DESIGNING EFFECTIVE ADVERTISING PROGRAM

Five major decisions in developing an advertising program, known as the five Ms:
What are the advertising objectives? (mission)
How much can be spent?(money)
What message should be sent?(message)
What media should be used? (media)
How should the results be evaluated?(measurement)
Deciding on the Advertising Message
McDonalds spent $ 185.9 million on television in 1983, over twice the spending rate of its
rival Burger King. Yet viewers said they remembered and liked better Burger King ads over
McDonalds.
The best known and liked TV advertising in 1983 was Miller Lite beer commercials showing
sports figures and celebrities arguing over whether Millers advantage was great taste or
less filling.
Three steps to develop a creative strategy:
Message generation

Message evaluation and selection

Message execution
Message generation
Many creative people proceed inductively by talking to consumers, dealers, experts,
and competitors.
Consumers are the major source of good ideas. Their feelings about the strengths
and shortcomings of existing brands provide important clues to creative strategy.
Some creative people use a deductive approach for generating advertising message.
Maloney pointed out that buyers expect four types of rewards from a product:
rational, sensory, social, or ego.
Rational: Get clothes cleaner
Sensory: Settles stomach upset completely
Social: When you care enough to serve the best
Ego satisfaction: For the skin you deserve to have
The more ads that are independently created, the higher the probability of finding an
excellent one.
Yet the more time spent on creating ads, the higher the costs.

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There should be an optimal number of alternative ads that an agency should create and test
for the client.
Message evaluation and selection
A good ad normally focuses on one core selling proposition.
Twedt suggested that messages be rated on desirability, exclusiveness, and believability.
The message must first say something desirable or interesting about the product.
The message must also say something exclusive or distinctive that does not apply to every
brand in the product category.
Finally, the message must be believable or provable.
Example: the March of Dimes searched for an advertising theme to collect money for its fight
against birth defects700 children are born each day with a birth defect scored 70, 62 and 80 on interest,
distinctiveness and believability -----Your next baby could be born with a birth defect scored 58, 51, and 70.
The first message outperformed the second on all accounts.
Message execution
The messages impact depends not only upon what is said but also on how it is said.
Some ads aim for rational positioning and others for emotional positioning.
American ads typically present an explicit feature or benefit designed to appeal the
rational mindGet clothes cleaner OR Brings relief faster

Japanese ads are more indirect and appeal to the emotional mind-

Nissans Infinity car ad-showed not the car but beautiful scenes from nature aimed at
producing an emotional association and response.
Message execution Style

Slice of life

Lifestyle

Fantasy

Mood or image

Musical

Personality symbol

Technical expertise

Scientific evidence

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Testimonial evidence

Slice of life: This shows one or more people using the product in a normal setting
e.g. a family seated at the dinner table might express satisfaction with a new biscuit brand.
A Silk soymilk Rise and Shine ad shows a young professional starting the day with a
healthier breakfast and high hopes.
Lifestyle: Lifestyle: This emphasizes how a product fits in with a life style.
e.g. A scotch whisky ad shows a handsome middle-aged man holding a glass of scotch
whisky in one hand and steering his yacht with the other.
A Timond watch ad shows celebrity film director Karan Johar and says that success
deserves a special embrace.
Fantasy: This creates a fantasy around the product or its use.
e.g. Revlons ad for Jontue features a barefoot woman wearing a chiffon dress.
Axe deodorant commercial shows a young man covered in chocolate, with young girls
jumping at him.
Mood or image: This style builds a mood or image around the product, such as beauty, love
or serenity. Few claims are made about the product except through suggestions.
e.g. Singapore Airlines feature soft lighting and refined flight attendants pampering relaxed
and heavy customers.
Cigarette ads (e.g. Salem, Newport) create moods.
Musical: This uses background music or shows one or more persons or cartoon characters
singing a song involving the product.
e.g. Many cola ads used this format
The jingles and the words in Limcas Fresh Ho Jao (freshen up) ad.
Personality symbol: This style creates a character that represents the product. Character
might be animated (e.g. Britannia tiger, and Gattu, old Asian Paints mascot) or can be real
(e.g. Marlboro man)
Technical expertise: This shows the companys expertise and experience in making the
product.
e.g. Italian Swiss Colony emphasizes its many years of experience in winemaking.
Scientific evidence: This presents survey or scientific evidence that the brand is preferred
or outperforms other brands.
e.g. Crest toothpaste- Crests superior cavity-fighting properties.
Testimonial evidence: This features a highly credible, likable, or expert source endorsing
the product
e.g. Amitabh Bachhan appearing in Cadbury chocolate ads.
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Theme vs. Creative Copy

Theme
(An outline of key ideas that the advertising
program is supposed to convey)
7-Up is not a cola
If you drink a beer, Schaefer is a good beer
to drink
We dont rent as many cars, so we have to
do more for our customers
Red Roof Inns offer inexpensive lodging.

Creative Copy
(Copy refers to text used in advertising)
The Un-Cola.
The beer to have when youre having more
than one.
We try harder.
Sleep cheap at Red Roof Inns.

Evaluating Advertising Effectiveness-Sales Effect Research

Companies are generally interested whether they are overspending or under

spending on advertising

Share of expenditures----Share of voice----Share of mind and heart- share of market

Share of market- The competitors share of the target market.

Share of mind-The percentage of customers who named the competitor in responding to

the statement, Name the first company that comes to mind in this industry.

Share of heart-The percentage of customers who named the competitor in responding to

the statement, Name the company from which you would prefer to buy the product.
Advertising
Expenditure
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
$500,000

A
B
C

Share of Voice
57.1
28.6
14.3

Share
Market
40.0
28.6
31.4

of Advertising
Effectiveness
70
100
220

Types of Advertising Appeal

Fear

Humor

Sex

Musical

Rational

Emotional

Scarcity

Fear: Advertisers use fear to sell numerous products.

e.g. Life insurance companies focus on the consequences of not having life insurance when
a person dies.

