Chapter 12: Managing Marketing Communications

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Welcome to the Deep Dive, the show where we unpack the most vital insights from a stack of sources, custom tailored for you.

Today we're diving deep into the powerful world of marketing communications.

It really is powerful.

Think about a campaign that truly moved you, maybe like Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty.

Oh yeah, that was huge.

Right.

It wasn't just about selling soap.

It was about shifting how people think about beauty and, well, their sales jumped massively because of it.

Over 60%, I think.

Huge impact.

Exactly.

So that's what we're exploring today.

How companies talk to you, why those messages matter,

and the, you know, the strategic thinking behind it all.

And we're pulling insights mainly from the latest edition of Marketing Management by Kotler, Keller, and Chernev.

It's pretty much the go -to text on this.

Definitely.

So the core idea is that modern marketing isn't just product, price, place anymore.

Not at all.

For marketers thinking holistically, it's really about forging deep connections, not just with customers, but with, well, everyone involved, employees, partners, the whole community.

So it boils down to answering those key questions.

What do you say, how do you say it, when to whom, and critically, how often?

Because let's face it, consumers are just bombarded these days.

Absolutely.

Cutting through that noise is the challenge.

The goal is to build a real relationship, not just shout into the void.

So marketing communication, it's basically the company's voice, right?

The voice of its brands.

Precisely.

It's how they start that conversation, how they build those relationships with you, the consumer.

And you mentioned relationships that links directly to loyalty, doesn't it?

It absolutely does.

It's fundamental for building customer equity.

Customer equity.

Can you impact that a bit?

Sure.

Think of it as the total lifetime value of all your customer relationships combined.

It's about loyalty,

repeat purchases,

the long -term view.

Okay.

And communication does more than just build loyalty.

Oh, much more.

It tells the story how and why a product is used, who uses it where, when.

It connects the brand to experiences, to feelings.

Which builds brand equity.

Exactly.

It embeds the brand in your mind, shapes its image, makes it memorable.

Got it.

So to really get this, we need to look at the communication process itself.

The book talks about a couple of models.

Let's start macro.

Okay, the macro model.

It breaks communication down into like nine key parts.

Nine.

Okay, let's hear it.

You've got the sender of the company and the receiver that's you.

Then the message, obviously, and the media, the channel it travels through.

Like TV, internet.

Then there are the processes.

Encoding, that's the sender putting the message into symbolic form, like an ad.

Decoding is you interpreting it.

Makes sense.

What else?

There's the response, what you do or think after seeing the message,

and feedback, what the sender learns about your response, and crucially, noise.

Ah, noise.

The big problem.

Yeah, anything that interferes, competing ads, distractions, even just your own biases, for it to work.

The sender and receiver needs some common ground, what the book calls overlapping fields of experience.

So shared understanding is key for decoding properly.

Absolutely.

Otherwise, messages get distorted, or people just tune them out.

Selective attention, distortion, retention,

all those filters we have.

We all do that.

So that's the big picture.

What about the micro model?

That focuses more on the consumer's journey, right?

Exactly.

It looks at the sequence of responses a consumer goes through.

The classic one is learn, feel, do.

Learn, feel, do?

Like for?

High involvement stuff, where there's a real difference.

Like buying a car, you research it, learn, develop feelings about different models, feel, and then buy, do.

Okay.

But it's not always that order.

Nope.

Think airline tickets, still high involvement, maybe, but the differences might feel smaller.

You might just buy the ticket, do, have the experience, feel, and then decide if you like the airline.

Learn.

That's do, feel, learn.

Interesting.

And for simple stuff?

Like salt.

Low involvement, low differentiation.

Often it's learn, do, feel.

You know, you need salt, learn.

You grab a brand, do.

Maybe later you form a slight preference, feel.

So marketers need to know which sequence they're likely dealing with.

Definitely.

It shapes the whole approach.

But underlying all these sequences, the micro model points to six key steps a communication aims to move you through.

Six steps to get to a purchase.

Essentially, yeah.

First is awareness.

You got to know it exists.

Then knowledge, understand what it offers.

Then liking positive feelings.

Then preference, choosing it over others.

Almost there.

Then conviction, believing it's the right choice for you.

And finally, purchase the action itself.

A successful campaign needs to nudge you along each of these steps.

Okay, that lays the groundwork really well.

So how do marketers actually build a campaign that does all this?

The book outlines an eight -step process.

Right, a systematic approach.

Step one is crucial.

Setting the communication objectives.

You need to know exactly what you want to achieve.

So what kind of objectives are we talking about?

Well first, maybe you need to create awareness.

Is it just getting people to recognize your package on the shelf?

That's recognition, relatively easy.

Like spudding that orange Stouffer's box.

Exactly.

Or is it, recall getting people to think of your brand when they need something in that category even when they're not in the store.

