming they haven’t repeated any
    class.’’
    The code is vague on other issues too. It states that exhibition
    of any tobacco product should not be undertaken in a children’s
    film or a TV show meant for children. But on the other hand, it
    says: “It is clarified that the mere
    granting of a U certificate does not make the film a children’s
    film.” But then there is no special certification for children’s
    films. Unless there is a clear-cut way to define a children’s film, it
    won’t be easy to interpret the clause. The code has to be more
    explicit in its definition of what constitutes a children’s film, say
    industry officials.
    Is the government really serious about regulating advertisements for the benefit of the consuming public? One wonders,
    especially with many traffic booths being sponsored by tobacco
    companies. Moreover, it is time to define what constitutes an
    advertisement. According to a high court judgement, a logo in
    itself does not constitute an advertisement, and so we see the
    Indian cricket team sporting the Wills logo. But the anti-tobacco
    insists that a logo is an advertisement. If that weren’t the case,
    one fails to understand why ITC spends crores of rupees to get
    sportsmen to don its Wills logo. It’s high time these issues
    were discussed in open forums, and more importantly, aptly
    represented by all sections of society, to arrive at a consensus.
    How do you sort out these issues if you were a member of the
    ASCI?

    “Quote-Unquote What few Stalwarts have to say
    about Regulation.”
    • “Commercials on television are similar to sex and taxes; the
    more talk there is about them, the less likely they are to be
    curbed.”
    – Jack Gould (1963), quoted in Bruce Bohle, The Home
    Book of American Quotations, 1967, New York, NY: Dodd,
    Mead & Company, p. 5.
    • “Advertising is speech. It’s regulated because it’s often
    effective speech.”
    – Jef I. Richards (1995), advertising professor, The
    University of Texas at Austin.
    “Quote-Unquote What few Stalwarts have to say
    about Waste.”
    • “Chess is as elaborate a waste of human intelligence as you
    can find outside an advertising agency.”
    – Raymond Chandler

    “There is more money wasted in advertising by
    underspending than by overspending. Years ago someone
    said that underspending in advertising is like buying a ticket
    halfway to Europe. You’ve spent your money but you never
    get there.”
    – Morris Hite, quoted in Adman: Morris Hite’s Methods for
    Winning the Ad Game, 1988, Dallas, TX: E-Heart Press, p.
    204-205.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Notes

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 32:
    ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS
    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson as to how and why is the
    need to measure effectiveness of an ad.

    It also goes on to explain the various methods of measuring
    effectiveness.

    A brand is a compound of two elements. It is first of all a
    product or service that provides functional benefits rich enough
    to persuade some (or sometimes many) consumers to buy the
    brand repeatedly. It also has added values, or psychological
    qualities and associations in the minds of these consumers;
    values that underscore and reinforce their preference for the
    brand. The manufacturer provides the functional benefits. The
    added values are mainly created and built gradually but inexorably by the brand’s advertising. It is a fair generalization that a
    brand is the joint product of a sound and well-organized
    manufacturer and imaginative advertising.
    Although the agency writes the advertising campaigns, these are
    also the concern of the advertiser. The advertiser’s contribution
    concentrates on the important managerial tasks of evaluating
    the agency’s proposals; using their judgement to plan the
    “business” of the campaign (especially budget and media); and,
    most importantly, measuring the campaign’s effects in the
    marketplace.
    The specific jobs that should be carried out by the client in close
    co-operation with the agency should be five fold. To accomplish
    these, this article mentions a number of research techniques that
    are more readily available in a sophisticated market like the
    United States than in a burgeoning market such as India.
    Nevertheless, in all developed and less developed countries, the
    best research available should be used to tackle these five

    176

    important tasks. It is to be hoped that the specific techniques
    described here will soon be as fully available in India as they are
    today in North America and Europe.

    1. The Five Tasks

    Measure behavioral effects

    Pre-test to weed out ineffective advertisements

    Determine advertisement budgets strategically

    Media continuity, not concentration

    Use promotions tactically

    Task 1: Measure Behavioral Effects
    Advertising has three orders of effects ~ short-term, mediumterm and long-term. These effects can be measured in terms of
    consumer purchasing (cognitive and attitudinal data are too soft
    and indirect to measure these effects robustly). One extremely
    important point is that each effect is a gatekeeper to the next. In
    particular, without a short-term effect, no other effect is
    possible.
    Before the mid 1980s, it was impossible to measure accurately
    the short-term effects of advertising. These are felt within seven
    days of an advertisement appearing and such effects are highly
    volatile. Measurement is only possible with the use of a large
    scale and expensive technique called Pure Single Source Research,
    a type of investigation that has been used in a number of
    countries since the early 1990s. The measure of an
    advertisement’s short-term effect is market share change and is

    The medium-term effect represents the repetition of short-term
    effects across the course of a year, but deducting the short-term
    effects of competitive advertising campaigns. This means that
    the medium- term effect is invariably smaller than each shortterm effect. The medium-term effect of a campaign can be
    measured with reasonable precision using regression analysis.
    Many examples are available to show this technique in action.
    These cases quantify the proportion of annual sales that are
    accounted for by advertising and they also show the return on
    the advertising investment, measured in cents per advertising
    dollar. The econometric analysis to determine medium-term
    effects with which I am most familiar and on which I have
    published, are the work of the prominent research organization
    Media Marketing Assessment.
    Advertising is also capable of a long-term effect, which is
    manifested through a strengthening of the brand and in
    particular the growth in its added values ~ the positive psychological associations of the brand in the minds of consumers. If
    there is a long-term effect, this is shown by a gradual increase
    each year in the measured medium-term effect.
    Long-term effect of advertising is measured in six ways:

    Rising penetration i.e. an increasing user base

    Increasing purchase frequency

    Reducing price elasticity of demand

    Above-average consumer price

    Increasing advertising elasticity
    Reducing advertising intensiveness i.e. An increasingly
    effective use of advertising dollars

    When the long-term effect of advertising is added to the
    medium-term effect, advertising can be in circumstances shown
    to produce a return on investment (ROI) higher than the actual
    sum spent on it.

    Task 2: Pre-Test to Weed out Ineffective
    Advertisements
    In view of the fact that only a third of campaigns produce
    strongly positive short-term results, it is very important that
    manufacturers should pre-test their advertisements to predict as
    accurately as possible whether their campaigns will be effective in
    the market place. A number of pre-testing systems are available
    in the United States. The method with the best track record is
    that named after the research organization Advertising Research
    Systems (ARS).
    This method tests the commercial in a cinema in front of an
    audience of 500 people. These people see an entertainment
    program in which are inserted some commercials, including the
    one being tested. The entertainment program is preceded by a
    lottery, in which people are asked to allocate a sum of money
    among different brands (including the one being tested). After
    the program, there is another similar lottery. The measurement

    of the effectiveness of the tested commercial is determined by
    comparing the audience preference for the brand after the
    program with their preference before the program.
    This testing system has been used for 50 years and there is a
    very large battery of test evidence of its effectiveness from a
    number of countries. This evidence for the predictive ability of
    the system is very strong and aggregated data are available to
    illustrate this. There are also a number of cases, which show the
    system in action for specific named brands.

    Task 3: Determine Advertisement Budgets
    Strategically
    In view of the long-term effects of advertising, manufacturers
    should normally set their advertising budgets in terms of
    competitive advertising expenditures within their category. In
    order to boost the long-term competitiveness of their brands
    manufacturers should not make tactical reductions in the
    budget in an attempt to boost profit.
    Manufacturer’s advertising investments in any category can be
    described with a statistical regression known as the Advertising
    Intensiveness Curve (AIC). This shows that small brands must
    over-advertise (with their share of voice exceeding their share of
    market). On the other hand, large brands can afford to underadvertise (with their share of voice below their share of market).
    This is a measure of the above-average profitability of large
    brands. But there are strict limits. Any reduction below these
    limits will invariably lead to a loss in market share. Cases are
    available to illustrate this point.
    Task 4: Media Continuity, Not Concentration
    For many years the advertising industry followed a pattern of
    short-term media concentration to ensure that consumers saw
    three exposures of an advertisement before they were expected
    to buy a brand. This policy was based on an incorrect interpretation of available research.
    Any policy of media deployment must be based on evidence of
    the incremental effect of extra advertising exposures on sales of
    a brand. The vast weight of existing evidence supports the view
    that a single advertising exposure can produce sales and more
    exposures generate diminishing returns. This means that shortterm media concentration produces sales that are more and
    more expensive to achieve. This is therefore uneconomic. At the
    same time, any gaps in a manufacturer’s annual media schedule
    will leave the brand vulnerable to the competition from other
    brands in the marketplace. When schedules are based on shortterm concentration, there are inevitably going to be long gaps
    between the periods of high advertising weight ~ a highly
    inefficient way of employing media budgets.
    Since the mid 1990s, it has been realized by the majority of
    American advertisers that the most effective and economic
    media policy is to reduce the weight of the short-term bursts of
    advertising and to deploy the money on a relatively continuous
    basis across a year. A number of individual cases are available to
    demonstrate this point. And more recently, aggregated data
    from Media Marketing Assessment, based on rigorous
    econometric evaluation, have shown clearly that continuity is the
    best policy.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    entitled Short Term Advertising Strength (STAS). In about
    30% of cases this effect is very large. In about 40% of cases it is
    slightly positive. In about 30% of cases sales actually go down
    because the campaign is unable to protect the brand from
    stronger campaigns from competitors. STAS is driven exclusively by the creative quality of the advertising campaign.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Task 5: Use Promotions Tactically
    Manufacturers are subjected to a number of pressures to
    increase their expenditures on trade and consumer promotions.
    These pressures include the competition from other manufacturers who promote in order to boost their own short-term
    sales. But the regrettable fact is that the vast majority of
    promotions are totally uneconomic. Despite the high sales
    return they achieve, they generally cause an actual reduction in
    the manufacturer’s profit.
    A basic problem with promotions is that they encourage a
    general disloyalty to brands on the part of consumers. An even
    worse problem is that promotions have no long-term effects.
    They are different from advertising in this respect, because
    advertising can produce a long-term effect, which can be added
    to its medium-term effect, with a beneficial effect on a brand’s
    ROI.
    One proven system of improving the benefit of trade and
    consumer promotions is to use such promotions together with
    consumer advertising, in a mutually supporting role. Cases are
    available to demonstrate that this can be to the long-term
    benefit of brands.
    All the analysis that are referred to here are based on manufacturers and advertising agencies using good and experienced
    judgment in developing their advertising plans. As already
    mentioned, such plans should also be based on the best
    research that the market research industry in the country is able
    to provide. In many cases, the research lessons learned at great
    expense in developed countries can also be applied at least
    approximately to less developed ones. This is generally the
    policy of the leading multinational advertisers.
    Copy Testing

    You must understand that an ad copy is one of the key areas
    where testing is essential. Since it contains elements like the
    Headline, Illustrations, Body copy, Logo and Baseline, it
    becomes imperative to understand the mix and match of these
    subjects. Very essentially we need to see that, whether the layout
    is effectively read out or not. Essentially you must understand
    that a viewer of a print ad sees the above-mentioned elements
    in the following manner:

    Illustration

    Headline

    178

    Logo

    Copy

    It is not a hard and fast rule, but normally the above is true. So
    various combinations of the elements are given to us and we
    try to see as to which one is stronger than the other. We have 2
    types of testing for ad copy being effective:
    1. Pre-testing: This is the test of the copy before it is given to
    the media.
    2. Post-testing: This is the testing, which is done after the ad
    copy has come out in the media and the audience has seen
    the advertisement.
    The purpose of pre-testing is as follows:

    To spot errors in the copy

    To make communication more effective

    To design the ad better

    To reduce wastage in advertising

    To ensure that the money is spent prudently.

