PROMOTIONAL
MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 9
CREATIVE STRATEGY: IMPLEMENTATION &
EVALUATION
Appeals and Execution Style
The approach used to attract the
attention of consumers
Advertising something that moves people, speaks to their wants and
needs and excites their interest.
Appeals To influence consumer feelings toward
a product, service or cause
The way an appeal is turned into an
Creative advertising message
Execution
Style The way the message is presented to
the consumer
Informational/ Rational Appeal
Informational/rational appeals focus on the consumer’s practical, functional
need for the product or service and emphasize features of a product or service
and/or the benefits or reasons for owning or using a particular brand.
It will transmit basic product information.
A rational ad leads to a stronger conviction about a product’s benefits, so that
the purchase is eventually made.
Most effective in the print media – it allows readers greater opportunities to
process information. Logic dictates that rational appeal should work for high-
involvement and complex products
Types of Informational/
Rational Appeal
a. Ads with FEATURE appeal
Focus on the dominant traits of the product or
service.
Present the customer with a number of important
product features that will lead to favorable attitudes
and can be used as the basis for a rational purchase
decision.
Technical and high involvement products often use
this appeal.
[Link] with COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
appeal
The advertiser makes either a direct or indirect
comparison to another brand and usually claims
superiority on one or more attributes.
Also known as comparative advertising.
c. Ads with FAVORABLE PRICE appeal
Makes the price offer the
dominant point of the
message.
Often used by retailers to
announce sales, special
offers.
This appeal is also used by
business-to-business
marketers to advertise and
promote their affordability.
d. Ads with NEWS appeals
When some type of news or announcement is made
about product, service or company.
Used for new product or service or to inform
consumers of significant modifications or
improvements.
Ex:- sometimes airline companies use news appeal to
announce when they begin offering service to new
cities or opening new routes as a way to informing
consumers as well as generating media interest that
can result in publicity for them.
e. Ads with PRODUCT/SERVICE
POPULARITY appeal
Stresses the popularity of a product or service by
pointing out the number of consumers who use the
brand, the number of who have switched to it, the
number of experts who recommend, or its leadership
position in the market.
Emotional appeal
Based on psychological states or feelings directed to the self
(such as pleasure or excitement) as well as those with a more
social orientation (such as status or recognition).
Bases for emotional appeals
Combining rational and emotional
appeals
Sometimes these two approaches are
combined together in an ad as consumers
often want to base their purchase decision
both on logic and on emotions.
For example, American Airlines has been
running its “We know why you fly”
campaign since 2004, which was created to
demonstrate that the airline company has
genuine understanding about why and how
they fly. This was an award winning ad that
increased brand loyalty and connected
with its most valuable customers.
Levels of relationship with brands
How consumers think about a brand in terms of product
benefits. This occurs through a rational learning process and
can be measured by well communicated information. At this
stage they are not very brand loyal and brand switching is
common.
The next stage is where consumers assign a personality to a
brand. For example, a brand may be thought of as aggressive,
adventurous, as opposed to conservative and sophisticated.
At this stage, their judgments move away from benefits and is
based on some hidden or obvious cues found in the ads.
Consumers develop emotional bonds with a brand which
result in positive psychological movement toward the brand.
The marketers goal is to develop emotional linkage between
its brand and consumers.
Reminder Advertising
Reminder advertising: is
important for mature
products- it helps to
maintain customer
relationships and keep
consumers thinking about
the product.
Teaser Advertising
Teaser ads are designed to build curiosity
and excitement about a product or brand
by talking about it but not actually showing
it.
These are also termed as mystery ads.
They are usually used for new movies, or
TV shows or major product launches. They
are especially popular among automotive
advertisers for introducing a new model or
announcing significant changes in vehicle.
Ad Execution Techniques
An advertising message can be presented or executed
in numerous ways:
Straight sell Animation
Scientific/Technical Personality Symbol
Demonstration Imagery
Comparison Dramatization
Testimonial Humor
Slice of life Combinations
Straight Sell or Factual
Message
This type of ad relies on a straightforward presentation
of information concerning the product or service.
This is often used with informational/rational appeals
where the focus of the message is the product/service
and its specific attributes and or benefits.
These are commonly used in print ads.
Scientific or Technical
Evidence
Advertisers often state technical results of
scientific or laboratory studies or
endorsements by scientific bodies or agencies
to support their advertising claims.
L’Oreal relies heavily on science to develop
their products and provide such evidences in
their promotions.