Much harder.

And are you trying to build demand for the whole category or just your specific brand?

Good point.

Primary demand versus selective demand.

Another key objective is building preference.

How do you do that?

By showing how your product meets a need.

Maybe it solves a problem like pain relief.

That's tapping into a negative motivation.

Or maybe it offers sensory pleasure like a food ad.

That's positive motivation.

This is where persuasion comes in.

Comparative ads maybe?

Yep.

Persuasive communication tries to create liking and preference.

Sometimes by showing how you beat the competition.

But you also need reinforcement communication for your existing customers, reminding them why they made a good choice.

And the ultimate goal often is inciting action.

Getting you to buy, or maybe just click a link, use a coupon, sign up.

But importantly, recognizing that many people see an ad when they're not ready to buy.

So the communication needs to plant a seed for later.

Exactly.

Prime them for future action.

And these objectives, they can't be vague.

They need benchmarks.

Quantifiable and time -bound?

Absolutely.

Increase awareness among millennials by 40 % before the movie premiere.

Something like that.

Clear targets.

The book has a great example.

The brand A versus brand B.

Yeah.

Brand A, high awareness, low satisfaction, communications working, products not.

Brand B, low awareness, high satisfaction, products great, communication needs work.

Benchmarks tell you where the problem lies.

Which leads directly to the big thorny question.

The communication budget.

Ah, yes.

The John Wanamaker quote territory.

Half my advertising is wasted.

I just don't know which half.

So how do you set a budget effectively?

The most logical way, according to Kotler et al., is the objective and task method.

Okay.

How does that work?

You define your objectives first.

Then you figure out all the tasks needed to achieve those objectives.

Then you estimate the cost of each task.

Add it all up.

That's your budget.

So it's based on what needs to be done, not just arbitrary numbers.

It avoids the pitfalls of other methods, like just matching competitors who says they know the right amount.

Or the affordable method, which ignores the investment aspect.

Or percentage of sales, which is backwards.

Sales should result from communication, not determine its budget.

Makes sense.

What drives those tasks, costs up or down?

Lots of factors.

New products usually need more budget.

If your product isn't very different, you might need more ads to build an image.

Market share matters.

High share might need less to maintain.

Complex messages need more repetition.

Hard -to -reach audiences cost more.

More competitive clutter means you need to spend more to be heard.

And of course, just how much money you actually have.

The key takeaway seems to be treating it as an investment.

Definitely.

An investment in brand equity, in loyalty, even if accountants treat it as an expense.

Okay.

Objective set, budget determined.

Next up,

identifying the target audience and crafting the message.

This feels like the real heart of it.

It really is.

First, who are you talking to?

It's not just the buyer.

It could be users, deciders, influencers.

You need to profile them.

Usage, loyalty.

Are they new?

Are they heavy users?

And the target audience for communication might not be the same as the target market for the product itself.

Correct.

Think kids' cereal ads target kids, but parents buy.

Or milk ads might target adults for health benefits, even if kids drink most of it.

So once you know who, you figure out what to say.

Crafting the message.

The search for the big idea.

Yeah, that elusive idea that connects rationally and emotionally, makes the brand stand out, and works across different media, usually focuses on one or two core benefits,

often spelled out in a creative brief.

Where do these ideas come from?

Agency?

In -house?

All of the above.

Sometimes even crowdsourcing, though that can be risky.

Like the Kraft Vegemite example.

I snack 2 .0.

Oh, that was a disaster.

Crowdsourced name, huge backlash, pulled almost immediately, shows you need careful control.

So let's talk message types.

The book mentions informational and transformational appeals.

Right.

Informational appeals are logical, focusing on product features and benefits.

Problems solution ads, demos, comparisons, testimonials.

They assume you're making a rational decision.

What about that idea of one -sided versus two -sided arguments?

Acknowledging a flaw seems counterintuitive.

It can be really effective,

though.

Especially if your audience is educated or skeptical.

Admitting a small negative can make the positive claims more believable.

Usually you tackle the negative first, then hit them with your strengths.

Interesting.

And transformational appeals, they're more about feelings and image?

Exactly.

They connect the brand to a non -product benefit or image.

Think VW's Drivers Wanted about the person, not just the car.

Or Pringles Once You Pop about the experience.

Often uses emotion.

Positive or negative emotions.

Both are used.

Negative appeals like fear or guilt think anti -smoking ads.

They work best if they aren't too intense, the source is credible, and they offer a clear solution.

And positive.

Humor, love, pride, joy.

Often using borrowed interest, cute babies, puppies to grab attention.

The challenge is making sure the emotion doesn't overwhelm the actual message.

This ties into the next point.

Selecting the message source.

Who delivers the message matters, right?

Hugely.

It's about credibility.