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Shampoo and mouthwash ads invoke fears of dandruff and bad breath.
Humor: Capturing a viewers attention is difficult.
Even after an advertiser has generated the audiences attention, keeping that attention is
more challenging.
The success of humor as an advertising appeal is based on three things. Humor causes
consumers to: 1) watch, 2) laugh, 3) remember
Reasons for using Humor in Ads
Captures attention
Holds attention
Often wins creative awards.
High recall scores
Consumers enjoy ads that make them laugh

Evaluated by consumers as likable ads.

e.g. McDonalds, Ford

Sex: Advertisements in many countries throughout the world contain more visual sexual
themes than they have in the past.
Nudity and other sexual approaches are common.
Sexual themes in ads, however, no longer sell the way they used to. Todays teens are
growing up in societies immersed in sex.
e.g. Deodorant, perfume
Presence of female (or male) decorative models improves ad recognition, but not brand
recognition.

Attractive models produce a higher level of attention to ads.

The presence of an attractive model produces higher purchase intentions when the
product is sexually relevant than if it is not sexually relevant.
Musical: Music helps captures the listeners attention.
It is easily linked to emotions, memories, and other experiences.
e.g. the song Like a Rock is often quickly linked to Chevrolets trucks for many
people.
Rational: A rational appeal follows the hierarchy of effects stages of awareness, knowledge,
liking, preference, conviction and purchase

B2B advertisers use print media/trade publications to feature rational appeal

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 Effective when consumers have high levels of involvement and are willing to pay
attention to the advertisement.
Superior to other appeals in developing or changing attitudes and establishing brand
beliefs.
Emotional: Emotional appeals reach the more creative side of the brain.
Reasons for using Emotional appeals

Consumers ignore most ads.

Rational appeals generally go unnoticed.

Emotional appeals can capture attention and foster an attachment.

e.g. TVC of Western Union.

Emotions used: Trust, friendship, romance, family bonds, happiness, reliability etc.
Scarcity: Scarcity appeals urge consumers to buy a particular product because of limitation.
It can be a limited number of the products available or
That the product is available for only limited time.
e.g. McDonalds, Burger King offer sandwiches for limited time period throughout the year.

Three Stages of the buying behaviour of consumers.

The three stages are:

1. Cognitive stage
2. Affective Stage
3. Behaviour stage

Cognitive Stage
The cognitive component deals with cognition, or knowledge; it is the power of knowing,
perceiving or conceiving ideas about the product. It is dealing with the basic information that
a consumer needs to know. A customer needs to be exposed to the product and understand
its usage before he actually purchases it.
Affective Stage
The Affective component deals with the affections/emotions. For example, feelings of likes
or dislike towards objects are dealt on the effective plane. It is at this stage that the
consumer will either have preference or liking towards the product or he will develop a
dislike. This stage shows his attitude towards the product, whether he is for or against the
product.
Behaviour Stage

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This is the stage when the consumer, after having the knowledge and developing the liking
or disliking towards the product, will ultimately lead into a purchase of the product or
rejection of the product. He would first try the product and develop loyalty towards it or he is
completely convinced that the product is good and would purchase the product.

MODELS BASED ON THE THREE STAGES OF BUYING BEHAVIOUR

HIERARCHY OF EFFECTS MODEL

Hierarchy of effects Model can be explained with the help of a pyramid. First the
lower level objectives such as awareness, knowledge or comprehension are
accomplished. Subsequent objectives may focus on moving prospects to higher
levels in the pyramid to elicit desired behavioral responses such as associating
feelings with the brand, trial, or regular use etc.

It is easier to accomplish ad objectives located at the base of the pyramid than the
ones towards the top. The percentage of prospective customers will decline as they
move up the pyramid toward more action oriented objectives, such as regular brand
use.

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Awareness: if most of the target audience is unaware of the object, the communicators task
is to build awareness, perhaps just name recognition, with simple messages repeating the
product name. Consumers must become aware of the brand. This isnt as straightforward as
it seems. Capturing someones attention doesnt mean they will notice the brand name.
Thus, the brand name needs to be made focal to get consumers to become aware.
Magazines are full of ads that will capture your attention, but youll have trouble easily seeing
the brand name.
Knowledge: the target audience might have product awareness but not know much more;
hence this stage involves creating brand knowledge. This is where comprehension of the
brand name and what it stands for become important. What are the brands specific appeals,
its benefits? In what way is it different than competitors brands? Who is the target market?
These are the types of questions that must be answered if consumers are to achieve the
step of brand knowledge.
Liking: if target members know the product, how do they feel about it? If the audience looks
unfavourably towards the product to communicator has to find out why. If the unfavourable
view is based on real problems, a communication campaigns alone cannot do the job. For
product problem it is necessary to first fix the problem and only then can you communicate
its renewed quality.
Preference: the target audience might like the product but not prefer it to others. In this
case, the communicator must try to build consumer preference by promoting quality, value,
performance and other features. The communicator can check the campaigns success by
measuring audience preference before and after the campaign.
Conviction: a target audience might prefer a particular product but not develop a conviction
about buying it. The communicators job is to build conviction among the target audience.
Purchase: finally, some members of the target audience might have conviction but not quite
get around to making the purchase. They may wait for more information or plan to act later.
The communicator must need these consumers to take the final step, perhaps by offering
the product at a low price, offering a premium, or letting consumers tried out. This is where
consumers make a move to actually search out information or purchase.
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Note: For details please see text & reference books.

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