Advertising Advertising Design Design

Message Strategies Message Strategies

• The essence of an IMC program is designing messages that reaches the target audiences. Many of these messages are, in a very real sense, quite personal. They are designed to change or shape attitudes. They must be remembered; they should lead to some kind of short or long term action.

• Marketing messages can reach the targeted customers in two ways:

1. A personal message can be delivered through a person such as a sales rep, repair department personnel, or customer service rep

2. Marketing messages can reach targeted audience through a variety of ad media.

• The main challenge involved here is to develop a personnel message even while it is being delivered through an impersonal medium.

Message StrategiesMessage Strategies• A message strategy is the primary

tactic or approach used to deliver the message theme. Three message strategies represent the three components of attitudes displayed by consumers.

1. Cognitive Strategies2. Affective Strategies3. Conative Strategies

Cognitive message strategyCognitive message strategy

A cognitive message strategy is the presentation of rational arguments or pieces of information to consumers. These ideas require cognitive processing and the advertiser’s key message would be about the product’s attributes or benefits.

• The goal of a cognitive message strategy will thus be to design an ad that will have an impact on the beliefs or the knowledge structure of a person. Foods, such as milk can be described as healthful, pleasant tasting, or low calorie. Cognitive message strategies would make benefits clear to potential customers.

Five major forms of generic Five major forms of generic Generic message strategiesGeneric message strategies

• Generic messages are direct promotions of

product attributes or benefits without any claim of superiority. It works best for a brand leader like Campbell’s soup which declares “Soup is good food”. This is because the company dominates the soup industry. When most consumers think of soup, they think of Campbell’s.

Generic message strategies are seldom used in B2B ads because few firms can dominate an industry like Campbell does.

One major exception indeed is Intel, which controls over 13.7 percent of the global microconductor market (almost double of the second, Samsung). Generic message strategies can also be used to create brand awareness; develop a cognitive linkage between a specific brand name and product category, like a “Give me Red” ad of Eveready.

• Preemptive messages They claim superiority based on a product’s

specific attribute or benefit. Crest tooth paste claims to be “the cavity fighter” and remains so by preempting others from claiming so. The key to effectively using a preemptive is to be the first company to state the advantage. This prevents other competitors from saying the same thing. And those who do, are viewed as “me too” brands or copycats.

• Unique Selling Proposition USP is an explicit testable claim of

uniqueness or superiority that can be supported or substantiated in some manner. Reebok claims that it is the only one that uses DMX technology, which provides for a better fit.

• Hyperbole The hyperbole approach makes an

non-testable claim based on some attribute or benefit. If a television network boasts that the “buck stops here” is the most favorite show at 10 P.M. on all weekdays, then it is a hyperbole claim.

• Comparative Advertisement

When an advertiser directly or indirectly compares a good or service to the competition, it is the comparative method.

• The ad may or may not mention the competitor; sometimes a competitor is recognized as a “make-believe” X brand. This is not quite effective as actually mentioning the competitor in the comparative advertising method. Visa brags that many merchants accepting cards will not accept American Express.

Important aspects of Important aspects of comparative advertisementcomparative advertisement

• One major advantage is that it captures consumer attention – when comparisons are made, both brand awareness and message awareness increase

• The negative side of this method is in the areas of believability and consumer attitudes. Some consumers think that comparative ads are false and the claims are often exaggerated. The concept of spontaneous trait transference in psychology suggests that when someone calls the other one dishonest, other people tend to treat the speaker as less honest.

• The comparative message strategy must be employed with care and caution. The comparison brand must be picked carefully to ensure consumers see it as a viable competing brand. If the comparisons are all hype and opinion, with no substantial differences, comparative advertisements would not simply work.

• All the five types of cognitive strategies dealt with earlier are based on some type of rational logic. The message is designed to make sure that consumers pay attention to the ad and take time to cognitively process the information. In terms of attitudes, the sequence of cognitive – affective – conative is the plan of attack when developing a rational approach.

Affective strategies Affective strategies • Affective message strategies invoke

feelings or emotions and match those feelings with the good, service or company. Such ads are meant to enhance the likeability of the product, recall of the appeal, or comprehension of the ad. These strategies elicit emotions that prompt the customer to purchase the product, and subsequently affect the consumer’s reasoning process.

A Cheerios ad portray

three generations of family in a visual combined with the words “Your heart has better things to do than deal with heart disease”. An

emotion such as love is used here to convince consumers that Cheerios is a superior breakfast cereal for loved ones.

