Quiz 16: Personal Selling and Sales Promotion

What is the role of integrated marketing communications (IMC) in a firm's overall marketing strategy? When executed well, what are its benefits?

The popular image of an advertising agency is of a vibrantly creative place without much corporate structure, where copywriters, artists, and executives enjoy free rein, an anything-goes culture, and freedom to come and go at will. That picture usually doesn't include a list of rules employees must follow, such as punching a time clock, logging work time in precise 15-minute intervals, paying a fine for tardiness, getting closed out of meetings if late, and going home at precisely 6 PM. But those are some of the strictly enforced practices at The Richards Group, a successful independent 36-year-old Dallas agency recently named one of Advertising Age's Best Places to Work. If the rules sound repressive, Stan Richards, the company's 78-year-old founder, will admit they aren't for everybody. One of his former writers says, "The genius of the place is completely counterintuitive." But that genius has produced a steady stream of memorable campaigns for clients like Chick-fil-A, Motel 6, and Corona beer, and it has kept more than two dozen creative group heads on board with Richards for an average tenure of 17 years. Life at the agency isn't all about the rules, either. Richards learned early in his advertising design education at New York's Pratt Institute that creativity can come from any source, but that expressing it requires meticulous hard work and tolerates few shortcuts. Since founding the agency, he has relaxed a few rules, however, like the dress code, and he no longer personally approves every piece of work, although he still encourages face time with colleagues and clients over emails. And there are perks-though fancy titles aren't among them. In fact, there are no titles; instead, every employee is expected to be "a leader in every situation." Those who have the longest tenure get the best parking spots and the desks nearest the windows, but any of Richards' 650 employees can take the company's private plane to client meetings. And after 20 years with the company, they can take their families on a free trip anywhere in the world, even as far away as the Galapagos Islands. QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL THINKING 1. Stan Richards believes that "the way you treat your people is exactly how they treat clients." Do you agree or disagree? Explain your reasoning. 2. Evaluate Richards's belief that creativity requires hard work. Do you think this is true? Does it apply only to marketing and advertising? Why or why not?

What are some benefits and drawbacks of using celebrity testimonials in advertising? Identify an ad that uses a celebrity's endorsement effectively, and explain why.

Pop-up ads, those unsolicited messages that sometimes pop onto your computer screen and block the site or information you're looking for until you close or respond to them, are inexpensive to produce and cost nearly nothing to send. They are so annoying to some computer users that dozens of special programs have been written to block them from appearing on the screen during Internet use. Do you think that, because they are unsolicited, pop-up ads are also disruptive? Are they an invasion of privacy? Explain your reasoning.

Super Bowl advertising. Visit the websites listed here. How many different organizations ran ads during the most recent Super Bowl? Which organizations have run the most ads in Super Bowls? During the most recent Super Bowl, which ads were the highest rated? The lowest rated? How much has the cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad changed since the first game was played? www.superbowl-commercials.org www.cbssports.com/video/player/superbowlcommercials

On your own or with a classmate, select a print advertisement that catches your attention and analyze it according to the AIDA concept (attention, interest, desire, action). Identify features of the ad that catch your attention, pique your interest, make you desire the product, and spur you toward a purchase. Present your findings to the class.

