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ADVERTISING:Developing advertising, Major responsibilities

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Brand Management (MKT624)
VU
Lesson 33
ADVERTISING
Introduction
We have briefly talked about the tools of communication as advertising, promotions and a few
others. The discussion took place in the context of the fundamental understanding of how and
why they should be considered while they constitute parts of strategic communication
campaigns. This lecture is going to look into the very mechanics of the vital tool ­ advertising.
Advertising
It is the most visible and dynamic form of communication. It is captivating because it
emotionalizes facts. A good advertisement turns facts into positive feelings that appeal to our
emotions, and actuate us to take an action into buying something. A good advertisement
therefore is more about sales than emotions; stirring emotions is a means toward the end that is
sales.
What we need to comprehend in relation to advertising is the following fundamentals:
1. Developing advertising
2. Executing advertising
Developing advertising is very strategic and has to stem from the brand picture and brand
positioning. We develop a picture for the present and positioning for the future. This shows
us the gap. The gap between picture and the intended position is a reflection of sales
volumes that we want to achieve with our positioning, whatever the case may be. The first
aspect that we deal with the development process is the copy of advertising
Copy is an essential part of advertising. It is an expression which refers to all the
information that we communicate through the advertisements to our customers. In case
it is a TV commercial, we call that the "story board" - SB. The "SB" also draws its
essence from the copy of advertising.
Since information on the copy cannot be limitless, we have to be very precise,
imaginative, and creative in developing that. It must reflect brand contract and brand
positioning and yet be very easy in content and catchy in visual.
Copy Strategy is the next level of the concept to be understood. It is essentially an
extension and elaboration of the brand's marketing strategy and objectives into the
advertising or copy area.
Copy strategy is a long term document which states the net impression that we want
consumers to have of the brand. Net impression consists of the basic selling idea or end
result which the brand is promising to the consumer and which constitutes the principal
reason for the consumers to purchase it in preference to competition. Following are the
examples:
·  For a brand of soap, it could be extra mildness.
·  For another soap, it could be superior cleansing cream and, hence, softer
skin.
·  For a detergent, it could be cleaner wash.
Extra mildness, superior cleansing cream, and cleaner wash are the net impressions that
we want to communicate. Copy strategy therefore is a statement of the principal
characteristics of the product and talks of the reason why the promise is deliverable.
The following expresses that:
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Brand Management (MKT624)
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·
For a tooth paste, it could be the fluoride ingredient, or clove oil.
·
For a detergent, it could be high quality chlorine with unique cleansing,
bleaching, and disinfecting properties etc.
It also is a statement of the character and personality - persona we are striving to build
for the brand, which will be addressed in the mood atmosphere or "tone of voice" of
advertising. You may consider the following:
·  A soap meant for workers can be characterized as clean, wholesome, honest,
and caring owing to its medicated properties.
·  For a tea brand we can create mood atmosphere of leadership, vigor, and
vitality. "Tapal" tea's recent TV commercial with a man riding a horse,
getting energized, and then acknowledged by a movie world celebrity is a
case in point.
Given the importance of the copy strategy and development of the strategy statement,
we must determine whose responsibility is it?
Whose responsibility? The effectiveness of the copy is the responsibility of the
advertising agency, but ensuring that copy is effective is the responsibility of the brand
manager.
Major responsibilities in the area of copy are:
1. Define the basic marketing problem on the brand and develop the basic copy
strategy with support and contribution from the agency.
2. Gain management approval for the copy strategy, which is an extension of
the overall marketing strategy.
3. Ensure that agency is working on longer range experimental copies in view
of the evolution that you envisage. Changes to keep the brand current come
into play for keeping the record well documented and structured.
4. Develop an understanding of the basic principles of good copy, so as to
assess and evaluate copy submissions effectively. The principles dictate that
a good copy should be
i.  Having attention-getting value
ii.  Relevant
iii.  Simple
iv.  Visualizes the story
v.
Integrates audio-visual elements to make sure that the copy has the
competitive bite, meaning it is effective and cannot be ignored.
5. Evaluate the total effectiveness of the commercial and the basic selling idea
involved without getting stuck with minor details.
6. Don't ignore the story board. It is very significant.
7. Analyze copy related research and keep track of the competitors' advertising
moves and changes.
Factors considered in development of copy
1. The product, its appearance, form and basic performance characteristics.
2. Competitive situation, the nature of other brands in the field and what they are offering
to consumers.
3. Blind tests, usage and attitude studies, other information relating consumer's reaction to
the product, and the marketing climate in which the product is to be sold.
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Brand Management (MKT624)
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4. Marketing experience of brand and of other brands in the field.
What purpose does a copy serve?
1. It provides a degree of continuity in a brand's advertising that, over time, will help that
brand come to stand for something specific in the mind of the consumer.
2. It can help a brand achieve distinctiveness and stature in a competitive market.
3. It provides guidance and direction to agency's creative people. It prescribes the limits
within which an agency exercises its creative imagination.
4. It takes care, on the one hand, to be sufficiently concrete and specific about a brand's
copy objectives, and, on the other, adequately flexible to provide latitude for fresh and
varied presentations of the brand's story ­ evolving needs and response to those for
keeping the brand current.
5. It provides a common benchmark on which all concerned in the company and the
agency can evaluate the merits of advertising submissions ­ new campaigns or
individual ads in existing campaigns.
