MARK Chapter 15 and Short Answers

Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor is called ________.
A) sales promotion
B) direct marketing
C) advertising
D) personal selling
E) public relations

advertising

Advertising is used mostly by ________.
A) governments
B) business firms
C) social agencies
D) independent professionals
E) not-for-profit organizations

business firms

The decisions about reach, frequency, and impact of an advertisement fall into the category of ________ decisions.
A) sales objectives
B) budget
C) message
D) media
E) advertising evaluations

media

Competitive parity and task methods are considered when making decisions about ________.
A) sales objectives
B) budget
C) message structure
D) media selection
E) metrics

budget

An advertising objective is classified by its primary purpose, which is to inform, persuade, or ________.
A) reciprocate
B) compete
C) remind
D) explain
E) suggest

remind

Which of the following is most likely an objective of informative advertising?
A) build brand preference
B) change customer perceptions of brand value
C) encourage customers to switch brands
D) suggest new uses for a product
E) keep the brand in customer minds during off-seasons

suggest new uses for a product

When Procter & Gamble (P&G) developed the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, the company needed to explain how the product cleans grime from walls without removing paint. What type of campaign was most likely used by P&G for the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser?
A) informative advertising
B) persuasive advertising
C) reminder advertising
D) developmental advertising
E) comparative advertising

informative advertising

When the advertising objective is to build primary demand for a new product category, ________ advertising will most likely be used.
A) persuasive
B) informative
C) comparative
D) patronage
E) institutional

informative

Which of the following is an objective of persuasive advertising?
A) communicate customer value
B) correct false impressions
C) describe available services and support
D) keep the brand in a customer’s mind during off-seasons
E) change customer perceptions of product value

change customer perceptions of product value

________ becomes more important as competition increases. With this type of advertising, a company’s objective is to build selective demand.
A) Institutional advertising
B) Informative advertising
C) Reminder advertising
D) Covert advertising
E) Persuasive advertising

Persuasive advertising

Persuasive advertising becomes ________ advertising when a company directly or indirectly compares its brand with one or more other brands.
A) informative
B) reminder
C) attack
D) covert
E) institutional

attack

Comparative advertising is also known as ________ advertising.
A) attack
B) institutional
C) covert
D) reminder
E) informative

attack

When Verizon Wireless began offering the iPhone, it used its "Can you hear me now?" slogan to attack AT&T’s rumored spotty service. This example best illustrates ________.
A) informative advertising
B) reminder advertising
C) comparative advertising
D) covert advertising
E) institutional advertising

comparative advertising

Encouraging customers to switch brands is most likely the objective of ________ advertising.
A) informative
B) reminder
C) covert
D) persuasive
E) institutional

persuasive

Which of the following types of advertising will most likely result in an advertising war?
A) covert advertising
B) institutional advertising
C) informative advertising
D) comparative advertising
E) reminder advertising

comparative advertising

Describing available services and support is most likely a goal of ________ advertising.
A) reminder
B) competitive
C) covert
D) attack
E) informative

informative

Keeping the brand in a customer’s mind during off-seasons is most likely a goal of ________ advertising.
A) reminder
B) attack
C) informative
D) covert
E) competitive

reminder

Which of the following is one of the primary goals of reminder advertising?
A) maintain customer relationships
B) build brand preference
C) correct false impressions
D) inform the market of a price change
E) restore company image

maintain customer relationships

A product in the maturity stage will most likely require ________ advertising.
A) informative
B) comparative
C) persuasive
D) reminder
E) covert

reminder

After determining its advertising objectives, a company’s next step in developing an advertising program is to ________.
A) set an advertising budget
B) determine the media vehicle
C) use cash rebate offers
D) evaluate the advertising campaign
E) develop a message strategy

set an advertising budget

Which of the following most likely requires the smallest advertising budget?
A) products in competitive markets
B) undifferentiated brands
C) new products
D) low-share brands
E) mature brands

mature brands

Which of the following brands most likely requires heavy advertising in order to be set apart from similar products?
A) undifferentiated brands
B) specialty brands
C) international brands
D) mature brands
E) high-share brands

undifferentiated brands

Brands in a market with many competitors and high advertising clutter must ________.
A) have very high prices compared to competitors
B) be advertised only through print and social media
C) be advertised more heavily to be noticed in the marketplace
D) never be advertised using informative advertising
E) be advertised only during the mature stage of the product life cycle

be advertised more heavily to be noticed in the marketplace

Which of the following would be the most likely result of slashing ad spending for a product?
A) increased popularity
B) reduced long-term market share
C) improved brand image
D) increased short-term sales
E) increased long-term market share

reduced long-term market share

Which of the following is a major element of developing an advertising strategy?
A) selecting advertising media
B) using sophisticated statistical models
C) setting advertising objectives
D) evaluating advertising campaigns
E) setting the advertising budget

selecting advertising media

With the help of ________ systems, consumers can avoid watching ads.
A) USB
B) CCTV
C) HDMI
D) DVR
E) XBMC