    Whereas the purpose of post-testing are as below:

    To find out the impact of an ad in terms of it being noticed,
    seen and read.

    To find out its credibility.

    To find out its comprehension

    To measure its memorability.

    To assess its effect on buyers.

    To assess its fit with the promotion and marketing mix

    To assess whether it has achieved its objectives.

    To assess the relative effectiveness of different copies and
    media plans.

    To improve future advertising efforts.

    Now, but naturally you will ask me as to how you test the ad
    copy. So following are the different methods for firstly, pretesting.

    3. Mock magazine test: This is very similar to the portfolio test,
    however the ads are put in an actual magazine and is exposed
    to the consumer. The recall test is then taken to adjudge
    which is the best ad.
    4. Perceptual Meaning Studies (PMS): It is a method that is
    uses time exposure to test the ads. Tachistoscope is an
    instrument that may be used in this test. The respondent
    sees the ad for a pre-determined time, and then is subjected
    to a recall test-product, brand illustration and the main copy.
    Where the pre-testing for the broadcasting ads are concerned, we
    have the following types:
    1. In-home projection tests: A movie projector screens the ads
    in the setting of the consumer’s home. He is then
    questioned before and after the exposure. We can then assess
    the strong and the weak points of the ads.

    Is the copy based on the briefing?

    Is it interesting?

    Is it interactive?

    Is the story line complete and fluid in its completion?

    Are there pauses and breaks while reading?

    Does it end interestingly?

    Was it able to hold the attention?

    There are quite a number of other questions that you could
    possibly have. The method is however suitable only for the
    body text and not for any other element.
    1. Consumer jury test: Here the ranking of the advertisements
    are done by a group of people called the jurors. The point
    system is given to an average of 4-5 copies that they are given
    to rank. The order of merit is the one, which determine
    which is the best advertisement by the jurors and which has
    been rated as the worst. The points given by the jurors are
    then added together to determine which is the ad, which has
    got the maximum points. This is the one that is the chosen
    one. Within this context we have paired comparison. In a
    Paired Comparison at a time two ad copies are compared. It
    is one-to-one comparison amongst test ads. More than six
    ad copies can also be compared by this method. Every single
    ad is compared with all others, but only two (a pair) is
    considered at one period of time. Sources are recorded on
    cards. They are summed up. The winner gets the highest
    score. The other ads are rated according to their scores after
    summation. It is easier technique than order of merits. Till
    ten copies, there is good accuracy; which later decreases. The
    number of comparisons one is required to make with the
    help of the following formula:
    2. Portfolio test: Here some dummy ads are mixed with regular
    ads. They are then put in a portfolio. The consumer samples
    each advertisements and judges, which is the best one. In
    case the selected ad is the dummy one, then the regular ad is
    changed or modified in the manner of the dummy ad.

    2. Trailer tests: A real life like shopping environment is created
    to measure consumer behavior. One group is given coupons
    to purchase selective brands, and the other group is not
    given the coupons. The redemption rate of the coupons may
    give an idea about the effectiveness of the test ads.
    3. Theatre test: A set of captive audience is sent a questionnaire.
    Later they are sent free ads to view the test ads in a theatre
    and then again are administered a questionnaire. It assesses
    product, brand and the ad theme.
    4. Live telecast tests: Here the inaccuracies of artificial testing
    environment are not encountered. Ads are put on air either
    by narrow casting or live telecasting. These ads are test ads,
    and not the regular ads. Later, viewers are interviewed to
    know their reactions.
    Now let us come down to the post-testing methods. This
    actually gives us an idea about the actual performance of the ad
    in terms of exposure, perception, communication and sales
    effect. We can assess the credibility and comprehension of the
    ads.

    Few of the Methods of this Type of Tests are
    1. Recall tests: In this type of tests the individuals are asked to
    answer about the ads entirely on the basis of their memory.
    It could be aided recall, where they are given few cues to help
    them recall and unaided recall, which of course is based on
    memory alone.
    2. Recognition test: These are also known as readership tests,
    whereby it is seen whether they buy the product upon seeing
    the ads. Importantly, the individual has to qualify as the
    reader of that particular issue.
    3. Triple association test: Here the respondent is given certain
    cues wherein he can relate to a certain brand. For example –
    “Thanda Matlab”, if the answer is coca cola, then it is correct.
    And if the respondent is able to connect the product with
    the company then it is a triple association.
    4. Sales effect tests: They measure the various stages of buyer
    awareness, preference, buying intention and actual purchase
    in relation to actual advertising effort.
    5. Sales results tests: The additional sales generated by the ads
    are recorded. It is difficult however to correlate an increase in
    sales to advertising alone.
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    1. Checklist method: Within this we have certain issues like
    readability or audibility. It is a simple and a speedy process.
    You could ask questions like:

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    6. Enquires test: These are couponed ads of consumer
    durables. They invite consumers to send back the coupon to
    seek a demo or more details. The number of enquires
    determine the effectiveness of the ads.
    7. Attitude test: Attitudes show our predisposition towards
    objects, ideas, people and places. They indicate overall
    feelings. The change in attitude as a result of advertising is
    assessed. The assumption is that a favorable attitude
    towards a product will lead to a purchase. Most ads are
    designed either to reinforce or change the existing attitudes.
    The DAGMAR process, which we had studied in an earlier
    lesson, is an important element in the measurement of
    effectiveness of ads. Briefly, let me recapitulate the process.
    Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results.
    Well you might ask me what are few of the goals out of the set
    of 52 goals? Well, to briefly put some goals:

    Persuade the prospect to visit a showroom and ask for a
    demonstration.

    Build up the morale of the company’s salesforce.

    Facilitate sales by correcting false impressions,
    misinformation and other obstacles.

    Announce a special reason for buying NOW (e.g., sale).

    Make a brand identity known and easily recognizable.

    Provide information or implant attitude regarding benefits
    and superior features of brand.

    According to the DAGMAR approach, the communication task
    of the brand is to gain:

    Awareness

    Comprehension

    Conviction

    Image

    Action

    DAGMAR is a planning and a control tool. But the formulation of some basic inputs of DAGMAR is difficult to
    formulate and also inhibits creativity.

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    Notes

    Learning Objectives

    You will understand the historical evolution of Indian
    advertising.

    What the future holds for the Indian adverting?

    UNIT – 8

    assembled the best advertising talent in the country and pitched
    for every big account. In its decade-old existence, MCM rewrote
    the rules of ‘creativity’ in India and inspired a legion of
    wannabes. Rediffusion, Enterprise, Trikaya … spun off by
    Arun Nanda, Mohamed Khan, and Ravi Gupta who made the
    ‘creative product’ the hero of their agency’s offering. The rest as
    they say, is history.
    Next came the mid-90’s. With the Indian economy opening up,
    the international ‘big daddies’ started rolling into India. First to
    arrive was Saatchi & Saatchi, followed soon by Leo Burnett,
    BBDO, McCann Erickson, Y&R, TBWA, et al. During this
    period, the country was going through an economic slowdown
    (effected by global recession), which compounded the problems
    for the ad business. Agencies began down sizing or as some
    (rightly?) called it ‘right sizing’. Ownership of agencies changed
    hands. Some even shut shop. All in all, the recession lasted
    longer than one hoped it should.

    The Age of the Creative Product
    A Perspective
    Just a few decades ago, Indian advertising was headed by
    expatriates. Agencies that held sway were mostly foreign owned.
    Like JWT, D. J. Keymer (now O&M), Grant Advertising
    (Contract) & L. A. Stronachs. With a long list of ‘Brits’ as
    heads. Like Fielden & Greg Baton to name a few. (It is interesting to note that the first few ad agencies were part of a network
    that was British in origin – and Madison Avenue had yet to
    come into its own.)
    The first Indian-owned agency was National Advertising,
    followed by B. Dattaram and Sistas. Then there was the stalwart
    national effort of setting up Everest Advertising by Ibrahim
    Patel (until then the Advertising Manager of The Times of
    India). Not to forget commercial artist Ratan Batra, who set up
    Ratan Batra Pvt. Ltd and co-founded Communications Artists
    Guild (CAG). Somewhere along the way a few ‘angry young
    men’ split from D.J. Keymer to set up ‘Clarion Advertising’
    with legendary film maker Satyajit Ray as one of its founders.
    Pleasant images complimented smart lines. And lip service was
    paid to research (for good measure). It is rumoured that
    ‘Advertising Age’ and ‘Campaign’ formed the unofficial source
    of inspiration. Along with the ‘Black Book’ of course. Ad Club
    of Bombay published a newsletter called ‘Solus’, which often
    featured local ads, to celebrate what could be termed as ‘creative
    coincidence’. The feeling in the advertising community was rosy,
    bordering on the euphoric. Till suddenly, a young Turk shook
    up a complacent ad world.

    The Second Wave
    Kersey Katrak, a maverick young copywriter who had graduated
    to client service, started Mass Communication & Marketing
    (MCM), from the back of his car (his own words). Soon, he

    If there was one agency that emerged unscathed by the slowdown, it was Mumbai headquartered O&M. Under the
    leadership of Ranjan Kapur and in close collaboration with
    Creative Director Suresh Mullick, O&M decided to make
    ‘creativity’ the fulcrum of the Agency’s march to a leadership
    position. Mallick’s blue-eyed boy Piyush Pandey who aggressively imputed his dynamic energy to build the agency’s creative
    product inherited the creative mantle. Other agencies that
    decided to play catch-up included Lintas (now Lowe) spearheaded by National Creative Director Balki (successor of Kersey
    Katrak). Suddenly creativity was taken seriously by the Indian
    advertising industry. (Incidentally, WPP owned O&M also
    successfully proved that creativity could be harnessed with the
    financial discipline that is typical of WPP companies.) It was not
    long before Indian ad persons were sitting on juries at Cannes
    and elsewhere. Indian campaigns were bagging ‘golds’ ‘silvers’
    & bronzes’ the world over. (All but the ‘Agency of the Year’
    which still continues to elude Indian agencies.) Indian communications professionals have learnt the game. Global recognition
    is pouring in. Plagiarization is almost unheard of. Gone are the
    days when art directors lived by the ‘Black Book’.
    Advertising in India is a highly competitive business. Today
    with the increasing consumer awareness no business can survive
    for long without advertising. With growing business competition it has become necessary to ensure right media mix to each
    target audience. Today, advertising agencies are precisely taking
    care of consumer needs and provide creative designs with
    concept & ideas.
    Advertisers in India reach about 75 per cent of the population
    through television, and almost the entire population through
    radio. Certain televised programs enjoy a viewership of more
    than 100 million. The Indian viewership exhibits brand name

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 33:
    LESSON: INDIAN ADVERTISING

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    recognition of both foreign and domestic products and
    services.
    With value added information such as television rating points,
    audience profiles, and opinion polls available to marketers, the
    sophistication of advertising in India is at par with world
    standards. The world’s leading advertising agencies – Ogilvy &
    Mather, J W Thompson, BBDO, Young & Rubican, Lintas,
    McCann Ericsson, Leo Burnett and a host of others – all have a
    major presence in the Indian market.
    The major Indian advertising media are newspapers, magazines,
    television and radio, business publications and billboards.
    Advertising on the Internet is the most cost-efficient way of
    reaching customers all over the world including ones own
    country. Indian advertising agencies need to wake up to the
    challenges posed by global economic trends and emerging
    interactive technologies like the Internet, Indian companies need
    to pay attention to characteristics of the new economy like open
    standards, digitalization, and volatility, as Internet-based
    communication offers “tremendous new opportunities for
    Indian companies via media convergence and re-intermediation.” This also requires Indian advertising agencies to pay
    attention to the importance of online market research, since
    new media like the Net are bound to affect people’s perceptions
    of advertising. The challenge for Indian advertising agencies in
    the coming years is to be able to target the rural market as well
    as the sophisticated urban market that may have Internet access.
    Concrete advertising history begins with classified advertising.
    Advertisements appeared for the first time in print in Hickey’s
    Bengal Gazette, which was India’s first newspaper, being weekly
    in nature.
    Horlicks becomes the first ‘malted milk’ to be patented on 5th
    June 1883 (No. 278967). Following is the historical account of
    the Indian advertising industry.