6. A clear copy strategy can save a great deal of creative time and energy, because it
identifies those basic copy decisions, which we do not intend to review and rethink each
time we look at a new piece of advertising.
Summary
Advertising is the most vital tool of communications. It has two fundamental constituents,
developing advertising and executing it. Toward development, we must understand the role of
copy and copy strategy. Copy strategy forms the essence of the campaign.
For brand managers, it is the most important area in the formative years of their careers, for
copy development is one of those functions they will be required to execute efficiently. The
essence of brand's characteristics in all their forms have to be accurately understood and
communicated to the advertising agency, whose responsibility it is to make the strategy
effective. Since brand managers have to formulate the copy strategy, they must ensure that it is
made effective by the agency in terms of execution.
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Table of Contents:
  1. UNDERSTANDING BRANDS – INTRODUCTION:Functions of Brand Management, Sales forecast, Brand plan
  2. INTRODUCTION:Brand Value and Power, Generate Profits and Build Brand Equity
  3. BRAND MANIFESTATIONS/ FUNDAMENTALS:Brand identity, Communication, Differentiation
  4. BRAND MANIFESTATIONS/ FUNDAMENTALS:Layers/levels of brands, Commitment of top management
  5. BRAND CHALLENGES:Consumer Revolt, Media Cost and Fragmentation, Vision
  6. STRATEGIC BRAND MANAGEMENT:Setting Objectives, Crafting a Strategy, The Brand Mission
  7. BRAND VISION:Consensus among management, Vision Statement of a Fast Food Company, Glossary of terms
  8. BUILDING BRAND VISION:Seek senior management’s input, Determine the financial contribution gap
  9. BUILDING BRAND VISION:Collect industry data and create a brand vision starter, BRAND PICTURE,
  10. BRAND PICTURE:Brand Value Pyramid, Importance of being at pinnacle, From pinnacle to bottom
  11. BRAND PERSONA:Need-based segmentation research, Personality traits through research
  12. BRAND CONTRACT:The need to stay contemporary, Summary
  13. BRAND CONTRACT:How to create a brand contract?, Brand contract principles, Understand customers’ perspective
  14. BRAND CONTRACT:Translate into standards, Fulfill Good Promises, Uncover Bad Promises
  15. BRAND BASED CUSTOMER MODEL:Identify your competitors, Compare your brand with competition
  16. BRAND BASED CUSTOMER MODEL:POSITIONING, Product era, Image Era, An important factor
  17. POSITIONING:Strong Positioning, Understanding of components through an example
  18. POSITIONING:Clarity about target market, Clarity about point of difference
  19. POSITIONING – GUIDING PRINCIPLES:Uniqueness, Credibility, Fit
  20. POSITIONING – GUIDING PRINCIPLES:Communicating the actual positioning, Evaluation criteria, Coining the message
  21. BRAND EXTENSION:Leveraging, Leveraging, Line Extension in detail, Positive side of line extension
  22. LINE EXTENSION:Reaction to negative side of extensions, Immediate actions for better managing line extensions
  23. BRAND EXTENSION/ DIVERSIFICATION:Why extend/diversify the brand,
  24. POSITIONING – THE BASE OF EXTENSION:Extending your target market, Consistency with brand vision
  25. DEVELOPING THE MODEL OF BRAND EXTENSION:Limitations, Multi-brand portfolio, The question of portfolio size
  26. BRAND PORTFOLIO:Segment variance, Constraints, Developing the model – multi-brand portfolio
  27. BRAND ARCHITECTURE:Branding strategies, Drawbacks of the product brand strategy, The umbrella brand strategy
  28. BRAND ARCHITECTURE:Source brand strategy, Endorsing brand strategy, What strategy to choose?
  29. CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION:Components of channel performance, Value thru product benefits
  30. CREATING VALUE:Value thru cost-efficiency, Members’ relationship with brand, Power defined
  31. CO BRANDING:Bundling, Forms of communications, Advertising and Promotions
  32. CUSTOMER RESPONSE HIERARCHY:Brand-based strategy, Methods of appropriations
  33. ADVERTISING:Developing advertising, Major responsibilities
  34. ADVERTISING:Message Frequency and Customer Awareness, Message Reinforcement
  35. SALES PROMOTIONS:Involvement of sales staff, Effects of promotions, Duration should be short
  36. OTHER COMMUNICATION TOOLS:Public relations, Event marketing, Foundations of one-to-one relationship
  37. PRICING:Strong umbrella lets you charge premium, Factors that drive loyalty
  38. PRICING:Market-based pricing, Cost-based pricing
  39. RETURN ON BRAND INVESTMENT – ROBI:Brand dynamics, On the relevance dimension
  40. BRAND DYNAMICS:On the dimension of knowledge, The importance of measures
  41. BRAND – BASED ORGANIZATION:Benefits, Not just marketing but whole culture, Tools to effective communication
  42. SERVICE BRANDS:The difference, Hard side of service selling, Solutions
  43. BRAND PLANNING:Corporate strategy and brands, Brand chartering, Brand planning process
  44. BRAND PLANNING PROCESS:Driver for change (continued), Brand analysis
  45. BRAND PLAN:Objectives, Need, Source of volume, Media strategy, Management strategy