DVR

To break through the clutter, many marketers have subscribed to a new merging of advertising and entertainment, dubbed ________.
A) Madison & Vine
B) Wall St. & Fifth Ave
C) buzz marketing
D) podcasting
E) webisodes

Madison & Vine

The aim of ________ is to make an advertisement so useful or entertaining that people want to watch it.
A) branded entertainment
B) advertainment
C) viral marketing
D) buzz marketing
E) word-of-mouth advertising

advertainment

Product placement in television programs and movies is an example of ________.
A) branded entertainment
B) advertainment
C) direct marketing
D) buzz marketing
E) sales promotion

branded entertainment

Coca-Cola cups prominently featured on episodes of American Idol are an example of ________.
A) advertainment
B) buzz marketing
C) personal selling
D) sales promotion
E) product placement

product placement

Which term refers to the general idea that will be communicated to consumers through an advertisement?
A) advertising appeal
B) message strategy
C) consumer-generated message
D) creative concept
E) message execution

message strategy

Developing an effective message strategy begins with identifying ________ that can be used as advertising appeals.
A) consumer trends
B) competitors’ weaknesses
C) competitors’ strengths
D) customer benefits
E) consumer emotions

customer benefits

________ tend to be straightforward outlines of benefits and positioning points that the advertiser wants to stress.
A) Promotion mix plans
B) Message strategy statements
C) Creative concept strategies
D) Advertainment statements
E) Branded entertainment plans

Message strategy statements

After creating a message strategy statement, the advertiser must develop a compelling ________ that will bring the message strategy to life in a distinctive and memorable way.
A) creative concept
B) customer strategy
C) customer benefit
D) execution style
E) media vehicle

creative concept

The first step in creating effective advertising messages is ________.
A) selecting specific media vehicles
B) planning a message strategy
C) determining return on advertising investment
D) choosing media timing
E) executing the message

planning a message strategy

Which of the following are the three characteristics that an advertising appeal should have?
A) engaging, informative, and stylish
B) trendy, compelling, and appealing
C) meaningful, believable, and distinctive
D) unique, emotional, and entertaining
E) humorous, memorable, and interesting

meaningful, believable, and distinctive

In its advertisements, Timex promotes its affordable and sturdy watches. Fossil emphasizes style and fashion in its advertisements, and Rolex stresses luxury and status. These are all examples of ________ appeals.
A) rational
B) reminder
C) believable
D) entertainment
E) distinctive

distinctive

Which message execution style depicts average people using a product in an everyday setting?
A) lifestyle
B) scientific evidence
C) slice of life
D) personality symbol
E) testimonial evidence

slice of life

An ad for a new convection oven shows a busy professional woman using the convection oven to cook dinner for her family. Which of the following message execution styles is illustrated in this example?
A) testimonial evidence
B) slice of life
C) fantasy
D) scientific evidence
E) mood or image

slice of life

An ad for Athleta active wear shows a woman in a complex yoga pose and states: "If your body is your temple, build it one piece at a time." This ad uses the ________ execution style.
A) slice-of-life
B) lifestyle
C) fantasy
D) scientific evidence
E) personality symbol

lifestyle

Which of the following message execution styles focuses on the company’s skill and knowledge in making the product?
A) endorsement
B) scientific evidence
C) slice of life
D) technical expertise
E) testimonial evidence

technical expertise

A pharmaceutical ad features a world-renowned heart surgeon describing the benefits of the medication. Which of the following message execution styles is illustrated in this example?
A) mood or image
B) fantasy
C) personality symbol
D) musical
E) testimonial evidence

testimonial evidence

An IKEA ad shows consumers creating fanciful room designs with IKEA furniture, such as "a bedroom for a queen made by Bree and her sister, designed by IKEA." Which of the following message execution styles is illustrated in this example?
A) mood or image
B) musical
C) fantasy
D) lifestyle
E) personality symbol