    A Brief History Of ‘Ind – Ads’
    1905

    – B Dattaram & Co claims to be the oldest existing
    Indian agency in Girgaum in Bombay

    1912

    – ITC (then Imperial Tobacco Co. Ltd.) launches
    Gold Flake

    1920s

    – Enter the first foreign owned ad agencies
    – Gujarat Advertising and Indian Advertising set up
    – Expatriate agencies emerge: Alliance Advertising,
    Tata Publicity
    – LA Stronach’s merges into today’s Norvicson
    Advertising
    – D J Keymer gives rise to Ogilvy & Mather and
    Clarion

    1925

    – LR Swami & Co, Madras

    1926

    – LA Stronach & Co (India) Pr. Ltd, Bombay starts
    – Agency called National set up for American rather
    than British advertisers
    – American importers hire Jagan Nath Jaini, then
    advertising manager of Civil and Military Gazette,
    Lahore. National today is still run by Jaini’s family

    182

    Beginning of multinational agencies

    – J Walter Thompson (JWT) opened to service
    General Motors business
    1928

    – BOMAS Ltd (Formerly DJ Keymer & Co Ltd) set
    up

    1929

    – J Walter Thompson Co Pr. Ltd formed

    Indian Agencies, Foreign Advertising in the Thirties
    1931
    – National Advertising Service Pr. Ltd. Bombay set
    up
    – Universal Publicity Co, Calcutta formed full service
    Indian agency
    1935
    – Indian Publicity Bureau Pr Ltd, Calcutta established
    1936
    – Krishna Publicity Co Pr. Ltd, Kanpur begins
    operations
    – Studio Ratan Batra Pr. Ltd, Bombay established
    – Indian Broadcasting Company becomes All India
    Radio (AIR)
    1938
    – Jayendra Publicity, Kolhapur started
    1939
    – Lever’s advertising department launches Dalda – the
    first major example of a brand and a marketing
    campaign specifically developed for India
    – The Press Syndicate Ltd, Bombay set up
    Indianising Advertisements in the Forties
    1940
    – Navanitlal & Co., Ahmedabad set up
    1941
    – Lux signs Leela Chitnis as the first Indian film
    actress to endorse the product
    – Hindustan Thompson Associates (HTA), the
    current incarnation of JWT, coins the Balanced
    Nourishment concept to make Horlicks more
    relevant to India
    – Green’s Advertising Service Agents, Bombay
    formed
    1943
    – Advertising & Sales Promotion Co (ASP), Calcutta
    established
    1944
    – Dazzal, Bombay comes into existence
    – Ranjit Sales & Publicity Pr. Ltd, Bombay started
    1945
    – Efficient Publicities Pr. Ltd, Madras set up
    – Tom & Bay (Advertising) Pr. Ltd., Poona begins
    operations in India
    1946
    – Eastern Psychograph Pr. Ltd., Bombay set up
    – Everest Advertising Pr. Ltd, Bombay established
    1947
    – Grant Advertising Inc, Bombay formed
    – Swami Advertising Bureau, Sholapur started
    1948
    – RC Advertising Co, Bombay set up
    – Phoenix Advertising Pr. Ltd, Calcutta formed
    Corporate Advertising in the Fifties
    1950s – Radio Ceylon and Radio Goa become the media
    option
    1951
    – Vicks VapoRub: a rub for colds, causes ripples with
    its entry in the balm market

    – Shantilal G Shah & Co, Bombay

    1954

    – Advertising Club, Mumbai set up
    – Express Advertising Agency, Bombay
    – India Publicity Co. Pr. Ltd., Calcutta

    1956

    – Aiyars Advertising & Marketing, Bombay

    1972

    – Western Outdoor Advertising Pvt Ltd (WOAPL)
    introduces first closed circuit TV (CCT) in the
    country at the race course in Mumbai

    1973

    – RK Swamy/BBDO established

    1974

    – MCM goes out of business
    – Arun Nanda & Ajit Balakrishnan set up
    Rediffusion

    – Clarion Advertising Services Pr. Ltd, Calcutta
    1957

    – Vividh Bharati kicks off

    1958

    – Shree Advertising Agency, Bombay

    1959

    – Associated Publicity, Cuttack

    Creative Revolution in the Sixties
    1960
    – Advertising Accessories, Trichur started
    – Marketing Advertising Associates, Bombay set up
    1961
    – Industrial Advertising Agency, Bombay comes into
    existence
    – Bal Mundkur quits BOMAS to set up Ulka the
    same year
    1962
    – India’s television’s first soap opera – Teesra Rasta
    enthralls Viewers
    1963
    – BOMAS changes names to SH Benson’s
    – Stronach’s absorbed into Norvicson
    – Lintas heading for uncertainty
    – Levers toying with giving its brands to other
    agencies
    – Nargis Wadia sets up Interpub
    – Wills Filter Tipped cigarettes launched and
    positioned as made for each other, filter and
    tobacco match
    1965
    – Kersey Katrak sets up Mass Communication and
    Marketing (MCM)
    1966
    – Government persuaded to open up the broadcast
    media
    – Ayaz Peerbhoy sets up Marketing and Advertising
    Associates (MAA)
    1967
    – First commercial appears on Vividh Bharati
    1968
    – Nari Hira sets up Creative Unit
    – India wins the bid for the Asian Advertising
    Congress
    1969
    – Sylvester daCunha left Stronach’s to run ASP; later
    sets up daCunha Associates
    1970
    – Frank Simoes sets up Frank Simoes Associates
    The Problematic Seventies
    1970, 1978- National Readership Studies provided relevant data
    on consumers’ reading habits
    1970
    – Concept of commercial programming accepted by
    All India Radio
    – Hasan Rezavi gives the very first spot on Radio
    Ceylon
    1971
    – Benson’s undergo change in name to Ogilvy,
    Benson & Mather

    1975

    – Ravi Gupta sets up Trikaya Grey

    1976

    – Commercial Television initiated

    1978

    – First television commercial seen

    1979

    – Ogilvy, Benson & Mather’s name changes to Ogilvy
    & Mather

    Glued to the Television in the Eighties
    1980
    – Mudra Communications Ltd set up
    – King-sized Virginia filter cigarette enters market
    with brand name of ‘Charms’
    1981
    – Network, associate of UTV, pioneers cable
    television in India
    1982
    – The biggest milestone in television was the Asiad
    ’82 when television turned to colour transmission
    – Bombay Dyeing becomes the first colour TV ad
    – 13th Asian Advertising Congress in New Delhi
    – Media planning gets a boost
    1983
    – Maggi Noodles launched to become an overnight
    success
    – Canco Advertising Pvt. Ltd. founded
    – Manohar Shyam Joshi’s Hum Log makes commercial television come alive
    – Mudra sponsors first commercial telecast of a
    major sporting event with the India-West Indies
    series
    1984
    – Hum Log, Doordarshan’s first soap opera in the
    colour era is born
    – Viewers still remember the sponsor (Vicco) of Yeh
    Jo Hai Zindagi!
    1985
    – Mudra makes India’s first telefilm, Janam
    1985-86 – 915 new brands of products and services appearing
    on the Indian market
    1986
    – Sananda is born on July 31. The Bengali magazine
    stupefies India by selling 75,000 copies within three
    hours of appearing on the newsstands.
    – Mudra Communications creates India’s first folkhistory TV serial Buniyaad. Shown on DD, it
    becomes the first of the mega soaps
    – Price quality positioning of Nirma detergent cakes
    boost sales
    1988
    – AAAI’s Premnarayan Award instituted
    1989
    – Advertising Club Bombay begins a biennial
    seminar called ’Advertising that Works’
    – Advertising & Marketing (A&M) magazine
    launched
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    1952

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Tech Savvy in the Nineties
    1990
    – Marks the beginning of new medium Internet
    – Agencies open new media shops; go virtual with
    websites and Internet advertising
    – Brand Equity (magazine) of The Economic Times
    is born
    1991
    – First India-targetted satellite channel, Zee TV starts
    broadcast
    – Close on the throes of the Gulf War enters STAR
    (Satellite Transmission for Asia Region)
    1992
    – Spectrum, publisher of A&M, constitutes its own
    award known as ’A&M Awards’
    – Scribes and media planners credit The Bold And
    The Beautiful serial on STAR Plus channel as a
    soap that started the cultural invasion
    1993
    – India’s only advertising school, MICA (Mudra
    Institute of Communications Ahmedabad), is
    born
    – Tara on Zee TV becomes India’s first female-centric
    soap
    1995
    – Advertising Club of Bombay calls its awards as
    Abby
    – Country’s first brand consulting firm, SABRE
    (Strategic Advantage for Brand Equity) begins
    operations.
    1996
    – The ad fraternity hits big time for the first time by
    bagging three awards at the 43rd International
    Advertising Festival, Cannes Sun TV becomes the
    first regional TV channel to go live 24 hours
    – a day on all days of the week
    1997
    – Media boom with the growth of cable and satellite;
    print medium sees an increase in titles, especially in
    specialised areas
    – Government turns towards professional advertising in the private sector for its VDIS campaigns
    – Army resorts to the services of private sector
    agencies
    – Advertising on the Internet gains popularity
    – Equitor Consulting becomes the only independent
    brand consultancy company in the country
    – Several exercises in changing corporate identity
    – For the first time ever, Indians stand the chance of
    winning the $ 1- million booty being offered by
    Gillette as part of its Football World Cup promo
    1998
    – Events assume important role in marketing mix
    – Rise of software TV producers banking on ad
    industry talent
    – Reinventing of cinema -advertising through cinema
    begins
    1998
    – Lintas becomes Ammirati Puri Lintas (APL)

    184

    1999

    – B2B site agencyfaqs.com launched on September
    28, 1999
    – The Advertising Club Bombay announces the
    AdWorks Trophy

    In the New Millennium
    2000

    – Mudra launches magindia.com – India’s first
    advertising and marketing gallery
    – Lintas merges with Lowe Group to become Lowe
    Lintas and Partners (LLP)
    – Bigideasunlimited.com – a portal offering free and
    fee ideas for money launched by Alyque Padamsee
    and Sam Mathews
    – Game shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati become a
    rage; media buying industry is bullish on KBC
    – Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi marks the return
    of family-oriented soap on TV
    – French advertising major Publicis acquires
    Maadhyam

    2001

    – Trikaya Grey becomes Grey Worldwide
    – Bharti’s Rs 2.75-crore corporate TV commercial,
    where a baby girl is born in a football stadium,
    becomes the most expensive campaign of the year

    2002

    – Lowe Lintas & Partners rechristened Lowe
    Worldwide
    – For the first time in the history of HTA, a new
    post of president is created. Kamal Oberoi is
    appointed as the first president of HTA

    Indian Advertising – A Critique
    This is the best of times and worst of times for Indian
    advertising agencies. On the one hand, there are ample opportunities for growth not only in existing areas of activity, but also
    in new fields that are opening up thanks to liberalization and
    globalization, technological progresses and changing lifestyles.
    At the other end of the spectrum, risks are looming large on
    the horizon of agencies that are not able to identify the critical
    competencies they need to stay on course and decide how they
    should build and deploy these competencies, given their current
    scope and resources. The risk of getting stuck in the middle is
    now very real for many agencies, and the time has come for such

    Changing Environment of the
    Advertising World
    The performance of the Indian advertising industry since the
    middle of the nineties can be termed as healthy. The current
    growth rate of 18-20 per cent, though below the 49.5 per cent
    achieved during 1995, is still above many industries in India.
    The Rs 10000-crore industry is becoming globally competitive
    and presently accounts for 33 per cent of total industry profit in
    the Asia-Pacific region and ranks seventh highest in terms of
    contribution to global profit. Global agencies are increasingly
    getting attracted to the Indian market and now have a share of
    about 47 per cent of total Indian advertising.
    In spite of this healthy state of the industry during the midand late 1990s, the uncertainty of the future remains a cause of
    concern for all agencies, big, medium or small. Developments in
    the last five to 10 years have changed (or are changing) the rules
    of the industry dramatically. Let’s take a look at some of these
    developments to identify the opportunities and vulnerabilities
    of Indian advertising agencies: Clients are increasingly looking
    for a one-stop communication solution, including direct
    marketing, event management and public relations.

