The word communication is derived from the Latin word communis, which means “common”. That is, communication can be thought as the process of establishing a commonness, or oneness of thought between a message sender, such as an advertiser, and a receiver, such as a consumer. Communication occurs when the sender of the message and the receiver of the message have a common understanding.

Communication involves these nine elements (as can be seen in Figure 5.1, p. 127):

• Sender
• Receiver
• Encoding
• Decoding
• Message
• Media
• Response
• Feedback
• Noise

Encoding is the process of putting thoughts into symbolic forms by the sender.  On the other hand, decoding refers to the process in which the receiver assigns a meaning to the symbols encoded by the sender.

Response and feedback are not the same terms. Response is the reactions of the receiver after being exposed to the message. It can be in many forms ranging from giving a reply to ignoring. However, the part of the response that is communicated back to the message source is called feedback.

Marketing communications is defined as the collection of all elements in an organization’s marketing mix that facilitates exchange by establishing shared meaning with its customers.

The basic tools used as the promotional mix can be listed as below (as can be seen in Figure 5.2, p. 129):

• Advertising
• Personal selling
• Public relations
• Sales promotion
• Direct marketing

The message transfer that is directed to certain, known and individually addressed persons is called personal communications. For example, an automobile seller making sales conversation to a potential customer in the showroom uses personal communication. On the other hand, the messages may also be directed to a number of receivers who cannot be identified, by using mass media to reach a broad audience. For example, the same automobile company may use television as a media to introduce its new model of SUV.

Promotional tools fulfill various functions for an organization:

• Promotion can inform and make potential customers aware of an organization’s offering. They can also provide knowledge and understanding about a brand.
• Promotional tools influence and persuade the consumers.
• Promotional tools attempt to persuade current and potential customers of the desirability of entering into an exchange relationship.
• Elements of the promotion mix may be used to reinforce experiences. For example, it may remind people of a need they might have. Reminding consumers of the benefits of past transactions also reinforces experiences.
• Promotion makes it possible to provide reassurance or comfort immediately prior to an exchange or, more commonly, post-purchase. This is important, as it helps to retain current customers.
• Promotion helps to differentiate a brand. Especially if the competing brands are very similar, marketing communications may be used to the image building and attitude formation.

Advertising is non-personal mass communication using mass media such as TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, etc.), the content of which is determined and paid for by a clearly identified sender (the company).

Advertising performs the following functions in the marketing communication mix:

• Informing: Advertising makes consumers aware of new brands, educates them about a product’s distinct features and benefits, and facilitates the creation of positive brand images.
• Influencing: Advertising messages influence us to try the products.
• Reminding: Advertising keeps a brand or company name fresh in the consumer’s memory.

In order to call an advertising as effective it has to satisfy the following criteria:

• It must be coordinated and compatible with the other elements of marketing communication.
• It must get people’s attention and create awareness.
• Effective advertisement messages promise what the brand can deliver. Promising more than the brand can deliver may attract the customers once but they may distrust the advertisers and advertisements in the long term.
• Effective advertisements are the ones that prevent creative ideas from overwhelming the strategy. At the end, advertisement aims to inform, inspire and sell the product.
• It must be stated in a way that relates to the consumers’ needs, wants, and values.

Emotional appeals attempt to stir up either negative or positive emotions that can motivate purchase. Emotional advertising refers to advertising that tries to evoke emotions in consumers rather than to make consumers think. Emotional ads mainly consist of non-verbal elements such as images and emotional stimuli. Emotional appeals focus on fear, love, humor, sex, music, fantasy, surrealism, safety and social states like gaining status or rejection. It is generally accepted that consumer’s emotions are important in decision-making and advertisers try to persuade people by affecting their feelings.

On the other hand, advertisers using rational appeals in their messages focus on the consumer’s practical, functional or utilitarian need for the product/service. They may explain the features and benefits of the product and some facts about the products, such as giving information about the warranty of a product and explaining how many years it can be used. Showing how many dishes may be washed by a detergent and emphasizing the low price is another example of the rational appeal. Here the message is given in an informative and verifiable way by the use of facts, data etc. to persuade the buyer. Common rational appeals include comfort, convenience, economy, health, touch, taste, smell, quality, dependability, durability, efficiency, efficacy and performance.