Demonstration
Demonstration advertising is designed to illustrate the
key advantages of the product or service by showing it
in actual use or in some staged situation.
TV is particularly well suited for demonstration
executions as the benefits and executions can be
shown right on the screen.
[Link]
Comparison
Brand comparison can also be the basis for
advertising execution.
It offers a direct way of communicating a brand’s
particular advantage over its competitors or
positioning a new or lesser known brand with industry
leaders.
Testimonial
When a customer is presented in an advertising telling about a positive
experience with a product/service – it is a testimonial.
In promoting services, testimonials are an effective executional framework.
A testimony from a customer who has experienced the service can help
describe the benefits or attributes or the service.
Testimonials enhances company credibility.
A related execution technique is the endorsement where a well known or
respected individual such as a celebrity or expert in the product or service
area speaks on the behalf of the company. When endorsers promote a
product the message is not necessarily based on their personal experiences.
Slice of life
In slice-of-life commercials, advertisers provide solutions to
the everyday problems consumers face.
This format was made famous by P&G during the early days
of television advertising in the 1950s.
The advertisements normally show the common
experiences, and especially the problems people encounter.
Then the good or service is made available to solve the
problem.
Slice-of-death
Some business-to-business marketers use a variation of the
problem/solution execution that is sometimes referred to as slice-of-
death advertising.
This execution style is used in conjunction with a fear appeal as the
focus is on the negative consequences that result when
businesspeople make the wrong decision in choosing a supplier or
service provider.
For example, FedEx has used this technique for nearly three decades
through humorous but to-the-point commercials that show what might
happen when important packages and documents are not received on
time.
[Link]
[Link]
Animation
Animation was originally a cheap way to advertise.
Companies that could not afford actors, used animation
to create adverts.
In recent years, the use of animation in advertising has
increased due to the growing sophistication of
computer graphic programs. Digital production is
expensive but the costs are coming down.
Animation
Animation- rotoscoping
The use of animation as an execution style may
increase as creative specialists discover the
possibilities of computer generated graphics and other
technological innovations.
For example, Charles Schwab & Co., promotes its
financial services using this technique, known as
rotoscoping, which involves shooting live action digital
videos of actors and then using a special software to
paint over the screen images on a computer to make
them look animated.
Personality symbol
This execution involves developing a central character
or personality symbol that can deliver the advertising
message and with which the product or service can be
identified.
It can also be built on animated characters and animals.
Louie the Fly
Imagery
Some advertisements are executed with imagery executions whereby
the ad consists primarily of visual elements such as pictures,
illustrations and or symbols rather than information. An imagery
execution is used when the goal is to encourage consumers to
associate the brand with the symbols, characters, and/or situation
shown in the ad.
Imagery ads are often the basis of emotional appeals that are used to
advertise products or services where differentiation based on physical
characteristics is difficult.
Dramatization
Well suited to television where the focus is on telling a
short story with the product or service as the star.
This technique is similar to slice-of-life ads as it often
relies on the problem-solution approach. But is uses
more excitement and suspense in telling the story.
The purpose of using the drama is to draw viewer’s
attention into the action it portrays.
Humor
Humor has proven to be one of the best techniques for
cutting through clutter, by getting attention and keeping it.
The success factor of humor appeal is based on three
things:
◦ Gets attention
◦ Facilitates understanding
◦ And most importantly consumers remember it.
The humour appeal should be connected directly to the
product benefits or personal values. Happy consumers
often associate a good mood with the advertiser's
products.
Basic Components of Print Advertising
Headline
Words in the Leading Position of the Ad
Subheads
Smaller Than the Headline, Larger Than the Copy
Body Copy
The Main Text Portion of a Print Ad
Visual Elements
Illustrations Such As Drawings or Photos
Layout
How Elements Are Blended Into a Finished Ad
Ad Layout
Headline
Visual
Body copy element
Indirect headline
Creative tactics for television/ components
of TC ads
Like print ads, TV commercials have several components.
Video Audio Voiceover Jingles
The video Includes voices, Message is catchy songs about
elements of a music, and sound product or service that
delivered or usually carry the
commercial effects.
action on the advertising theme
Either direct screen is narrated
Must attract presentation of a or described by an Made to be very
attention and spokesperson or memorable and serve as
communicate as a conversation announcer who is a good reminder of the
an idea, among various not visible. product.
message or people appearing
image. in the
commercial.
The three phases of production for TV commercials
Preproduction All work before actual shooting, recording
Production Period of filming, taping, or recording
Postproduction Work after spot is filmed or recorded
THANK YOU