    Emergence of Internet and other new media such as ATM,
    WAP devices and interactive TV are both exciting and
    threatening — exciting for fast and first movers in building
    capabilities and early advantages and threatening for laggards
    and those basking in past glory.

    Interactive divisions of many agencies are now offering
    online consulting, web branding, web designing and offline
    advertising strategies.

    Concentration in the industry is clearly visible, with the top
    15 agencies accounting for 80 per cent of the billing and the
    balance 20 per cent being shared by a 100-odd agencies.

    Opportunities for growth appear substantial — total billing
    is expected to grow to Rs. 20,000 crore by 2005 with two to
    three agencies billing more than Rs 3000 crore. Some of the
    opportunity areas will be healthcare, insurance, financial
    services, dot.com, Internet and special communications.

    Online advertising will be on the rise and will reach Rs. 300
    crore by 2005. However, it will change the rules of
    advertising and will help advertisers to shift focus from
    broadcasting to narrow casting.

    With media planning and media buying becoming highly
    specialized thanks to the emergence of new media and need
    for better relating media characteristics with brand and
    consumer profile, there is a possibility that these two
    activities will move out of the range of services provided by
    a traditional advertising agency, implying splitting of the
    commission presently being earned. It is bad news for full
    service agencies that will have to establish as to how they can
    add value in such areas as speed, coordination and optimum
    media plans.
    Clients will be looking for more comprehensive and also
    better services with greater speed in delivery and applications

    across geographically dispersed markets. They will also be
    increasingly demanding a different remuneration structure
    (either fixed fee-based or performance-linked) to ensure
    accountability.

    Media planning has become far more complex than before
    — there are 100-odd channels, 400 publications and a
    plethora of new media that keep popping up every other
    day. With the rising cost of media and its ever-growing
    fragmentation, the efficiency and effectiveness of ad spend
    are now being examined critically more than ever before.

    Online and offline media-buying companies will be fully
    integrated and automated. In general, technology will drive
    initiatives in devising better ways to reach consumers.

    Faced with increasing media cost and intense competition,
    many agencies are now trying to scale up quickly to become
    one-stop solution providers and reduce cost. In fact, the
    industry has already started witnessing a number of M&As
    and strategic alliances.

    Areas of Repositioning
    Given the changes mentioned above, the strategies that worked
    in the past will need to be revisited to check their relevance in the
    new environment. Some of the areas where fresh views are
    needed are:

    Segmentation
    The choice of segments to be served in the emerging future is
    the first aspect to be revisited in order to reposition an advertising agency in the new competitive environment. It is now clear
    that no organization can be ‘all things to all people’. The need
    to divide existing and prospective clients into a number of
    homogeneous segments and then select the few where the
    agency wishes to focus in the coming years will be a key task
    since it will help the agency to have clarity, consistency and
    commitment in development of strategy, allocation of
    resources and identification of critical skills. The choice of
    segments to be targeted must take into account such aspects as
    scale of future operations, new opportunity areas (e.g. relative
    emphasis on non-traditional media and choice of segments
    such as retailing, dot.com, health care, insurance etc.) and
    underlying capabilities to serve such areas, competitors’ existing
    and future offerings, agency’s present strengths and vulnerabilities and its agenda for building specific capabilities in the future.
    Scope
    An agency should examine if it should become a full service
    agency or focus on one or two specialized areas. There will
    increasingly be a sharp distinction between ‘pure’ players in
    select areas and full-fledged communication practitioners. Scale
    A critical issue to be addressed is how big the size of an agency
    should be. Size will undoubtedly matter if new capabilities are
    to be built, more value-added services are to be provided and
    cost to the client is to be reduced. It is also a fact that the
    industry is getting concentrated, and unless an agency figures in
    the top ten, it is unlikely to make reasonable money.
    Capability Building
    One key issue that needs to be revisited is what kind of future
    capabilities an agency should build so that it can have competitive advantages to offer value that is better than its other direct
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    agencies as well as others — operating at the top and bottom
    rung — to revisit their strategies including scope, scale and
    competitive advantages.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    competitors as well as niche players. The list of capabilities has
    to be developed keeping in view the need for micro-segmentation, requirement of faster delivery, emergence of e-business,
    new technological possibilities in IT and telecom, and development of non-traditional media such as Internet, ATM, WAP
    devices, interactive TV etc. Care must be taken not to build
    capabilities in all possible areas (for example, the agency need
    not build capabilities in software required to support its online
    initiatives). Needless to say, the more the number of areas
    where capabilities need to be built, the more will be the
    investment that will be required in technology, creative people
    and associated training and development. Two additional
    considerations, while deciding on future capabilities, will be:

    Applicability of newly developed capabilities across different
    geographical markets around the world

    Breadths of sectors to be covered (e.g. retailing, distribution,
    promotions, merchandising, sampling etc.)

    Value Proposition
    The decisions taken to reposition the agency in four specific
    areas of segmentation, scope, scale and capabilities will determine the value proposition that the agency intends to offer to
    its clients. The uniqueness and sustainability of such value
    proposition and the ability to deliver such values at a competitive cost will be a critical aspect of an agency’s plan to reposition
    itself. The key thing to figure out will be what specific values
    clients in each segment targeted will be looking for (which may
    not always be articulated by the clients). While value expectations will differ from one segment to another, some common
    aspects are clear:
    • Providing research and intellectual inputs to clients in three
    key areas, viz understanding changes in consumer behavior,
    developing business insights (including making available
    frameworks for formulating strategic options) and
    crystallizing the brand vision. Agencies have not paid
    sufficient attention to supporting clients in the last
    mentioned two areas, namely business insights and brand
    vision. They will need to involve themselves in these
    upstream areas to not only assist the clients in their strategic
    brand management function but also to ensure excellence in
    downstream activities. Interestingly, an agency need not build
    all the capabilities needed to excel in these areas. Strategic
    alliances and networking with individuals and specialist
    organizations (such as industry experts, strategy consultants,
    research companies etc.) can provide the required concepts
    and best practices.
    • Development of a range of options, so far as choice of
    media — both online and offline — is concerned, given the
    content of the message and the profile of target consumer
    or customer group. Providing value — cost leveraging of
    each of these options and ranking them on a ‘neutral’ basis
    through relating each option to the specific context such as
    business strategy being adopted, short- and long-term goals
    and brand vision of the client — will be a critical component
    of the value proposed to be created. Specifically, clients will
    like to know how effective various traditional and new media
    options (remember 80 per cent of the cost of a campaign is
    the media-related cost) for a particular product or service will
    186

    be, given the overall business and brand strategy and shortand medium-term marketing objectives.

    Speed in delivering error-free, quality output and
    responsiveness as well as the flexibility to change the package
    of offering at short notice will help agencies reduce
    customers’ anxieties to get an advantage over competition.

    Subjecting the agency’s remuneration structure, on a proactive
    basis, to certain accountability format. This will communicate
    seriousness, professionalism and sensitivity to a client’s
    needs and help greatly in building a strong goodwill in favor
    of the agency.

    Building a track record of measurable success in all aspects of
    the agency’s operation and services — creative, media
    planning, media buying, production and account servicing. A
    track record of superior performance builds reputation and
    equity in the minds of the client.

    Expertise and professionalism of the agency’s staff, at both
    the front and back office, reduce customers’ anxieties to a
    great extent and are thus sources of value.

    A well-developed, well-communicated, and well-delivered
    value proposition that I s meaningful and relevant to the
    target client groups will help the agency ‘position’ itself
    clearly and uniquely in the minds of the clients vis-à-vis
    competition.

    Performance Criteria
    As with any other organization, an agency will need to define a
    few critical parameters against which it will measure its shortand long-term performance, given the industry’s standards and
    clients’ expectations. Such parameters should be chosen to
    reflect the importance of both client satisfaction and internal
    efficiency. Against the backdrop of the increasing propensity of
    clients to shift from a commission or fee-based remuneration
    structure to a system based on ‘payment by result’, it is obvious
    that an agency will need to incorporate in its list of key success
    factors such parameters as the advertiser’s business performance
    (e.g. sales, volume etc.), the performance of advertising (e.g.
    level of awareness created, enhancement of brand image etc.)
    and performance of the agency vis-à-vis clients’ expectations and
    service standards set in delivering the service (e.g. task competencies, service delivery-quality, timeliness and professionalism).
    These three areas, in addition to other items that measure
    internal efficiency, must be fine-tuned, quantified and
    benchmarked to make sure that both clients and employees of
    the agency understand and evaluate the kind of value the agency
    proposes to deliver and how the agency ensures high-quality
    execution of the same.
    Organizing for the Future
    Against the background of changing environment and the
    repositioning required to deliver the new value proposition
    discussed above, a key issue the agencies will face is how to
    organize their activities in future to implement the new
    direction. While traditional thinking will probably indicate the
    need to possess all required capabilities and infrastructure inhouse, the guiding principle should be to include only those
    few core activities where the agency has established capabilities
    (or has plans to develop such capabilities); any other activity,

    Notes

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    however unconventional it may sound, must be subjected to
    critical scrutiny and be considered for outsourcing (without,
    however, losing control over the same). In the 21st century, the
    resources that will be critical for ensuring the success of any
    organization are essentially creative people, ideas, information
    and network; there will be less and less emphasis on physical
    infrastructure and layers of bureaucracy to deliver the value
    desired by customers — and advertising agencies will not be any
    exception. The real challenge for agencies will be how to keep
    the core activities to the minimum and how to establish a
    collaborative relationship with a large number of individuals
    and organizations who will provide specialized and standard
    services, depending on each individual’s and organization’s
    intrinsic strengths, in a seamless manner. Such individuals and
    organizations will be legally separate but must work along with
    the agency in an operationally synchronized manner. Advancement of information and communication technology can help
    an agency to have control over activities of such satellite units by
    establishing contractual control on digital information.

    Conclusion
    The need of the agencies of tomorrow to reposition themselves in the fast-changing business and advertising world
    cannot be overemphasized. The areas that should be revisited
    by the agencies have been identified in this article and these
    require urgent review. A fresh prospective is necessary in each of
    these areas to reposition the agency in the new scenario.
    Obviously there will be a number of alternatives under each of
    these areas, and the final choice will essentially depend on how
    the managers of each concerned agency perceive the dynamics of
    the new environment, including the opportunities that are
    opening up and the competencies they need to develop. Also
    important will be the aspirations these managers have to
    dominate the nature and pace of the future evolution of the
    advertising industry.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 34:
    ETHICS IN ADVERTISING
    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the need for in
    advertising.

    The type of advertisements that could come under ethical
    issues.