Some of the popular message execution styles are as the following:

• Slice of life: In these advertisements, “typical” people use a product in a normal setting.
• Lifestyle: The product/service advertised is shown as an essential part of a life style or the product is associated with a specific lifestyle.
• Technical expertise: This type of advertisement focuses on the company’s expertise in making a product or providing a service.
• Fantasy: This style creates a fantasy around the product or its use.
• Mood or image: This style builds a mood or image around the product or service, such as beauty, love, intrigue, serenity, or pride.
• Musical: In these ads, a new music may be created with specific sentences about a product or sentences of a known song may be changed.
• Testimonial evidence or endorsement: A trustable and credible person suggests the product.
• Scientific evidence: In this style, some survey findings or scientific evidence such as laboratory tests of the brand are presented to justify the promise of the company.
• Personality symbol: In some of the ads, a specific character is created to represent the brand.

There are some situations when sales promotions become effective valuable tools:

• They work when a company is introducing a new product, especially a product with high-perceived risk. A coupon or a sample pack may encourage the customer to try the product with fewer costs.
• They are effective in creating a repeat purchase pattern for the customer. If more than one proof of purchase (like product label, tap etc.) is required to participate a sweepstake, customers buy more of a product.
• They are effective when the company is attempting to create movement of large amounts of products quickly. Bonus packs (three packages of rice wrapped together and sold for the price of two) may achieve this objective and may encourage the use of more products.
• They are effective when the company wants to counter the competitor’s attacks. A company may offer a promotion that offers a financial incentive to retaliate the competitor’s strategy of price-cutting.
• Sometimes the customers have more than one preferred brands in a product category. An attractive offer may facilitate the consumer’s decision.

Sampling is distributing a product or a smaller version of a product free, or at a very low cost to make consumers try a product. The expectation of the company is that consumers who have tried the product free will be satisfied, and will purchase the product later by paying its cost. Although sampling is popular especially with the newly introduced fast moving consumer products, it has broader applications. Free test drives by the automobile companies and home trial offers of durable products are the examples of sampling. Bonus packs offer the consumer more products at a lower price like three products for the price of two.

The advantages and disadvantages of public relations are as follows:

Advantages:

• Low cost
• Reach highly specific targets
• Avoid clutter
• Message credibility

Disadvantages:

• Lack of control over message
• Target audience may not link message to brand

Reactive PR attempts to repair a company’s reputation, prevent market erosion and regain lost sales. On the other hand, proactive MPR communicates a brand’s merits and generally used with the other promotional tools. For example, when a new product is introduced to the market, product releases in the media are used to create brand awareness.

Sales positions may cover different types of selling positions:

1. Deliverer
2. Order taker
3. Missionary
4. Technician
5. Demand creator
6. Solution vendor

Personal selling process covers some common steps that are performed by most of the sellers:

• Prospecting and qualifying
• Preapproach
• Approach
• Sales presentation
• Handling objections
• Close
• Follow up

Direct marketing has been added to the promotion mix later than the other tools. Direct here means using direct media such as mailings (including e-mailings), catalogues, kiosks, direct response television ads, telephone or brochures, and not through intermediaries such as dealers, retailers or sales staff by the company. Direct Marketing Association explains direct marketing as “An accountable system of marketing which uses one or more communications media to effect a response. It is an interactive process where responses from or about buyers are recorded in a database for building profiles of potential customers and providing valuable marketing information for more efficient targeting.”

The basic characteristics of direct marketing are as follows:

• Accountability: Tracking the response of the audience to control content and cost
• Eff­ect a response: Objective is getting an immediate response to the message
• Interactive process: Feedback help modify future messages
• Database: Use to identify target audience and track response
• More efficient targeting: Database helps to target specific individuals and groups

In the push strategy, promotional efforts are directed to sales force and intermediaries like the retailers. For example, a company may use trade promotion if it wants retailers to give a special support to the sales of a product. In return, the retailer promotes the product to its customers. Pull strategy, on the other hand, aims to create a demand on consumers by directing promotional efforts (sales promotions, advertisements, etc.) mainly to consumers. If the consumers want the product, the retailers will be willing to sell this product. In other words, creating a high customer demand by the use of this promotional strategy will pull the promoted product through the trade channels.

Ladder (hierarchy) of Communication Effects is another model that helps marketing managers in designing the promotion mix (as can be seen in Figure 5.4, p. 143). Here are the steps:

1. Brand ignorance
2. Awareness
3. Knowledge
4. Liking
5. Preference
6. Conviction
7. Purchase