CHAPTER 15
Advertising and Public Relations
§ The Snickers
“You’re not you
when you’re
hungry” mantra
taps into a
powerful and
universal
emotional
appeal—hunger.
§ Everyone
can relate to how
being hungry
changes who you
are
ADVERTISING
§ Any paid form of
nonpersonal presentation
by an identified sponsor
§ Advertising can be traced
back to the very
beginnings of recorded
history.
MAJOR ADVERTISING DECISIONS
SETTING ADVERTISING OBJECTIVE
§ A specific communication task to be accomplished with a
specific target audience during a specific period of time.
§ Advertising objective is to help engage customers and
build customer relationships by communicating
customer value.
§ Advertising objectives can be classified by their primary
purpose—to inform, persuade, or remind
§ Informative ads- Used when a product is new or when
educating customer is essential.
§ Ex: Tesla’s early adsà what an EV is, how it works, why it’s better
for the environment, and how long it can run etc.
§ Persuasive ads- To build selective demand. Wants to engage
customers and create brand preference (also called
comparative advertising)
§ Ex: Pepsi vs. Coca-Colaà customer already knows soda, now Pepsi
is persuading them to prefer Pepsi over Coke.
§ Reminder ads- Keep the brand top-of-mind and reinforce
loyalty among existing customers.
§ Ex: “Share a Coke” campaignà a clever reminder with a personal
touch: bottles had names printed on them. It reminded people of
the brand and encouraged continued consumption.
SETTING ADVERTISING BUDGET
§ Four commonly used methods: discussed in
previous chapter (14).
§ Some specific factors that should be
considered:
§ Stage in the product life cycle:
§ new products typically need relatively large advertising
budgets to build awareness (apple- iPhone early stage)
§ mature brands usually require lower budgets (iPhone not
much these days)
§ Budget cut due to difficult economic circumstances
(for short-term).
§ During COVID-19, many airlines slashed their advertising
budgets.
DEVELOPING ADVERTISING STRATEGY
§ Consists of two major elements:
1. Creating advertising message:
§ The goal is to grab customers’ attention
§ Making things part of consumer content, not
interrupting them.
§ “Advertainment” - make ads and brand content so
entertaining that people want to watch them.
§ Brand integrations- Product placements
§ Ex: Avengers movie in which BlackWidow rides a Harley-
Davidson.
§ Native advertising: Ads that look and feel like the
surrounding content.
§ These are sponsored contents à Facebook Stories ads or
Instagram stories ads etc.
§ Native ads match the platform and are more accepted than
disruptive pop-ups.
Native Advertising
DEVELOPING ADVERTISING STRATEGY (CONT.)
2. Selecting the advertising media:
§ Determining reach, frequency, impact, and engagement
§ Nike aims for massive reach and impact by placing high-
budget ads during big sporting events where millions are
watching.
§ Choosing among major media types
§ A fashion brand might choose Instagram or TikTok for visuals
and influencer content, while a financial service might prefer
LinkedIn or TV for a more serious audience.
§ Selecting specific media vehicles
§ A new eco-friendly skincare brand may place ads on YouTube
sustainability channels—platforms where their target
audience hangs out.
§ Choosing media timing (e.g., time of the year, season).
§ Cadbury runs ads before Diwali and Christmas in India to
align with the gifting season,
DEVELOPING ADVERTISING STRATEGY (CONT.)
§ Choosing among major media types
EVALUATING ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS
§ Advertisers should regularly evaluate two types of
advertising results:
1. The communication effects
§ Are the ads getting the message across to the
audience?
§ Can be done via pre and post evaluations
2. Sales and profit effects
§ Very hard to determine:
§ since sales are affected by Seasonality,
Promotions, Competitor, actions, Distribution
issues, etc.
§ One possible way:
§ past sales and profits with past advertising
expenditures
PUBLIC RELATIONS
• Press relations or press agency. Creating and placing
newsworthy information in the media to attract attention
to a person, product, or service.
• Product and brand publicity.
• Building and maintaining national or local community
relationships.
• Lobbying. Building and maintaining relationships with
legislators and government officials
• Maintaining relationships with shareholders and others
in the financial community.
• Development. Working with donors or nonprofit
organizations to gain financial or volunteer support.
PUBLIC RELATIONS: ROLE AND IMPACT
• Public relations can have a strong impact at a
much lower cost than advertising can.
• Despite its potential strengths, is occasionally
described as a marketing stepchild.