    Advertising is criticized because selling carries a stigma. Centuries ago, Anacharis, had said, “the market is the place set aside
    where men may deceive each other’. Even to this date despite
    the rise in consumerism and efforts to counter market deception, buyers are still gullible and are not particularly on guard
    against deception. To create an impact, the advertisers pit creative
    message-makers against blasé sophisticates, hardened by
    thousands of commercials. The objective is to cut through the
    clutter, to grip ones attention and to create an impression that
    lingers on in the memory of the prospective buyers. And, while
    doing so, they create desires, shape attitudes, mould temperaments, alter social values and raise many an ethical question. To
    which there is no easy answer.
    The measure of advertising’s success is the extent to which it
    increases demand. Competition or declining profits can blow
    good intention out of the boardroom. Under such circumstances, the perspective shifts from what is best in the long run
    for the society to what is best in the short-run for the company.
    Ethics, the advertisers say, is fine for the secure, but a greater
    market share is all the slipping company needs!

    Ad Areas Under Scrutiny of Ethics

    Even as a section of the media and public lambasted the
    advertisers and the agencies for the falling scores of taste and
    decency in advertising, such ads raged on and became an order
    of the day. Brands that are far-fetched from carnality started
    portraying all-consuming lust in their ads. Candie’s shoes ad,
    for instance, showed a girl sitting in a sink in an intimate
    posture with her tattooed boyfriend. Luggage brand Jansport
    advertised its backpacks showing topless female model.
    While this was the trend the world over, our homeland, India,
    was not really far behind. It was in July 23, 1995, that a Mumbai
    tabloid published a photograph of an ad for Tuff shoes that
    had models Madhu Sapre and Milind Soman posing in the
    nude with a python wrapped around them, just about covering
    the vitals. The controversy and protests dragged on for along
    time. The ad agencies defended their creative rights while the
    nation pooh-poohed the couple’s audacity.

    Dying to be Noticed
    Thus advertisers and admen are increasingly under fire for
    upsetting the socio-cultural-religious sensitivities and sensibilities of consumers. And, unfortunately, things are looking only
    worse day by day. With slashing down of the ad budget and
    with the business slumping, every one is even more desperate
    to stand out in a hurry. To boost short-term sales or to win ad
    awards. Their slogan is ‘Love it. Or hate it. Or think it is
    offensive. But you have to notice it.

    188

    Advertising ethics affects the practice of our lives and also the
    practice of business, in subtle and prominent ways. Indeed,
    ethics in ads concern us all in one way or the other. The areas
    under scrutiny of the critics are as follows:

    Types of ads
    Ads for Sex Related Products
    Instead of making people aware of the necessity of safe sex and
    the benefits of birth control condom ads continue to intrigue
    the youngsters with the unique feel it has to offer.

    Ads for Health Care and Professional Services
    The slimming centers that promise miraculous weight reduction; the cosmetic surgery clinics that assure permanent solution
    to beauty problems.
    Ads for Vices with Fatal Effects
    Tobacco chewing ads, commercials of alcoholic beverages
    that tempt the non-alcoholics to have a sip.

    Types of Appeals
    Use of Questionable Appeals
    The ads that bank on fear and negative appeal like neighbor’s
    envy, jealousy, feud between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law
    etc.
    Stereotypical Appeals
    Sexual or racial stereotyping. Ads that imply that a woman,
    whether in kitchen or in the boardroom, ought to look
    sensuous and inviting under any circumstances is a . The
    fairness creams stereotype the dusky women as socially less
    desired for marriage.

    Value Formation
    Advertisements responsible for molding society, material wants.
    The ads displaying scantily clad female models commoditize
    women. And the deluge of ads that increase ones propensity of
    consumption makes one feel that possessing a certain commodity is essential to show that one belongs to the higher
    echelon of the society.
    Media Content
    Information content of ads; the ads that suggest the use of
    preserved food items without a slightest mention of the fact
    that many of these preservatives have been proved to have
    carcinogenic effect.

    Use of Deception
    The ads of brands that conceal their negative aspects. The ads
    of cosmetics that say nothing about the long-term effects of
    regular usage of their products; the ads of the educational
    institution that wrongly claim to give 100 percent placement to
    its students are examples of this type.
    Advertising Targeting Children and Adolescents
    The ads that target the vulnerability of the children and
    adolescents create role models whom the kids are expected to
    emulate and, thus, shape their dreams and aspirations in an
    unbecoming way.

    Advertisers’ Concern
    Voice/Tone of the ad
    Comparative ads that thrive on inflicting vitriolic attacks on their
    rivals; copying the idea in the ad world is another such menace.
    Impediments to Research
    The impediments to research on advertising ethics are identified
    as follows:
    Lack of Practitioner Interest

    Research is impeded by the inapplicability of published findings
    to business operations, the disinterest of corporations in
    sponsoring research on ad ethics and the funding constraints
    that cause researchers to rely on a convenience sample.
    Lack of Sound Measures and Framework

    Research is impeded by the lack of psychometrically sound
    measurement scales and theoretical frameworks in advertising/
    marketing.
    Lack of Relevant Theories in Related Disciplines

    Research is impeded by theoretical shortcomings in anthropology, management, philosophy, psychology, sociology and
    advertising/ marketing.
    Lack of Academic Interest

    Research is impeded by lack of a journal editor and the difficulty
    researchers face when they try to relate ethical issues to traditional advertising issues.

    Why be Ethical
    At the 83rd Annual Management Conference of the American
    Association of Advertising Agencies, Keith Reinhard, the 64year-old chairman and the chief executive of the US $15-billion
    DDB Worldwide Communications Group, stood up to quote

    the legendary co-founder of DDB, Bill Bernbach: “All of us
    who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of the
    society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we
    can help lift it onto a higher level.” No. Reinhad is not against
    the edgy and the unconventional. He is against prurient sex.
    Filthy humor. And Violence.
    By making a success story out of the ads that are offensive to
    public decency, the message is disturbingly clear: the more rude
    and shocking you can be the more successful you will be in the
    advertising. And, moreover, such ads send out faulty signal to
    the youngsters who represent the future of our society. The
    young creative directors who take pride in their eccentric thought
    process ought to be blamed for this. And the ad awards
    machineries from Cannes to Clios that place such creations on
    the pedestal. Passion is, surely, the most important ingredient
    in creative achievement. But its flame need not necessarily leap
    for obscenity, bullets and falsehoods alone. It is essential to
    reinforce the virtue of positive passion in today’s ad world.
    The need to add ethics in advertising is essential as we have a
    duty to live a good moral life. This duty is as much applicable to
    our business lives as to our private lives. And marketing
    professionals also know that ethics brings good business.
    Unethical ads are often found to have negative consequences,
    ranging from adverse publicity to diminished corporate
    reputation, to consumer boycotts and even legal sanctions.
    Conversely, an ethical ad can contribute to a good corporate
    reputation, heighten morale and, thus, increase repeat business.

    What are Ethics?
    ETHICS …
    n

    standards or moral values which dictate
    what is right and what is wrong, or good
    or bad, which are
    culturally-based and formed based upon
    society’s expectations
    n vary by person, and by situation
    n everyone develops their own “code of
    ethics”
    n

    Influences on Ethical Behavior

    Family

    Experiences
    Personal
    Code of
    Ethics

    Peer Groups

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    Larger Effects on the Society

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Responsibility
    Towards
    Environment

    Advertising Ethics
    n
    n

    Responsibility
    Towards
    Customers

    Social
    Responsibility

    Responsibility
    Towards
    Investors

    Responsibility
    Towards
    Employees

    n
    n

    Influences on
    Business
    Social
    Responsibility

    Environment Social
    Responsibility Issues
    n Air

    Pollution
    n Water Pollution
    n Land Pollution
    n Toxic Waste
    n Acid Rain

    Some call for advertising to children be curtailed
    Others would ban alcoholic beverage advertising
    Marketers must carefully draw the line between
    advertising and entertainment
    Cookies: small text files that automatically
    download to a user’s computer whenever that
    user visits a Web Site and that is capable of
    gathering information on the user, are
    questioned by many

    Advertising Ethics (Cont.)
    n

    n
    n

    Puffery refers to exaggerated claims of a
    product’s superiority or the use of subjective or
    vague statements that may not be literally true
    Deception is when the consumer is led to
    believe something which is not true
    The Uniform Commercial Code makes a
    distinction between puffery and any specific or
    quantifiable statement about a product quality or
    performance that constitutes an “express
    warranty,” which obligates the company to stand
    behind its claim

    Advertising Ethics
    Puffery and Deception
    n Puffery refers to exaggerated claim of a
    product’s superiority or the use of
    subjective or vague statements that may
    not be literally true.
    n The Uniform Commercial Code
    standardizes sales and business practices
    throughout the U.S. It makes a distinction
    between puffery and any specific or
    quantifiable statement about product
    quality or performance that constitutes an
    “express warranty.”

    190

    Customer Responsibility Issues
    n Rights



    of Consumers

    to safe products
    to be informed
    to be heard
    to choose what they buy

    n Unfair

    Pricing – collusion / price gouging
    n Ethics in Advertising

    Employee Responsibility Issues

    Notes

    Human resource management issues
    n Social responsibility issues
    n Privacy issues
    n Encouraging ethical behaviour
    n

    Responsibility Towards Investors
    Improper Financial Management
    Kiting Cheques
    n Insider Trading
    n Misrepresentation of Finances
    n
    n

    Approaches to Social Responsibility
    low
    n

    obstructionist stance
    • does as little as possible

    n

    defensive stance

    n

    accommodative stance

    • does only what is legally required

    • meets legal & ethical requirements and sometimes
    goes beyond what is required

    n

    proactive stance
    • seeks opportunities to be socially responsible

    high

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    So the next time you are out there seeing a woman in her bare
    nothings posing for a shaving cream, you know exactly what to
    do.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 35:
    CHILDREN & WOMEN IN ADVERTISING
    Learning Objectives

    You will understand via this lesson the use of children in
    advertisement.

    The case study is a critique on children advertising

    You will understand via this lesson the way women are
    portrayed in advertisements.

    Case Study
    The print and electronic media today consist of slickly choreographed, visually appealing and professionally managed
    programming that has transformed the current generation of
    urban youth into a bunch of mindless consumers. It is
    therefore important to bring into consideration the types of
    programming and its impact on emotional and intellectual
    growth. The advertising world claim that it provides every
    individual with the right to choose and that therefore it is
    impossible to imagine a world without advertising tends to run
    away from an important issue. When cynical TV programming
    meets unscrupulous advertising, life is grossly simplified,
    depriving the rebelliousness that characterizes youth – the time
    set apart in all civilized cultures for the young to trouble and
    question the established order of substance. The issue is
    therefore not only the impact but also the cause of the impact
    itself and that is the content of the ad and to whom this
    content is directed. TV surveys in 1990 revealed that the ad
    agencies estimate on the worth of the youth market was 2000 2500 crores. Advertisers therefore discovered an untapped
    market among the youth and the persuasive power it yielded
    over the decision makers in the family. Children could therefore
    be used to reach the target segment – the Parents. Advertising is
    based on the suggestibility of the human mind and tends to
    exploit this trait, which is especially heightened in children who
    do not possess the power to discriminate and hence believe in
    everything they see and hear. Exploiting the ignorance of the
    masses in this case children and more specifically upper middle
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    class children, advertising tends to firstly stimulate materialistic
    desires creating wrong values where children begin to respect
    only people with materialistic possessions and destroys the
    ability for original thinking where they blindly ape western
    attitudes – teeny bopper look-alikes. Secondly, focusing on
    parental worries especially those of working parents who face
    the guilt of not spending enough time with their children,
    advertising has given rise to demanding attitudes among
    children. Parents look for ways to appease children and advertising suggests a basket of goodies to cure the ‘ you don’t love
    me’ syndrome, which is simply emotional blackmail underlined
    by parental guilt.
    Also, children more susceptible to peer pressure always want to
    “keep up” and want something that their friends have or
    something better ranging from toys to the family vehicle. Apart
    from creating mindless consumers, advertising also runs the
    risk of influencing values (gender values, male – female relationships, family ties and their quality, reinforcing stereotypes),
    buying patterns and lifestyles.