If you're a pizza lover, you'd say that a sizzling hot, fresh pizza sells itself. If you happen to live in southern New England-and be a pizza lover-you'd probably say that everyone knows about Pepe's Pizzeria But Ken Berry, CEO of Pepe's, understands the importance of spreading the word about his company's pizza, even though it's practically got a cult following. Founded by Frank Pepe in New Haven, Connecticut, pizzeria employees still hand-toss every single pizza. "Our pizza really has a heritage," observes Berry. "It goes back 87 years, virtually unchanged during those 87 years." He notes that the company has added refrigerators and air-conditioning, but that's about all. When diners visit the restaurant, they enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and flavors of this heritage. "It's a way for people to step back in time," Berry says. The pizza dough is still made fresh daily, and the ingredients come from many of the same sources they did decades ago. Pepe's has built a loyal following through the years. "People have adopted Pepe's as their own through generations," notes Berry. This word-of-mouth advertising is impossible to buy or replicate, and it helps strengthen the brand. It also represents a challenge, in that these loyal customers arrive at the restaurant with high expectations. If they bring friends or family, they expect those guests to be served a top-notch meal, much as if they were entertaining in their own home. "If you don't deliver on your promise, they'll let you know right away," warns Berry. When Pepe's co-owners decided to expand from its initial location several years ago, their strategy included replicating every aspect of the Pepe's dining experience-right down to the furniture and uniforms of the wait staff. They wanted customers to walk into the new location in Fairfield, Connecticut, and feel right at home. They didn't anticipate a backlash-a small core of regular New Haven customers who objected to the expansion of their beloved Pepe's. These customers staged a protest outside the new restaurant as it opened to the public. But publicity surrounding the opening of a new Pepe's swelled beyond the protestors-and 200 people showed up to wait in line for their own piece of Pepe's pie. If anything, the buzz surrounding the protest likely attracted more customers to the new location. Pepe's approach to advertising is pretty straightforward. The pizza sells itself-one bite, and pizza lovers are hooked. So the main objective is to make consumers aware of the restaurant, which now has several locations in the tri-state area surrounding New York City. As the Fairfield restaurant neared its opening date, Pepe's alerted current customers with a simple message printed on top of each pizza box (coincidentally, many of Pepe's regular New Haven diners actually lived in Fairfield). The company also published press releases and advertised the grand opening of the new restaurant. Billboards along the interstate highway proved to be effective with travelers, as did some direct-mail efforts. Pepe's recently ventured into social media with a Facebook page and Twitter account, which Berry refers to as "the new word of mouth." Pepe's posts photos, blurbs about menu items, and relives a few proud moments on Facebook. Customers comment about their favorite pizza flavors (such as spinach and gorgonzola), and share experiences (like driving 50 miles each way for a Pepe's pizza). Berry notes that Pepe's presence in social media keeps the relationships with customers going. Educating consumers about Pepe's is the second advertising objective. With such a tasty product, what better way to attract new customers than to let them discover that the proof really is in the pie? Now when Pepe's launches a new restaurant, they give away free pizza for about a week before the grand opening. That's right: free pizza, for a week. Ken Berry explains that this promotion serves three purposes: It trains the new employees, tests the new ovens, and introduces Pepe's pizza to new customers. The giveaway generates plenty of good buzz about Pepe's pizzas and makes an important statement to the public: Pepe's is so confident about the quality of its food that they're willing to give it away for a week- certain that consumers will become regular customers. Pepe's also enjoys positive public relations surrounding its charitable giving. The company website has a tab allowing customers to request donations for their particular charities, and the restaurant conducts regular "Good Neighbors Nights," from which it donates 15 percent of its proceeds to a designated not-for-profit group. All of these efforts roll together into cohesive marketing communications with one major goal. "Our challenge is to build our brand and protect it," says Berry, "and to make sure we deliver every day." Questions for Critical Thinking 1. Describe how the Pepe's pizza giveaway promotion relates to each step in the AIDA concept. 2. How might Pepe's use guerilla marketing to promote its brand among college students?

Differentiate between advertising and product placement. Which do you think is more effective, and why?

Identify a corporate sponsorship for a cause or event in your area, or find a local company that sponsors a local charity or other organization. What does the sponsor gain from its actions? Be specific. What does the sponsored organization receive? Is this sponsorship good for your community? Explain.

Pop-up ads, those unsolicited messages that sometimes pop onto your computer screen and block the site or information you're looking for until you close or respond to them, are inexpensive to produce and cost nearly nothing to send. They are so annoying to some computer users that dozens of special programs have been written to block them from appearing on the screen during Internet use. Do you consider the use of pop-up ads to be unethical? Why or why not?

Not-for-profit advertising. Review the material in the chapter on creating an advertisement and then go to the website listed here. It outlines the basic steps involved in creating an advertisement for a not-for-profit organization. Review the material and prepare a brief report comparing and contrasting the process of creating an advertisement for a for-profit and a not-for-profit organization. http://marketing.about.com/cs/nonprofitmrktg/a/ 8 stepnonprofit. Htm

Watch a television show and see how many products you can find placed within the show. Present your findings to the class.

Why is sponsorship such an important part of a firm's IMC?

Select two different advertisers' TV or print ads for the same product category (cars or soft drinks, for instance) and decide what emotion each appeals to. Which ad is more effective, and why?

Public relations. Visit the websites of at least three large, multinational corporations. Examples include Siemens, DuPont, and ExxonMobil. Review the material on the websites and prepare a brief report outlining how each firm includes public relations as part of its promotional strategy. www.siemens.com www.dupont.com www.exxonmobil.com

With a classmate, choose a good or service you think could benefit from guerrilla marketing. Imagine you have a limited promotional budget, and come up with a plan for a guerrilla approach. Outline several ideas, and explain how you plan to carry them out. Present your plan to the class.

For each of the following goods and services, indicate which direct marketing channel or channels you think would be best: a. Pittsburgh Pirates tickets b. denim jacket c. custom-made bracelet d. lawn-care service e. magazine subscription

Think back to publicity you have heard recently about a company or its products. If it was good publicity, how was it generated, and what media were used? If it was bad publicity, where did you learn about it, and how did the firm try to control or neutralize it?

Cut out a print ad and place it on a poster board. With a marker, identify all the elements of the ad. Then identify what you believe is the ad's objective. Next, identify the strategy used. If the ad has an interactive component, note that as well.

How does the nature of the market for a firm's goods or services affect the choice of a promotion method?

What are the three primary objectives of advertising? Give an example of when each one might be used.

Identify the different types of emotional appeals in advertising. What are the benefits and pitfalls of each?

Compare and contrast interactive ads and traditional ads.

Identify and describe the different advertising media. Which are on the rise? Which are facing possible decline?

Describe how marketers assess promotional effectiveness.