fantasy

Skoda used a hard rock version of Julie Andrews’ track "My Favorite Things" by the band Sound Tree to promote the new model of Fabia. Which of the following message execution styles is illustrated in this example?
A) personality symbol
B) musical
C) fantasy
D) lifestyle
E) slice of life

musical

The advertisements which use the AFLAC duck or Tony the Tiger are using the message execution style of ________.
A) lifestyle
B) technical expertise
C) testimonial evidence
D) slice of life
E) personality symbols

personality symbols

Taco Bell used a Chihuahua, a small dog, to represent its product. Which of the following message execution styles was used by Taco Bell?
A) mood or image
B) fantasy
C) personality symbol
D) technical expertise
E) musical

personality symbol

Which message execution style involves presenting survey data indicating that a brand is better than other brands?
A) scientific evidence
B) testimonial evidence
C) endorsement
D) technical expertise
E) slice of life

scientific evidence

Which of the following message execution styles features a highly believable or likable source endorsing the product?
A) musical
B) mood or image
C) testimonial evidence
D) lifestyle
E) slice of life

testimonial evidence

Maybelline used Sarah Michelle Gellar, an actress, to endorse a new range of cosmetics. This message execution style is referred to as ________.
A) lifestyle
B) testimonial evidence
C) image
D) technical expertise
E) personality symbol

testimonial evidence

The McDonald’s fast-food restaurant chain uses Ronald McDonald, a clown character, as its primary mascot. Which message execution style is used by McDonalds?
A) technical expertise
B) lifestyle
C) personality symbol
D) image
E) slice of life

personality symbol

An illustration, a headline, and a copy are the three ________ elements of an advertisement.
A) tone
B) mood
C) format
D) reach
E) frequency

format

What is the first element that a reader most likely notices in a print ad?
A) copy
B) illustration
C) headline
D) slogan
E) tone

illustration

The main block of text in a print ad is referred to as the ________.
A) copy
B) testimonial evidence
C) headline
D) slogan
E) message strategy statement

copy

Which of the following is illustrated by an amateur 30-second video, developed by a consumer, telling the story of an online crafts marketplace, Etsy.com?
A) personal selling
B) consumer-generated messages
C) consumer ethnocentrism
D) sales promotion
E) consumerism

consumer-generated messages

Which of the following is a major step in advertising media selection?
A) determining reach, frequency, and impact
B) selecting message execution style
C) developing a compelling creative concept
D) deciding on format elements
E) planning a message strategy

determining reach, frequency, and impact

________ is a measure of the percentage of people in the target market who are exposed to the ad campaign during a given period of time.
A) Reach
B) Qualitative value
C) Impact
D) Premium
E) Frequency

Reach

You receive a report that 68% of your target market has been exposed to your ad campaign during a given period of time. Which of the following aspects of media selection is represented by this information?
A) reach
B) frequency
C) impact
D) engagement
E) qualitative value

reach

The number of times an average person in the target market is exposed to a message is known as the ________ of the message.
A) quantitative value
B) reach
C) frequency
D) exposure rate
E) turnover rate

frequency

Which term refers to the qualitative value of message exposure through a given medium?
A) reach
B) turnover rate
C) media impact
D) efficiency
E) frequency

media impact

Which of the following is a media measure?
A) consumer price index
B) GDP per capita
C) wholesale price index
D) click-through rate
E) human development index

click-through rate

Which of the following is a new digital medium that is used by advertisers to reach consumers directly?
A) mobile phone
B) direct mail
C) newspapers
D) billboards
E) television

mobile phone

Television, as a medium of advertisement, is characterized by ________.
A) high audience selectivity
B) low absolute costs
C) poor mass-marketing coverage
D) fleeting exposure
E) high cost per exposure

fleeting exposure

You want to advertise your new product. You want good mass marketing coverage and low cost per exposure. You also want to combine sight, sound, and motion and make the advertisement appealing to the senses. You should choose ________ as your advertising media.
A) newspaper
B) radio
C) magazines
D) television
E) direct mail

television

Snappy Cameras is launching a new advertising campaign to demonstrate the high quality of its digital cameras. Which media option would give the audience the most control over exposure to the ads and interactive capabilities?
A) the Internet
B) newspaper
C) TV
D) radio
E) billboard

the Internet

Which of the following is an advantage of using newspapers as an advertising medium?
A) long life
B) good reproduction quality
C) large pass-along audience
D) broad acceptability
E) no ad competition within the same medium

broad acceptability

Which of the following statements about magazines as an advertising medium is true?
A) Magazines have long ad purchase lead times.
B) Magazines cannot offer high geographic selectivity.
C) Magazines lack credibility.
D) Magazines provide better local coverage than newspapers.
E) Magazines have poor reproduction of images.