    To Cite a Few Examples
    • Mothers on TV are young, pretty, and indulgent, ever ready
    to clean and serve husband and children. Food, washing
    powder, etc.
    • Buying power with the father – credit card “ now even she
    wants one”
    • A certain soft drink company gets away with blowing up
    huge amounts of money to get a cricketer to endorse the
    product while exhorting young people to eat cricket, sleep
    cricket, but drink only that particular brand. It is never
    mentioned that these young people can actually play cricket.

    The important question here is that – are we raising children to
    be indulgent, mindless, couch potatoes who go through life
    thinking that life is the synthetic reality they see on television. It
    is a happy world devoid of any ugliness. Is this how we teach
    our children to face the outside world? What are we protecting

    Based on the above case study, do you think that the ad
    industry is trying to change the social structure, especially where
    children are concerned? Give latest examples to clarify your
    arguments.

    Advertising to children has been a major focus of public policy
    and concern for many years. The major issues are whether TV
    advertising to children is inherently unfair, whether it causes
    children to make poor product decisions, whether it increases
    parent-child conflict, and whether it results in undesirable
    socialization of children. The broader issues, particularly
    associated with toys and games that involve violence, are
    whether advertising of such games, or the games themselves,
    should be disallowed, A related question is whether advertising,
    even though it does not contain violent material, should be
    sponsoring television programs that do depict violent scenes
    that can be seen by children.
    You have to see that therehas been identification of three types
    of child information processing:
    1. Strategic- for ages ten to eleven years old and older,
    2. Cued- six to ten years old, and
    3. Limited- under six years old.
    Strategic processors can evaluate a product’s appeal with greater
    sophistication because they can store information about the
    selling intent, other products, and past experiences. Prompts
    can be used to encourage use of storage and retrieval strategies
    by cued processors but would not benefit limited processors
    very much. The following set of guidelines have been developed for determining when children’s advertising can be
    considered deceptive:

    1. Pre-examination of questioned advertisements,
    2. Sample selection to obtain relevant and representative
    children,
    3. Determination of the understanding level of the children,
    4. Measurement of appropriate responses,
    5. Determination of whether deception does exist,
    6. Determination of the impact of the deception,
    7. Making a final decision concerning continuation of the as
    campaign or a cease and desist order with or without
    corrective advertising.
    I need to point out that the Children’s TV Act of 1990 in US,
    requires broadcasters to provide programming that serves the
    educational and informational needs of children and must limit
    the amount of advertising for any programming aimed at
    children. One criticism is that the Act is to general in specifying
    what content is “educational an informational.” Some stations
    have attempted to use public service announcement and
    programs such as the Flintstones and G.I. Joe to satisfy the
    regulations. In Europe, a Broadcast Commission Directive on
    advertising was adopted in 1989 that banned subliminal
    techniques, banned tobacco and prescription medicine ads, and
    set conditions for advertising alcohol and ads aimed at children.
    There have been many instances in India about young Boys and
    Girls getting entangled in premature relationship as a result of
    the exposure to Internet. All sensible and responsible Netizens
    would like the benefits of Internet to reach their children at an
    early age but are unable to accept the present level of pornographic Spam and uncontrolled chat options available on the
    Internet. In fact the new media has become a major contentious
    issue due to the accessesiblity of pornographic material. The
    idea behind introducing this subject is that I want to say that
    the media should be more responsible towards the next
    generation.
    It is amusing to note that these pages carry the names of many
    prominent Indian Companies and Institutions at the masthead
    since the masthead is a rotating banner ad. The Ads under
    which nude photos are being displayed are in the names of few
    large corporate institutions. You must understand that they too
    have to be responsible.
    I want to impress upon the fact that you switch to any television channel and you find children jumping about in a large
    number of television commercials ranging from products such
    as ice creams and candies to airconditioners and refrigerators to
    automobiles. The trend is hard to miss — that advertisers in
    India are increasingly using children in their campaigns. And
    product categories unrelated to children but that use them form
    a substantial chunk of these ads.
    A detailed analysis of over 400 TV commercials done by KidsLink, the Delhi-based research wing of the events company
    Kidstuff Events & Promos, is an eye-opener that corroborates
    the trend. The research agency evaluated a total of 408 Indian
    commercials posted on the advertising website Agencyfaqs.
    These campaigns cut across product categories such as food,
    white goods, household products and beverages. Of the 408
    TV commercials that Kids-Link studied, 16 per cent were found

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    them from or are we protecting them at all? Children have
    become mere pawns in the world where money and power have
    become the primary agenda. Ads with their lively, catchy tunes
    feature children and animals to flag attention, add emotional
    undertones and trigger an emotional response.
    Children are being used to market even non – children products
    and have become the decision makers not only for chocolates
    and toys but automobiles and electronic gadgets – Candy TV metaphor – packaging of the product to look like something a
    child would want to buy, in this case, candy. Media has become a
    surrogate parent of sorts, teaching values, imparting lifestyles
    and telling children what they should buy, eat or wear.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    to have used children either as central or secondary characters in
    the advertising films.
    Kids-Link further segmented the commercials into 27 product
    categories. Of these, only 44 per cent were found to be associated with children, that is, where they form the bulk of the
    primary consumers. Among these were categories such as
    biscuits, candies, chocolates, dairy products, fast food, ice creams
    etc. The highest penetration of kids in commercials was
    discovered in the foods segment followed by the white goods
    brands. For instance, 21 per cent of the total commercials (121)
    in the foods category use children in their campaigns.

    We must however understand that the indiscriminate usage of
    children in advertising will invariably lead to brand not conveying the intended message. Using children in unrelated categories
    or for unrelated appeals is an indicator of not having a welldefined strategy for the brand. As far as the emotional connect
    goes, evoking mush and romance is the easiest way out,
    however, going by the flood of commercials using children
    available today, it seems that is far from possible.

    However, it was the white goods segment that threw up a
    bigger surprise. Of the 83 commercials of refrigerators and
    television brands that were evaluated, nearly 16 per cent featured
    children in their films. In fact, even among the 77 household
    products such as fabric whiteners, detergents etc under the
    scanner, 10 per cent made use of kids to sell their brands.
    So based on the above we can say that the analysis validates the
    hypothesis that children are being planted in television commercials not only to sell products linked to them but to also push
    goods like fabric whiteners and refrigerators. The latter being the
    product categories where kids are not traditionally expected to
    be a part of the decision-making process.
    The brand managers, perhaps, target children in the hope of
    building brand loyalty right from the beginning. There is an
    increasing realization among marketers that children play a
    dominant role in decision-making for products other than the
    ones they consume themselves especially decisions related to the
    purchase of high involvement categories such as durables and
    non-durables,”
    Children have become the focal point of intense advertising
    pressure. A research in the US states that children between the
    ages of two and eleven spend about 25 hours per week
    watching television and see approximately 20,000 ads per year.
    So it does not come as a surprise that in India children between
    the age of 11 and 15 influence their parents to buy a product
    and succeed nearly 50 % of times.
    Advertisements featuring children in categories such as
    airconditioners, washing machines, cooking oil, home appliances and even paint is based on the acceptance of this target
    audience as a strong influencing and persuasive group among
    marketers. Consequently, categories using kids today extends to
    the family spending area including beverage, toothpaste or even
    a luxury car. Hyundai and Maruti Udyog Ltd hold painting
    contests for kids and distribute free T-shirts.
    Clearly, advertisers have been quick to cash in on the growing
    importance of kids within the families. Ever since the emergence of nuclear families in urban areas, all the activities in a
    household revolve around the “young ones” and parents
    would do anything to keep the children happy. Besides, in most
    product categories where there is no tangible benefit or
    differentiator among brands, the decisions are emotionally
    driven. Here, kids tend to play a bigger role. So, in case of parity
    among most brand offerings (features, quality, price) be it
    durables or fast moving consumer goods, the advertising
    focuses on emotional connect.

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    A growing concern is the tobacco advertisements on television.
    Tobacco use among young people continues to rise as the
    industry aggressively promotes its products to a new generation
    of potential smokers. Companies spend billions a year to
    promote their products. Much of this promotion takes the
    form of powerful advertising that influences children and
    adolescents in their views on tobacco.
    The WHO is calling on lawmakers around the world to take
    action against advertising of tobacco and tobacco products to
    protect the health of the young and the old. All advertising
    reaches children and teenagers—whether intended or not.
    Tobacco advertising nominally aimed at 18-24 year olds is
    especially attractive to teenagers aspiring to enter this age group.
    Advertising should be responsible regarding this exposure and
    social problem where children are concerned.
    Now, coming back to the ‘child power’, advertising experts feel
    that the trend is likely to continue. However, with the children
    getting smarter, advertising will need to be better thought out.
    Commercials will have to present a more convincing reason and
    offer a more tangible value and logic before children buy the
    brands they promote.

    time for their commercials during programmes watched by the
    particular “target” audience they consider most likely to buy. For
    example, during cricket matches and other sport events you
    would see ads of Kingfisher and Foster. On the other hand,
    during a cookery show like Khana Khazana, you would see ads
    of Badshah Masalas or other groceries.
    Coming to the question of change, the roles of men and
    women have changed. The world of the Indian woman is no
    longer limited to the four walls of her home and the Indian
    male has to chip in with household chores. Advertisers are
    taking notice of this metamorphosis: A father cleaning his
    child’s dirty t-shirt in the Ariel Ad or “the woman of substance” as portrayed by Femina Ads – independent and head on!
    Ads have taken a step forward by identifying what women view
    as masculinity and vice-versa. This is what can be called
    “Gendered Advertising”- similar in some respects to customized advertising. Advertisers want viewers to enjoy their
    commercials and to associate the advertised products with a
    comfortable reinforcing picture of mainstream cultural values.
    As a result, commercials are designed to take optimal advantage
    of gender-specific fantasies, myths, and fears. The Raymond
    Man is almost a dream come true for a woman. The ad plays
    out her fantasies and becomes aspirational for men.

    India is a patriarchal country- with almost everything centered
    on the Adult Indian Male – even communications. This is
    evident in Beauty crème ads, where there has to be a male to
    appreciate beauty. With the woman stepping out of the house
    and beyond, it wasn’t long before marketers started revamping
    their ad campaigns. In the earlier talcum powder ads, there used
    to be a woman coming out the shower and casually applying
    the talc. A woman now steps out of home on the street
    carrying the talc in her purse and using it whenever she feels like.
    This is just one of the changes that advertising has undergone.
    To put it empathetically, stereotypes were prevalent in advertising. Women were featured in Nycil or Dettol ads taking care of
    children’s wounds and soothing them. This was true in other
    media vehicles as well. If you ever paid attention to radio ads
    there was always a lilting feminine voice endorsing a brand.

    No longer do you see only Karen Lunel and Pooja Bedi
    sporting bikinis in ads, men too are baring it all. (Be it the
    Denim man who doesn’t “have to try too hard” or the nextdoor Brylcreem guy.) It is the Elle 18 girls who are daring to be
    different. Advertising to the genders has changed.
    Gender perception in communication has evolved by introspecting the roles of men and women in society. These images
    in television commercials provide an especially intriguing field
    of study for consumer behavior. Advertisers on the other hand
    seem quite willing to manipulate these fantasies and exploit our
    anxieties about our identities, to sell products.