Two categories of affective Two categories of affective strategiesstrategies

1. Resonance advertising – attempts to connect a product with a consumer’s experience and develop stronger ties between the product and the consumer. Any strongly held memory (of the early childhood, family reunion, etc) or emotional attachment is clear choice for resonance advertising.

resonance: the prolongation of sound by reflection; reverberation

2. Emotional advertising attempts to elicit powerful emotions that eventually lead to product recall and choice. Many emotions – trust, reliability, friendship, happiness, security, glamour luxury, serenity – can be connected to products. These are common approaches to develop strong brand names. Coke and Pepsi primarily use affective message strategies.

Conative StrategiesConative Strategies Conative strategies are

designed to lead more

directly to some type of consumer response. The goal of a conative advertisement is to elicit behavior. Example: a TV ad inviting the viewers to call a toll free number and order for a Music

CD before a particular date and which is not available at stores.

Executional FrameworksExecutional Frameworks• An executional framework is the manner in which

an ad appeal is presented. Different appeals can be chosen and the framework put into force. Different frameworks could be:

Animation Slice-of-life Dramatization Testimonial Authoritative Demonstration Fantasy Informative

AnimationAnimation• Highly popular executional

framework• Dramatically increased due to

growing sophistication of computer graphics

• Animation technologies are far superior to the cartoon type which was in vogue much earlier

• Rotoscoping- a process of digitally painting or sketching figures into live sequences – is one new animation technique. The technique was used in Budweiser’s “Born a Donkey Commercial”. A donkey that wanted to be a Clydesdale and lead the Clydesdales pulling the Budweiser beer wagon

Green giant ads.Green giant ads.

• Animation characters can be human, animal, or product personifications. Animation was originally a last-resort technique for those advertisers who did not have money! Currently it is one of the most popular technique. Animation is mostly used in TV spots. It can be used in movie trailers, on Internet, or on print media as single shots.

Slice-of-LifeSlice-of-Life• In slice-of-life ads solutions for meeting every

day problems are offered. The ad normally shows the common experiences, especially the ones people encounter. Then the good or service is displayed as solution. The most common slice-of-life format has four components:

1. Encounter2. Problem3. Interaction4. Solution

A typical slice-of-life ad can start

with a boy playing soccer and parents cheering. (the encounter) Boy’s dress getting dirty (the problem). Announcer talks about the benefits of a new detergent (interaction). The boy is shown again (in a clean dress of course) receiving a trophy and again cheered by the parents and the crowd!

In print ads, slice-of-life frameworks are difficult. B2B ads use heavily this technique. It is highly popular because products can be explained or highlighted quite effectively.

DramatizationDramatization• Dramatization is similar to slice-of-life

approach; first a problem is presented and then a solution is found out. The difference lies in the intensity and story format. Dramatization uses higher levels of excitement and suspense to unfold the story. It may rise up to a crisis point!

• An effective and dramatic advertisement is difficult to create, because the drama must be completed in 30/60 seconds. Building a story to a climatic moment is quite challenging, given such a short time period.

• Would the Thumps Up ad featuring film star Akshay Kumar fall into this category?

Leo Burnett’s Thumps Up AdLeo Burnett’s Thumps Up Ad

TestimonialsTestimonials

This kind of ads have been most successful in B2B and service

sectors. Testimonial ads: 1. A customer is presented in an ad talking about

a positive experience with a product2. When services are mostly intangible, customers

cannot examine services before making decisions. A testimony from a current customer is an effective method of describing the benefits or attributes of a service.

Companies use testimonials of ordinary customers as they enhance the company’s credibility. Endorsers and famous individuals do not always have high levels of credibility because customers know that they are being paid for the endorsements.

Authoritative Authoritative • The advertiser may seek to convince viewers

that a given product is superior to other brands. This can be done by using an expert authority like a doctor, engineer, or a chemist. These experts normally talk about the brand attributes that make the product superior.

• Many authoritative ads include some type of scientific or survey evidence. Quoting these results, especially those of the surveys conducted by independent groups, government organizations and unpaid sources , gives an ad greater credibility. Authoritative ads find wider acceptance in B2B sector especially when scientific findings are available to support product claim.

Demonstration Demonstration • A demonstration execution shows how a

product works. While demonstrating the product attributes could be effectively explained to the viewers of the ad. B2B ads often present demonstrations; they may help one business to detail how the specific needs of another business could be met. Demonstrations ads well suited to TV and the Internet flash. In a print ad a series of photos could outline the sequence of product usage.

FantasyFantasy• Fantasy ads are designed to lift the

audience beyond the real world to a make-believe experience. Some fantasies are meant to be realistic others are completely irrational. Often the more irrational and illogical ads are the more clearly recalled by the consumers. The most common fantasy themes involve sex, love, and romance.