Magazines have long ad purchase lead times.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using direct mail as an advertising medium?
A) low audience selectivity
B) no flexibility
C) severe ad competition
D) relatively high cost per exposure
E) lack of personalization

relatively high cost per exposure

Franklin & Marshall College wishes to contact high school seniors at independent schools in Pennsylvania. Which of the following media would be most effective and efficient?
A) a Facebook page for the college
B) local newspapers ads throughout the state
C) radio ads throughout the state
D) a direct mail piece sent to selected students
E) billboards throughout the state

a direct mail piece sent to selected students

Which of the following statements is most likely true about radio as an advertising medium?
A) Radio advertising is typically quite expensive.
B) Radio ensures good attention from the target audience.
C) Radio offers very low audience selectivity.
D) Radio prohibits the use of segmentation strategies.
E) Radio advertising is characterized by good local acceptance.

Radio advertising is characterized by good local acceptance.

Which of the following statements about outdoor media is true?
A) It has no creative limitations.
B) It is characterized by higher costs per exposure.
C) It has good positional selectivity.
D) It has very limited flexibility.
E) It has high audience selectivity.

It has good positional selectivity.

A Spanish-language channel runs its ads only in Hispanic neighborhoods . This is an example of ________.
A) broadcasting
B) buzz marketing
C) narrowcasting
D) media multitasking
E) personal selling

narrowcasting

The term "media multitaskers" refers to ________.
A) competing brands which use the same media vehicle
B) people who absorb more than one medium at a time
C) media planners who also head the creative department
D) media planners who use more than one advertising medium
E) ad agencies whose clients are competitors of each other

people who absorb more than one medium at a time

30 Rock and BusinessWeek are both examples of ________—specific media within each general media type.
A) alternative media
B) major media
C) media vehicles
D) media multitaskers
E) micromedia

media vehicles

When selecting a media vehicle, the media planner looks both at the total cost of using a medium and at the ________.
A) cost per thousand persons reached
B) cost of premium offers
C) cost of the magazine it is using
D) profit margin
E) continuity cost

cost per thousand persons reached

When a media planner determines whether an advertisement for diapers should be placed in Parents magazine or Sports Illustrated, the planner is evaluating the media vehicle’s ________.
A) profit margin
B) flexibility
C) rate of depreciation
D) audience quality
E) cost per exposure

audience quality

Audience quality, audience engagement, and editorial quality are most likely to be considered when a media planner ________.
A) decides on media timing
B) selects an execution style
C) selects a media vehicle
D) evaluates return on investment
E) measures the communication effects of an advertisement

selects a media vehicle

In the context of media timing, ________ means scheduling ads unevenly over a given time period.
A) routing
B) continuity
C) sequencing
D) narrowcasting
E) pulsing

pulsing

In the context of media timing, ________ means scheduling ads evenly within a given period.
A) sequencing
B) narrowcasting
C) continuity
D) routing
E) pulsing

continuity

In the context of media timing, the idea behind ________ is to advertise heavily for a short period to build awareness that carries over to the next advertising period.
A) continuity
B) pulsing
C) shuffling
D) sequencing
E) segmenting

pulsing

Which of the following is most likely true about using a pulsing schedule for an ad?
A) The ads would achieve maximum awareness.
B) The costs of advertising would be low.
C) The only effective medium would be radio.
D) The ads would negatively affect the image of the brand.
E) The ads would lack flexibility.

The costs of advertising would be low.