    Coming back to television, it is said that women view television
    for longer hours. Definitely! No wonder that cosmetics and
    grocery brands are heavily advertised during daytime. Based on
    this, we might as well assume that shaving creams ads are aired
    at nighttime. Wrong! Because it is the woman who purchases
    even toiletries for men.
    Women make up over two-thirds of the adult viewing audience
    on weekday afternoons, the programme that traditionally
    includes soap operas. The only time of the week when men
    routinely form the largest proportion of the viewing audience is
    during sports telecasts on weekend afternoons. Prime time
    evening audiences are more evenly divided, but women viewers
    still out-number men.
    Complementary to the concept that television viewing is a
    gendered activity, is the advertisers’ awareness that consumer
    behavior is also gendered. Men and women have been conditioned to purchase different products in different ways for
    different reasons. As a result, most advertisers carefully purchase

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    Women in Advertising

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    The status of women in India has raised many a controversy
    and headed many a movement. With the passage of time, the
    Indian woman’s role has metamorphosed from a domestic
    manager to a prime purchaser. She has now emerged as a
    potential consumer, ready to redefine her status in the worldwide economy, and her contribution to the society is no longer
    confined to being solely aprogenitor.

    Emergence of Women as Consumers
    Traditionally, the role of wife and mother has been seen as a
    woman’s destiny and her only career choice. For years, she
    remained totally dependent on her husband financially and
    chose to remain unaware of the world outside her home. It was
    the man who was the consumer for the whole family and thus a
    target for marketers. However, in the last 40 years, the rapid
    strides in education and employment have paved the way for
    drastic changes in the status of women—the latter have become
    self-reliant and also share enhanced emotional bonds with their
    husbands. From the woman confined to the domestic sphere
    to the liberated woman of the 21st century, from the woman
    totally dependent on a man to the totally independent career
    woman of today, women have made their way through and
    have evolved as individuals in their own right. And as far as the
    notion of consumers is concerned, women have become the
    target market for products and services in India.

    Gender in Advertising
    Advertising seems to be obsessed with gender and sexuality
    and continues to represent an arena in which gender display
    plays a major role. It has emerged as a world of ‘commercial
    realism’ in which we are given ‘realistic’ images of domestic life
    and male-female relationships which are not actually real but
    which provide us with a ‘stimulated slice of life’. As gender
    representation is such a dominant feature of modern-day
    advertising, it is often called the social resource ‘used most’ by
    advertisers. In turn, advertising provides an ideal place to
    examine the encoding of cultural norms and values in ritualized
    formats.
    Bearing in mind that India has a very low literacy rate, the trend
    of magazines as an informative and entertaining medium has
    comparatively gained enormous popularity among the increasing urban population of India. Magazines in India are regarded
    as a strategic informational, educational and cultural institution
    as well as the fifth state of public inquest. They are read for
    gaining knowledge, for recreation and for equipping oneself
    with the latest information. Women’s magazines were introduced in the Indian market only after the women’s liberation
    movement. They now reach out to women in both urban and
    rural societies in India and cater to women in terms of their age,
    class and role. The market for women’s magazines is increasing
    at such a rapid pace that it is no more flooded only with
    domestic women’s magazines but also with global ones such as
    Cosmopolitan and Vogue which choose to cater to an elite
    audience. And the ad agencies that create the advertisements in
    these magazines strive to promote a sophisticated consumerist
    culture and encourage the readers to imitate the style, philosophy and format of western magazines and advertisements.

    196

    Female Role Portrayals in Women’s
    Magazines
    In recent years widespread attention has been drawn to the roles
    portrayed by women in advertisement. In certain cultures, the
    mainstream media still reinforces the stereotyped image of a
    woman whose identity has been shaped by the limited roles she
    has to play in society and on screen. The media not only reflects
    social values, attitudes and behavior towards women very subtly
    but also at times distorts the images of women. A study in
    1970 in Britain revealed that magazine advertisements presented
    the following clichés about women’s roles in the society:
    1. A woman’s place is in the home,
    2. Women do not make important decisions,
    3. Women are dependent and need men’s protection, and
    4. Men regard women primarily as sexual objects; they’re not
    interested in women as people.
    Assaulted by criticism from feminist leaders against this
    presentation of women in advertising, the National Advertising
    Review Board (NARB) established a panel to address charges
    that advertising was rampantly sexist in the 1970s. Women were
    often portrayed as housewives and too infrequently as professionals. Women were featured as sex objects to the exclusion of
    their individuality and portrayed often as dependent, requiring
    men to solve their problems. However, since 1988, advertisers
    have become increasingly sensitive to the issue of stereotyping—there is less stereotyping of women as physical objects,
    and a trend towards portrayals using either ‘family’ or ‘independent’ cues is visible.
    Even though the developing nations have directed increasingly
    sharp criticism at the mass media for the so-called stereotyped
    portrayals of women in traditional wife and mother roles,
    women are still not seen as individuals in their own right.
    Today in India, women are entrepreneurs in their own right,
    but the press coverage of their efforts is minimal. And even if a
    woman is projected as a professional, she is first viewed as
    somebody’s daughter or wife.
    Until very recently, Indian magazine advertisements continued
    to portray women in their stereotypical images. A woman was
    either shown in the kitchen cooking food, washing a bucketful
    of clothes, bandaging wounds or feeding her husband and
    children. Therefore, the picture that emerged was that of a
    woman who never produced knowledge or wealth but always
    consumed and remained a sort of hanger-on to her male. In
    addition to this, advertising was blatantly anti-woman, treating
    her as a sex symbol. Studies in the past on the projection of
    women in advertisements have shown that whether she was
    used for advertising cosmetics, fabrics, jewellery, domestic
    gadgets, suitcases, scooters or stationery, a woman was mostly
    projected as glamorous or enticing. Another trend in advertisements of men’s clothes was the invariable use of admiring
    women by the side of men, which created an impression that,
    all a woman desired was a man dressed in sophisticated
    garments. However, in the post-feministic 1990s and subsequently, advertisers have been attempting to construct multiple
    possible identities for women in an effort to change their
    stereotypical image and enhance their spending power. In India,

    The Different roles that a woman portrays in an advertisement
    are:

    Decorative Role Portrayal
    Decorative models are passive and non-functional and their
    primary activity is to adorn the product/service as a sexual or
    attractive stimulus. They are like mannequins with the least
    lifelike of roles. ‘She’ is in an artificial world, often obviously so
    in the way she stands and looks (dummy poses and catalogue
    expressions). She is on exhibition in competition with others.
    She is aloof, haughty, and ostensibly sufficient unto herself,
    while relying on others to reinforce her self-image. Her outdoor
    image tends to be exotic and her indoor one non-domestic.
    Recreational Role Portrayal
    The recreational portrayal is of models in a non-working activity
    of leisure (reading, watching television) or of sports (hiking,
    jogging, swimming, and boating). The importance of these ads
    is that women are not shown in passive poses, a pattern
    portrayal that every study on gender roles has shown to be
    prevalent. In the past, the Indian woman was seen as someone
    very sensitive and delicate. Recreational activities mentioned
    earlier were, therefore, not connected with women but with
    men.

    Independent Career Role Portrayal
    The independent career woman is the only woman involved in
    something that does not have to do with social success, home
    and family, or even her own femininity. She has stability and a
    substantial nature. She is portrayed infrequently. Women in
    India are rapidly advancing towards becoming financially
    independent individuals by seeking higher education and
    opting for a career rather than remaining housewives for the rest
    of their lives.

    Self-involved Role Portrayal
    The self-involved female is the woman who is literally and
    metaphorically wrapped up in herself. Even when being
    seductive, she is aware of her femininity and sensuality rather
    than the presence of any potential lover. She may be portrayed
    in a haze of romance, perhaps with a man, and is more bound
    up with aspirations and dreams of her own than with the
    actuality of the man. The ubiquitous diamond engagement ring
    advertisements are almost perfect examples e.g. De Beers. Here,
    attention is focused on the woman’s feelings about herself
    where she has a typically soft expression and directs her
    attention and tactility towards herself. She is alone with herself,
    involved with her body, thoughts and beauty.
    Carefree Role Portrayal
    The carefree woman is always a girl or a woman with a girlish
    look, which gives one a sense of a short spell of deceptive
    freedom. She is like a fluttering butterfly, which has not yet
    decided where to settle. She is having fun while she’s young.
    The carefreeness or friendliness is social in nature to some
    extent and outgoing as well. Yet, the exuberance and cheeriness
    are rarely directed towards anyone or anything in particular and
    are only held in the minds of the actor, for example in the
    Tampax ads. It must be noted that since the ‘carefree girl’ is very
    much into herself and looking for some excitement in her life,
    she is mostly shown on her own and very rarely with a man or a
    child.
    Family Role Portrayal
    The family or domestic management role is described in ads in
    which women are shown performing household chores, taking
    care of children, or supervising home furnishing or maintenance. An example would be in the home environment where
    the house, its furnishings, its decoration, and the food served
    in it are marks of a woman’s sophistication, fashion awareness,
    sense of good taste and status. She is proud of this world,
    which is her creation, but cannot possibly escape from it. A
    comparative study on gender displays in US and Indian
    advertisements by Griffin et al (1994) showed that over three
    times as many images of women as domestic managers
    appeared in ads in The Illustrated Weekly of India than in Life.
    India Today had about twice as many domestic management
    portrayals as Newsweek. More than three times as many images
    of body display appeared in Life as The Illustrated Weekly of
    India. Therefore, one can say that Indian advertisements do
    portray women in their traditional roles till today, although
    because of the influence of western society, this trend is
    changing—more and more advertisements portray women as
    career-oriented and persons who are not just expected to remain
    in the confines of their homes but are outgoing and enjoy an
    active social life.
    Nudity
    Today, there is a related phenomenon that may possess even
    more long-term significance both for marketing managers and
    society in general. This trend is towards increasing eroticism and
    nudity in advertisements. Nudity, even if not blatant as
    currently portrayed, has been common in women’s advertisements for some years. Nakedness is a feature of advertisements
    for products of the feminine sort and is private, isolated and a
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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    nowhere is this trend reflected more clearly than in advertising
    imagery, where the image of the ‘new Indian woman’ is
    expressed explicitly. Today in India, women appear less
    frequently dependent upon men while men are less likely to be
    depicted in themes of sex appeal, dominance over women and
    as authority figures. Advertisements have also started portraying
    women more frequently as career-oriented and in non-traditional activities and are constructing the persona of the ‘new
    Indian woman’.
    Bearing in mind the importance of the ‘new Indian woman’ as
    a consumer, advertisers have targeted this profile in a systematic
    manner. With the increase in urban population, the trend is of
    booming consumerism. Based on extensive market research,
    advertisements for goods and services are now addressed to the
    growing class of urban middle-class woman with either
    independent salaries or who have an increasing control in
    purchase decisions. Even with the entry of global products as
    well as advertising, the role played by the Indian woman in
    advertising is still very much Indian—in the sense that strategies
    of advertising representation are careful to avoid a ‘westernized’
    image of her. Hence, media producers attempt to construct a
    cognate, pan-Indian identity for this ‘new woman’, cutting
    across regional, linguistic, caste and other differences. In this way
    India, with its own social and cultural imperatives, has managed
    to keep its distinctive cultural baggage even in the face of an
    increasingly open market system.

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    source of wonder, pleasure, and satisfaction to the subject.
    Moreover, the body is considered to be an object to admire or
    even revere in a quasi-religious way. According to Wiles et al
    (1994), the use of erotic or sexual appeal is hardly new. What is
    new is the intensity of such appeal and the increasing number
    and variety of products being marketed with sexual overtones.
    Now not only are nude models used to advertise well-known
    consumer products such as cosmetics, ski equipment, and
    wearing apparel, but industrial companies also use them. No
    longer is nudity employed solely as a shock device or attentioncreating ploy. It is increasingly being used in a more
    sophisticated and aesthetic sense in a functional communication
    role. Sexuality has been linked directly with advertisements
    because it is usual for young women to compare themselves to
    models in advertisements — thus; advertisers feel they can be
    persuaded to buy the product. For women, and to a lesser
    extent for men, the ‘sexual revolution’ has meant a positive
    increase in the amount of their sexual freedom. It has also
    meant an increase in their ‘use’ as sexual objects. The use of
    dramatic, isolating shadows, mysterious darkness and the
    ethereal mistiness of focus are common techniques of transporting the female into a personal world of reverie and
    self-contemplation.