Comes down to three things.

Expertise, trustworthiness, and likeability.

So doctors for drugs, financial experts for finance.

Precisely.

Or even celebrities, though that's a double -edged sword.

Why's that?

Celebrities seem effective.

Shatner for Priceline, Haysbert for State Farm.

They definitely grab attention and can lend their image.

But they're expensive.

Might drop out, lose popularity.

Or worse, get involved in a scandal.

Tiger Woods.

Ouch.

So what's the alternative?

Using multiple, maybe less famous, endorsers.

Or even creating your own brand celebrity, like Dos Equis did with the most interesting man in the world.

Super successful, totally fictional.

Clever.

Okay, message and source are set.

Now the creative execution.

How do you judge if an ad is actually any good?

The ADPLN framework is really useful here.

Developed at Kellogg.

Six criteria.

Okay, ADPLAN A is four.

Attention.

Does it grab you?

Does it hold you?

Think about those unskippable five -second dyko ads they have to grab you fast.

Distinction.

Does it stand out?

Is it different from the clutter?

Like Apple's 1984 ad versus, you know, a generic local car dealer spot.

Positioning.

Does it clearly convey what the brand is about and its benefits?

Old Spice's reinvention campaign was brilliant at positioning the body wash as distinctly masculine.

Yeah.

Linkage.

Crucial one.

Do people remember the brand after seeing the ad?

Some Super Bowl ads are hilarious, but people forget who they were for.

AmeriQuest had that problem.

Amplification.

Does it stimulate positive thoughts or emotions?

Does it get people talking?

Nike's Kaepernick ads certainly generated amplification.

A 10?

Net equity.

Does the ad fit with what the brand stands for historically?

Does it build on its heritage?

BMW ads always tie back to performance, reinforcing their core equity.

That's a really practical framework.

Okay, step three.

Deciding on the communication media.

Where do you actually place these messages?

You've got a whole menu of options.

Advertising, TV, print, radio,

online and social media,

mobile apps, direct mail, events, experiences, PR, personal selling, even the product packaging itself.

Each with different strength.

Exactly.

Advertising is great for broad reach and image building.

Mobile is personal and timely.

PR offers high credibility because it feels like news.

And these fall into paid, owned and earned media.

Right.

Paid is what you buy TV spots, Google ads.

Owned is what you control your website, your Facebook page.

Earned is what others say about you, word of mouth reviews, viral shares.

The real magic happens when they work together, right?

Integrated marketing communications, IMC.

Absolutely.

Look at that M .I.

and I.

Cooper launch.

They didn't just run TV ads.

They used billboards creatively,

online buzz, print, PR, product placement, grassroots events, a whole orchestrated campaign.

The result was a huge waiting list before the car even launched.

Exactly.

That's IMC firing on all cylinders.

They created a whole aura around the brand.

So when building a media plan, what are the key factors?

Cost, audience.

Cost per thousand reached is a basic metric.

But it's also about audience quality.

Are these the right people?

Attention probability.

Will they actually see the ad in that medium?

The medium's own credibility.

A baby lotion ad is worth more in a parenting magazine than a general one, even with the same circulation.

Precisely.

Then you look at reach, frequency, and impact.

R, F, I.

Define those again.

Reach R is the number of different people exposed at least once.

Frequency F is the average number of times someone is exposed.

Impact I is the qualitative value of an exposure in that medium.

And you multiply these.

R times F gives you total exposures or gross rating points, GRP.

If you multiply R times F times I, you get weighted exposures factoring in that qualitative impact.

But there are trade -offs, right?

Limited budget means you can't maximize everything.

Always.

More reach might mean lower frequency or lower impact media.

You prioritize based on objectives, new product, maybe prioritize reach, lots of competition or a complex message, prioritize frequency.

And timing matters too.

Macro scheduling versus micro scheduling.

Macro scheduling is the big picture seasonal patterns.

Do you advertise constantly, concentrate in one season, or pulse your advertising?

Micro scheduling is allocating within a short period for maximum impact.

What influences those timing decisions?

How often new buyers enter the market, how frequently people buy the product, and how quickly they forget the brand.

The higher those rates, the more continuous your advertising needs to be.

So continuity, concentration, flighting, pulsing, those are the main strategies.

Yes.

Continuity is steady.

Concentration is one big burst.

Flighting is on then off periods.

Pulsing is a low baseline with periodic bursts.

The ocean spray straight from the bog campaign seems like a great example of pouring it all together.

Fantastic case.

They used innovation, PR stunts like actual bogs in Manhattan, TV, print, digital,

a complete 360 degree approach that really turned the brand around.

Okay, campaign is out there.

Step four, measuring communication effectiveness.

How do you know if it actually worked?

This is critical.

Management wants results, ROI, not just how many ads you ran.