To measure the ________ effects of an ad after it has aired, the advertiser can evaluate how the ad affected consumer recall, product awareness, and preference.
A) sales
B) profit
C) communication
D) continuity
E) associativity

communication

Which of the following characterizes standardized global advertising?
A) higher advertising costs
B) no global advertising coordination
C) higher appeal to varying demographics
D) a more consistent worldwide image
E) lower reach

a more consistent worldwide image

Which of the following promotion tools involves building up a positive corporate image and handling unfavorable stories and events?
A) sales promotion
B) personal selling
C) direct marketing
D) public relations
E) advertising

public relations

Kathy Champe, a public relations specialist for a regional chain of pharmacies, regularly contacts members of the local and state-wide media with information about community events and charity fundraisers sponsored by her company. This is an example of the ________ function of public relations.
A) press relations
B) product publicity
C) investor relations
D) lobbying
E) development

press relations

One of the functions performed by a PR department is ________, which involves building and maintaining relations with legislators and government officials to influence legislation and regulation.
A) direct marketing
B) press relations management
C) investor relations management
D) lobbying
E) public affairs management

lobbying

One of the functions performed by a PR department is ________, which involves working with donors or members of nonprofit organizations to gain financial or volunteer support.
A) direct marketing
B) press relations management
C) investor relations management
D) development
E) lobbying

development

The National Pork Board developed "Pork. The Other White Meat" campaign. The campaign provided nutritional information and pork recipes in an attempt to encourage people to view pork as a tasty alternative to poultry and fish. Which of the following functions was the goal of this public relations campaign?
A) influencing government regulations on pork
B) gaining financial support for pork producers
C) creating newsworthy information about pork
D) maintaining relationships with pork producers
E) rebuilding consumer interest in pork

rebuilding consumer interest in pork

Which of the following statements is most likely true of public relations?
A) It requires participating companies to pay for media space or time.
B) It can have the same impact on public awareness as advertising at much lower costs.
C) It is always handled by a third-party agency hired by the firm.
D) It forms a huge portion of the overall marketing budget of most large firms.
E) It plays an insignificant role in brand-building with the increasing popularity of advertising.

It can have the same impact on public awareness as advertising at much lower costs.

Which of the following best explains why public relations is often overlooked as a tool for supporting product marketing objectives?
A) Public relations departments are typically large divisions within corporations.
B) The time and costs associated with public relations prohibit its extensive use.
C) Public relations specialists lack the skills necessary to work with marketing experts.
D) Many public relations professionals see their jobs as communicating not brand building.
E) The public relations department handles stockholders and legislators but not employees.

Many public relations professionals see their jobs as communicating not brand building.

Which of the following is a major tool used by PR professionals?
A) standardized global advertising
B) market penetration
C) news
D) bait-and-switch strategy
E) product packaging

news

News conferences, press tours, and grand openings are examples of ________, a type of tool commonly used by public relations professionals.
A) public service activities
B) special events
C) social networking
D) development
E) investor relations

special events

Which of the following would most likely be included in the written materials prepared by PR professionals to reach and influence target markets?
A) employee code of conduct
B) annual reports
C) memorandum of association
D) advertisement jingles
E) white papers

annual reports

Which of the following is an example of an audiovisual material used by PR professionals?
A) blogs
B) logos
C) vision statements
D) brochures
E) online videos

online videos

Logos, uniforms, brochures, and company trucks are all examples of ________ materials that can be used to help a company create a visual image which the public can immediately recognize.
A) direct marketing
B) social marketing
C) public service
D) corporate identity
E) buzz marketing

corporate identity

In an attempt to set the company apart from its competitors, Central Parcel Service (CPS) has its employees wear brown uniforms and drive brown trucks. What type of public relations tool is being used by CPS?
A) buzz marketing
B) corporate logos
C) corporate identity materials
D) product publicity
E) public service materials

corporate identity materials

Marketing management must make four important decisions when developing an advertising program. List and describe these four decisions.

Marketing management should first set advertising objectives, which can be classified by primary purpose: to inform, persuade, or remind. Next, the advertising budget needs to be determined, which will often depend on the product’s stage in the product life cycle. The third step is to develop an advertising strategy, which involves message decisions and media decisions. The last step is to evaluate the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.

What are the three characteristics that advertising appeals should have?

Advertising appeals should be meaningful, believable, and distinctive. Meaningful appeals point out benefits that make the product more desirable or interesting to consumers. Believable appeals lead consumers to believe that the product or service will deliver the promised benefits. Finally, distinctive appeals should tell how the product is better than the competing brands.

Describe any three message execution styles.