    Conclusion
    Urban India is slowly transforming into a western society. The
    West, through the various media, is increasingly influencing this
    sector of the Indian economy, especially in terms of its
    fashion—and nowhere is this trend more prominent than in
    Indian women’s fashion magazines. This shows that even
    though Indian advertisements have Indian models with
    traditional dresses, they are being increasingly replaced with
    models in western outfits or have other western aspects to
    them. It is only in the last 20 years that India has opened up to
    western culture. With the advent of privatization and the
    liberalization of the economy, India has seen a surge of
    multinationals invade her consumer market. And the new
    revolution in advertising is also a true revelation of the changed
    consumer scenario. The presence of an increasing number of
    women’s magazines, as well as advertising in these magazines
    portraying the different roles of women, clearly reveal the
    changing perception of women in today’s society. As marketers,
    unlike before, are investing large sums of money and time,
    investigating and collecting data solely on women’s
    psychographics—attitudes, habits, preferences—to meet their
    needs and wants, it is obvious that women today are no longer
    cocooned in their traditions but have imbibed western culture
    to their convenience. This osmosis of traditional culture with
    western culture not only reflects the metamorphosis of women
    in society but also reveals the new Indian market—a revolutionized consumer marketplace.
    Decorative models are passive and non-functional and their
    primary activity is to adorn the product/service as a sexual or
    attractive stimulus. They are like mannequins with the least
    lifelike of roles. ‘She’ is in an artificial world, often obviously so
    in the way she stands and looks (dummy poses and catalogue
    expressions).

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    Notes

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 36:
    TUTORIAL
    You are to take up the issue of ethics in front of a committee
    and give valid arguments against the following advertisements
    being put on air:

    Fair & Lovely ads portraying that if a woman is not fair in
    her skin tone then she faces the problem of getting married.
    That the girl is luck in finding a match. If she is fair then the
    boy is lucky.

    Use of children to sell products. Especially the “Chabaza”
    advertisement.

    Sexual undertones in advertisements.

    Ideally this tutorial should be made in the form of a conference
    where a student has to present his / her viewpoints in not
    more than 10 minutes. You could also enact advertisements
    (electronic) to prove your point. It is left to the faculty as to how
    he / she wants to go about it.
    The faculty could give another tutorial if he / she so desires.

    Notes

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    LESSON 37:
    KEY QUESTIONS

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    Learning Objectives

    Within this lesson you would have to prepare the projects at
    the discretion of the faculty.

    A list of possible projects is provided below, but students can
    create their own projects subject to the faculty’s approval. Each
    report should be submitted in written form (3-5 pages each),
    but can also take the form of a PowerPoint presentation.
    1. Review an advertisement on television, or radio. Identify the
    target audience, attention getting techniques, messages,
    visuals, and/or sound effects. What motives are being
    addressed? Analyze the advertisement’s effectiveness and
    appropriateness of messages, visuals and/or sound
    elements.
    2. Review a print advertisement. It can be a display ad,
    classified, or outdoor form of advertising. Identify the target
    audience, attention getting techniques, messages and visuals.
    What motives are being addressed? Analyze the
    advertisement’s effectiveness and appropriateness of
    messages and visuals.
    3. Locate an example of an online banner or online display
    advertisement that either really “works,” or really does not
    work. Give your professional opinion as to why (in
    advertising terms). Consider issues related to target audience,
    placement, suitability of message and visuals given the actual
    (as opposed to intended) audience. Provide the location and
    context and give your rationale as to why the advertisement
    was functional or not.

    properly targets your identified market. What are the costs,
    sizes, discounts, etc.
    8. Choose a cable TV specialty channel such as ESPN or
    Discovery. Describe the target audience (in terms of
    demographics and psychographics) that the channel seems to
    be aiming towards. Compare that to the advertisements that
    are running on the station. Describe those that seem to
    match the target audience and those that do not.
    9. Read several advertising-related help wanted advertisements.
    Use advertising journals for this exercise as opposed to
    newspapers. Describe the duties and requirements for the
    jobs, and salary if cited.
    10.Attend an advertising-related function such as a media trade
    show or advertising seminar. (Note: your instructor may be
    able to help you locate a local event). Write a general account
    of the event.
    11.Research a failed product or service. Describe why they failed
    from an advertising perspective. How did the marketers fail
    to adequately promote the product or service?
    12.Find an example of an unusual form of advertising
    (examples include cash register tapes, promotional items, or
    wrapped cars [cars painted as a rolling advertisement for a
    product]). Discuss the ad from a creative and strategic
    perspective. Does it work? Does it make an impact? Does it
    make sense?

    4. Pick a product or service currently being advertised that
    “bothers” you in some way (ex: cigarette or alcohol
    commercials aimed at children, political “slur” campaigns,
    violent video games, etc.). Discuss what you think are the
    ethical implications of the product or service’s introduction
    to both the intended and unintended audience. Discuss what
    you would do (or change) if you were the advertising
    manager in charge of that offering. Discuss ways in which
    you could balance the profit needs of the company with
    societal concerns.
    5. Find a product that interests you. Write a print advertisement
    for that product that could be used to direct market it in a
    national magazine.
    6. Watch an infomercial (a commercial that runs 30 minutes to
    sell a product). Aside from length, what are the differences
    between the infomercial and a regular 30-second commercial?
    What are the advantages and disadvantages? Discuss what
    are critical concerns for an infomercial advertiser.
    7. Think up a target group to which you would like to market a
    product or service. Locate a publication that would properly
    target that market. Order a media kit from the advertising
    offices of the publication. Describe how the publication

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    UNIT IV
    EXERCISES
    UNIT – 9
    CHAPTER 10
    CAMPAIGNS & CASES

    Notes

    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 38:
    ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN EXERCISE
    Learning Objectives

    Within this lesson you would have to prepare the projects at
    the discretion of the faculty.

    Notes
    You will be developing a complete advertising campaign for a 6month to 1-year period of time for a product / brand of your
    choice. Your campaign should serve as an advertising plan and
    should include: identification of the target audience, objectives,
    selection of appropriate media, creative work, budgets, advertising calendars, and methods for monitoring progress.
    Note: The creative work should include at least one (1) example
    of a print advertisement, one (1) television commercial, and one
    (1) radio spot. Your print advertisement can be any size at or
    above a ¼ page of a standard-size magazine. Your layouts can
    be rough (this is not an art class), but should be as realistic as
    possible for you. The television commercial should contain a
    minimum of 5 storyboard frames. Place the copy below the
    frames, and include a script complete with any visual or sound
    effects. The radio spot should be for a 60-second commercial,
    and should contain a script complete with sound effects
    (optional).

    Submission of Campaign Making
    Because this is a college-level course, the campaign should be
    typed. Make sure to document and reference where you obtain
    your information. Beyond documentation, you can submit
    your assignments in any attractive and readable format.

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    ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

    LESSON 39:
    CASES 1 & 2
    Case 1

    People Who Matter Most in Life

    With Kid Gloves
    Why understanding a child’s mind is important for a marketer

    A majority of seven- to 12-year-olds said it was parents and
    siblings with an appreciable number conveying that teachers and
    cousins also played a key role. Among 13- to 15-year-old boys,
    other than parents and siblings, advice from friends with
    experience in the profession they wished to choose also
    mattered. Teachers played a key role in imbibing moral values.

    Source: Business Standard

    Whatever the mood of economy, children will not stop
    running to the kirana store to buy that new chocolate bar or
    pester their parents to go for a flat TV from Sony. Kids form
    three markets, all rolled into one.
    As a primary market, children have access to money from
    various sources and spend part or all of it on themselves. They
    generally spend on products like beverages,books, confectionery,
    snacks and sports gear. Many brands are now affordable, and
    brand messages are flashed continuously on various television
    channels.
    As influencers, they play a key role in the purchase process by
    making requests or demands for certain products. Some
    products like cars, air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing
    machines (normally an adult domain) catch their fancy and they
    would like to own them.
    This segment has been fuelled by factors like double-income
    parents willing to meet their kids’ demands (maybe as a
    substitute for their attention, time etc), and easy access to
    market information via the media and peer pressure.
    Yet another segment formed by them is the future market.
    Wooing them early with market programmes enable companies
    to convert them into loyal customers when they reach market
    age. A six-year-old could aspire for a bicycle, which say a nineyear-old is riding.
    This nine-year-old might be dreaming of owning a stereo
    system, which his 13-year-old cousin blasts at full volume. And
    this 13-year-old might be impatient to buy his own mobike,
    which his 19-year-old brother zooms around in.
    Kids have been used in a number of advertisements to provide
    an emotional platform so that the ad has a chance of being
    unique. Also the presence of a child communicates “family”
    and not individual values. Some common positioning ideas
    used in TV commercials have been:
    Kids being naughty, defying parents (eg, Videocon Internet TV
    where he creates havoc at a movie shooting),
    Doing things differently (Carrier air-conditioners making
    teenagers’ drinks freeze),
    Concern/love and fulfillment of wishes by parents(Kissan
    Tom Tom Sauce, where the father spruces up the kids’ lunch).
    However, in order to target them effectively it is essential to
    have a thorough understanding of who they are.
    Kids-Link, the market research arm of Kidstuff Promos &
    Events, carried out a number of focus group discussions
    among SEC-A, seven to 15-year-old boys and girls in Delhi on
    various aspects.
    202

    The girls had almost similar views; but they said “We are more
    formal with teachers; parents are almost like friends.”
    A brand can play a key role in kids’ lives by understanding who
    matter most to them and then trying to create a relationship
    based on that insight. For intance, the Maggi ad showed kids
    coming to their mother saying, “Mummy, bhookh lagi”, an
    Annapurna Iodised Salt ad shows teachers playing a game with
    the students, while a grandmother is seen telling her grandchildren not to take short-cuts in an ad for Himalaya
    Chyavanaprash.

    Biggest Fears or Worries
    The seven- to 12-year-olds are petrified by lions, snakes, ghosts
    and lesser evils like the class teacher, specially when they haven’t
    done their homework, losing a good position in class, exams,
    board exams and friendships breaking up.
    For the boys, the stress was more performance-related: “How
    to be a successful man, how to come first in class, difficulties in
    my career and studies, what if I’m not able to do what my
    parents expect from me, board exams”. Some others were
    pollution, not owning a cellphone and losing near and dear
    ones.
    The girls were perturbed by “failure in achieving anything you
    want, failing in board exams, relationship with parents, fight
    with mothers losing friends and World War III”.
    Fears and worries are powerful emotions and marketers who
    can help comfort a child by resolving a fear will have gained a
    loyal patron.

    The Most Important Thing in Life
    “Fun, fame, money, doing good to others, becoming a cricketer,
    discovering what scientists have yet not discovered, becoming a
    doctor to help the poor,” are some of the most vital things in
    the life of seven- to 12-year-olds. For 13- to 15-year-old boys it
    was simple: Money only or money and fame. The girls were
    more explicit with answers like fame, respect, money and
    satisfaction.

    Technology in Their Lives
    Most seven- to 12-year-olds are familiar with a PC and use it for
    e-mail, games, project work and surfing sites like
    cartoonnetworkindia.com, classteacher.com, pitara.com and
    ealiz.com. Computers are mostly used in school as only a few
    had PCs at home.

    The girls’ responses were similar to the boys. They used the PC
    mostly for chatting, e-mail and games. Some singled out
    playing cards,