Two sides to measurement, supply and demand.

Right.

Supply side is about outputs, media coverage, column inches, seconds on screen.

It shows exposure, but...

Doesn't tell you if anyone actually paid attention or changed their mind?

Exactly.

That's the demand side measurement.

Did the target audience actually see it?

Recall it.

Did their attitudes change?

Did their purchase intent increase?

Ultimately, did they buy?

You need to track those consumer responses.

Awareness, knowledge, liking, all the way to purchase.

Yes.

And compare them to your initial benchmarks.

Did awareness go from 20 % to 50 % like you planned or only 30 %?

That tells you the strategy worked or needs tweaking.

The book also mentions that share formula.

Oh yeah.

Share of expenditure leads to share of voice, leads to share of mind and heart, leads to share of market.

It's a conceptual model linking ad spend to market results.

What about pre -testing ads?

It's done, but it's tricky.

Some big companies like Nike apparently do very little.

Maybe feeling lab tests don't predict real world success well.

The focus is shifting more towards measuring actual sales impact using historical data or experiments.

And speaking of impact, the Super Bowl.

Why are those ads considered so effective despite the crazy cost?

Several reasons.

Massive simultaneous reach over 100 million people.

Surprisingly, the cost per viewer can actually be lower than some regular network TV buys.

Plus people actually want to watch the ads.

Huge factor, high attention, often on big screens, and the afterlife is immense social media buzz, replays, analysis.

Companies build whole campaigns around their Super Bowl spot now, releasing teasers beforehand.

OK, let's look at some brands that have really mastered this integrated storytelling.

Red Bull is fascinating.

Totally unconventional.

Started as a niche product, an energy drink based on a Titanic.

And they didn't market it traditionally at first, did they?

Not really.

They positioned it around focus and performance, but it really took off as an alcohol mixer in the party scene.

Instead of fighting that, they leaned into it with guerrilla marketing sponsoring events.

And then came Red Bull gives you wings.

That slogan perfectly captured their shift towards associating the brand with adventure, extreme sports, pushing limits, their sponsorships in Formula One, BMX, stunts.

It all reinforces that image.

But they went beyond just sponsoring.

They became a media house.

That's the genius move.

Red Bull Media House creates incredible content magazines,

feature films like The Art of Flight,

endless online videos, music.

They are the content people associate with that lifestyle.

So the marketing is the product experience in a way.

Almost.

Yeah, they have a very narrow product line, basically the energy drink.

But their marketing universe is vast.

The Strato's space jump was peak Red Bull content marketing.

Let's switch gears to Cadbury, a much older brand known for chocolate.

How have they used communication?

Cadbury's history is rooted in emotional connection.

Early on, the glass and a half campaign linked dairy milk to goodness, nutrition, happiness.

They also had some pretty eccentric ads later on.

Oh, yeah.

The Flake Girls ads were quite sensual for their time.

Everyone's fruit Nucky's was quirky, but boosted sales massively.

They weren't afraid to be different and their long sponsorship of Coronation Street.

That cemented an emotional tie in for years.

But importantly,

they knew when to stop.

When the show's storylines got darker, they pulled the sponsorship to protect the brand's image.

That shows strategic thinking.

Then came the Gorilla ad in 2007.

Iconic, absolutely iconic.

A gorilla drumming to Phil Collins made no logical sense connecting to chocolate, but it was memorable when viral and sales jumped.

Perfect timing during some tough times for the company.

It showed pure creative impact.

And they've kept evolving, integrating digital.

Definitely.

Campaigns like Mom's Birthday maintain that emotional warmth.

They're active on social media, engaging people, even doing stunts like that giant chocolate like button.

But they've had slip ups, too, like that treasure hunt thing.

Big misstep.

The 2019 campaign encouraged digging for treasure, which drew huge criticism from archaeologists about looting and safety.

They had to pull it fast.

It's a stark reminder that even beloved brands need to carefully vet campaigns for unintended consequences and ensure they align with values.

Wow.

So from space dives to drumming gorillas, the range of effective communication is huge.

It really highlights that it's both a science and an art.

Absolutely.

You need the science, understanding the process, setting objectives, measuring results.

But you also need the art,

the creativity, the big idea, the emotional connection.

And it's about more than just the immediate sale.

It's building those long term relationships, shaping how people see the brand, creating lasting value.

That's the core of it, building that brand equity and customer equity.

So we've seen how an energy drink built an empire on content and a chocolate brand used eccentricity to thrive.

It leaves you wondering what unconventional communication strategy do you think might redefine an industry next?

That's a great question to ponder.

And maybe even more importantly, if you were launching it, what's the very first thing you'd measure to see if it was working?

Food for thought.

Thank you for joining us on this deep dive into marketing communications.

We hope you found these insights valuable.

Thanks for listening.