Students’ answers may include any three of the following. Slice of life: shows one or more typical people using the product in a normal setting. Lifestyle: shows how a product fits in with a particular lifestyle. Fantasy: creates a fantasy around the product or its use. Mood or image: builds a mood or image around the product or service. Musical: shows people or cartoon characters singing about the product. Personality symbol: creates a character to represent the product. Technical expertise: depicts the company’s expertise in making the product or delivering the service. Scientific evidence: presents survey or scientific evidence that the brand is better than other brands. Testimonial evidence/endorsement: features a highly believable or likable source endorsing the product.

How are companies taking advantage of interactive technologies to tap consumers for message ideas and actual ads? What are the benefits and disadvantages of consumer-generated advertising?

Companies can now search existing video sites such as YouTube, set up their own Web sites, create accounts on social networks such as Facebook, and sponsor ad-creation contests. Several companies, such as Coca-Cola, MasterCard, and Frito-Lay, have used consumer-generated ads in national promotions. Consumer-generated advertising offers companies a way to gather new perspectives on their products and develop insights into how their products are used and seen by actual consumers. Also, consumer-generated advertising is very inexpensive. On the other hand, companies do not control consumer-generated material, which can lead to conflicting, or even negative, messages about a brand.

Describe the four major steps in media selection.

First, the advertiser needs to decide on reach, frequency, and impact. Reach is a measure of the percentage of people who are exposed to the advertisement; frequency is the measure of how many times the average person is exposed to the message; impact is how people feel about the advertisement. Next, media planners need to choose among major media types: television, newspapers, magazines, direct mail, radio, outdoor, and Internet. They may also select newer digital media such as cell phones. After the media type is selected, the specific media vehicles must be identified. The last decision is media timing, which involves determining how to schedule the advertising over the course of a year.

List any four major media types and identify some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of them.

Students’ answers may include any four of the following. Television: Advantages are good mass marketing coverage, low cost per exposure, and appeals to the senses; weaknesses are high total costs and high clutter. Newspapers: Strengths are timeliness, good local market coverage, and high believability; weaknesses are short life and poor reproduction quality. Direct mail: Strengths are flexibility and capacity for personalization; weaknesses are relatively high cost per exposure and "junk mail" image. Magazines: Strengths are high audience selectivity, credibility, and good pass-along readership; weaknesses are high costs and long lead times. Radio: Strengths are good local acceptance and low cost; weaknesses are low attention and fleeting exposure to messages. Outdoor: Strengths are flexibility, low cost, and low message competition; weaknesses are low audience selectivity and creative limitations. Internet: Strengths include high selectivity, low cost, and interactive capabilities; weaknesses are audience control of exposure and potentially low impact.

Advertisers should regularly evaluate two types of advertising results: the communication effects and the sales and profit effects. How are these two results measured?

Measuring the communication effects of an ad or ad campaign tells whether the ads and media are communicating the ad message well. Individual ads can be tested before or after they are run. Before an ad is placed, the advertiser can show it to consumers, ask how they like it, and measure message recall or attitude changes resulting from it. After an ad is run, the advertiser can measure how the ad affected consumer recall or product awareness, knowledge, and preference. Pre-and post-evaluations of communication effects can be made for entire advertising campaigns as well. Sales and profit effects of advertising are often much harder to measure. Sales and profits are affected by many factors other than advertising—such as product features, price, and availability. One way to measure the sales and profit effects of advertising is to compare past sales and profits with past advertising expenditures. Another way is through experiments. For example, to test the effects of different advertising spending levels, a company could vary the amount it spends on advertising in different market areas and measure the differences in the resulting sales and profit levels. More complex experiments could be designed to include other variables, such as differences in the ads or media used.

What is an advertising objective? What are the three primary types of advertising objectives?

An advertising objective is a specific communication task to be accomplished with a specific target audience during a specific period of time. Advertising objectives can be classified by primary purpose—whether the aim is to inform, persuade, or remind.

Describe the main objectives of informative advertising.

The main objectives of informative advertising are: 1. Communicating customer value 2. Building a brand and company image 3. Telling the market about a new product 4. Explaining how a product works 5. Suggesting new uses for a product 6. Informing the market of a price change 7. Describing available services and support 8. Correcting false impressions

When would a marketer most likely use a comparative ad?

Comparative ads are a type of persuasive ad in which a company directly or indirectly compares its brand with one or more other brands. This type of ad is used as competition increases within a category.

Describe the main objectives of reminder advertising.

The main objectives of reminder advertising are: 1. Maintaining customer relationships 2. Reminding consumers that the product may be needed in the near future 3. Reminding consumers where to buy the product 4. Keeping the brand in a customer’s mind during off-seasons

Discuss the concepts of advertainment and branded entertainment.

This merging of advertising and entertainment takes one of two forms: advertainment or branded entertainment. The aim of advertainment is to make ads themselves so entertaining, or so useful, that people want to watch them. Branded entertainment (or brand integrations) involves making the brand an inseparable part of some other form of entertainment. The most common form of branded entertainment is product placements—embedding brands as props within other programming.

Give an example of a slice-of-life message execution style.

Slice-of-life examples show one or more typical people using a product in a normal setting. A McDonald’s ad featuring a family eating burgers and fries on a family outing is a slice-of-life message execution.

How does a personality symbol impact a brand?

A personality symbol is a character who represents the product and with whom the consumer can relate; the personality symbol helps a consumer connect with the product.

Give an example of testimonial evidence.

Testimonial evidence features a highly believable or likable source endorsing the product. Nike uses Maria Sharapova to endorse it sports equipment and apparel.

Why is reach an important measure for a marketer?

Reach is a measurement of the percentage of people in the target market who are exposed to the ad campaign during a given period of time.

Describe the continuity and pulsing advertisement schedules.

Continuity means scheduling ads evenly within a given period. Pulsing means scheduling ads unevenly over a given time period. Thus, 52 ads could either be scheduled at one per week during the year or pulsed in several bursts. The idea behind pulsing is to advertise heavily for a short period to build awareness that carries over to the next advertising period. Those who favor pulsing feel that it can be used to achieve the same impact as a steady schedule but at a much lower cost. However, some media planners believe that although pulsing achieves minimal awareness, it sacrifices depth of advertising communications.

Explain how seasonality impacts media timing.

An advertiser must decide how to schedule the advertising over the course of a year. Suppose sales of a product peak in December and drop in March (for winter outdoor gear, for instance). The firm can vary its advertising to follow the seasonal pattern, oppose the seasonal pattern, or be the same all year. Most firms do some seasonal advertising. For example, Mars currently runs M&M’s special ads for almost every holiday and "season," from Easter, Fourth of July, and Halloween to the Super Bowl season and the Oscar season. The Picture People, the national chain of portrait studios, advertises more heavily before major holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, and Halloween. Some marketers do only seasonal advertising: For instance, P&G advertises its Vicks NyQuil only during the cold and flu season.

Discuss the advantages of using the services of an advertising agency.

Today’s agencies employ specialists who can often perform advertising tasks better than the company’s own staff can. Agencies also bring an outside point of view to solving the company’s problems, along with lots of experience from working with different clients and situations. So, today, even companies with strong advertising departments of their own use advertising agencies.

Explain why an ad might need to be modified from one country to the next.

Differences in perceptions of time, color, and imagery will impact how effective or acceptable an advertisement will be in other countries. In addition, changes in the use of language may be required to avoid being offensive to the foreign culture. Also, countries have varying laws regulating advertising.

Describe public relations and any three of its main functions.

Public relations departments build 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. Some of its functions are: Product publicity: publicizing specific products Public affairs: building and maintaining national or local community relations Lobbying: building and maintaining relations with legislators and government officials to influence legislation and regulation Press relations: creating and placing newsworthy information in the new media to attract attention to a person, product, or service associated with the company Investor relations: maintaining relationships with shareholders

Describe the significance of public relations as a mass-promotion tool.

Public relations is used to promote products, people, places, ideas, activities, organizations, and even nations. Companies use PR to build good relations with consumers, investors, the media, and their communities. Trade associations have used PR to rebuild interest in commodities, such as eggs, apples, potatoes, milk, and even onions.

Explain why a public relations campaign can be a more cost-effective option for corporations than an advertising campaign.

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 or 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 or event, it could be picked up by several different media, having the same effect as advertising that would cost millions of dollars. And it would have more credibility than advertising.

Public relations specialists use several tools. Identify three of these tools and describe how they can help a company communicate with the public.

PR professionals find or 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, or educational programs designed to reach and interest target publics. Public relations people also prepare written materials to reach and influence their target markets. These materials include annual reports, brochures, articles, and company newsletters and magazines. Audiovisual materials, such as slide-and-sound programs, DVDs, and online videos 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. Companies can improve public goodwill by contributing money and time to public service activities.