• One product category that frequently uses fantasy ads is the perfume and cologne industry.

Informative Informative • A common advertising executional

framework is an informative advertisement. These ads present information to the audience in a straight forward way. These are extensively used on the radio where only verbal communications are possible. Informative ads are less popular on TV and the print as consumers tend to ignore them.

• Consumers highly involved in a particular product category pay more attention to an informational ad. Such is often the case when business buyers are in the process of gathering information for either a new buy or modified rebuy. As buying centers in B2B require detailed information, the informative framework continues to be a popular approach for B2B advertisers.

• The key to informative ads is the timing of the same. An informative ad aired on an FM radio station about buffet lunch in a restaurant just before noon is listened to more carefully rather if it is run at 3 P.M.!

Sources and SpokespersonsSources and Spokespersons Selecting the right source and

spokesperson to be used in an advertisement is a most critical decision. Four types of sources are available to advertisers:

1. Celebrities2. CEOs 3. Experts4. Typical persons

• According to one study in the US, 20 percent of all advertisements use some type of celebrity spokesperson. Payments to celebrities accounted for 10 percent of all advertising dollars spent. A celebrity endorser is used because his or her stamp of approval on a product can enhance the product’s brand equity. Celebrities also help to create emotional bonds with the products. The idea is to transfer the bond that exists between celebrity and the audience to the product being endorsed. The bond transfer is more profound among the young consumers.

• Agencies utilize celebrities to help establish a “personality” for a brand. The trick is to tie the brand’s characteristics to those of the spokesperson. In developing a brand personality, the brand must already be established. The celebrity merely helps to define the brand more clearly. Using celebrities for new products does not always work as well for the already established brand.

Three variations of Celebrity Three variations of Celebrity endorsements endorsements

• Unpaid spokespersons They are the celebrities who appear

in an ad for supporting a charity or cause, like “save the tiger” campaign. These are highly credible endorsements in which movie stars, cricket players, and politicians appear and entice significant contributions to a cause.

• Celebrity voice-overs Many celebrities provide voice-overs for TV

and Radio ads without being shown or identified. Listeners respond to these ads and try to guess whose voice is reaching out to them. In that process of trying to figure out the voice of the speaker, the audience might lose track of the product as well!

• Dead Person Endorsement It occurs when a sponsor uses an

image, or past video or film featuring an actor or personality who was dead. These can lead to controversies

CEO spokespersonsCEO spokespersons• Instead of celebrities, advertisers can use

a CEO as the spokesperson or source. In America Dave Thomas of Wendy’s was the famous CEO during the 1990s. For some time Lee Iacocca was the spokesperson for Chrysler. Highly visible and personable CEOs like Richard Branson and Vijay Mallya can become major assets for the companies and their products.

CEOsCEOs

• Expert sources include physicians, lawyers, accountants, financial planners, architects, and so on.

• Typical –person sources are one of two types:1. Paid actors who act as every day people2. Actual, typical every day people Wal-Mart features its own store employees in

free standing insert advertisements. Real people sources are becoming more

common.

Source Characteristics Source Characteristics • Several characteristics of the sources

are considered before deciding upon a particular source. The effectiveness of an ad that uses a spokesperson depends on the degree to which the person has one or more of the characteristics such as the following which constitutes what might be called the credibility:

Credibility

Attractiveness Likeability

Trustworthiness Expertise

Creating an AdvertisementCreating an Advertisement• The work begins with the creative brief

which outlines the message of the ad s well as other pertinent information. Using the creative brief blueprint, the creative develops a means-end chain, starting with an attribute of the product that generates a specific customer benefit and eventually produces a desirable end state.

Creating an advertisementCreating an advertisement

Means-End Chain

Leverage Point

Creative Brief

(message theme)

Executional Frame workAnimation

Slice of life

Dramatization

Testimonial

Authoritative

Demonstration

Fantasy

Informative

Spokesperson

Appeals

Fear

Humor

Sex

Music

Rationality

Emotions

Scarcity

Message Strategy

Cognitive

Affective

Conative

• Following the development of the means-end chain, the creative selects a message strategy, the appeal, and the executional framework. A source person is also chosen at this juncture. Development of the leverage point is taken up after the creative begins work on the ad. The leverage point moves the consumer from the product attribute or customer benefit to the desired end state. The type of leverage point used depends on the message strategy, appeal, and executional framework.

Advertising EffectivenessAdvertising Effectiveness• Producing effective ads requires the

joint efforts of the account executive, creative, media planner and media buyer. Working independently can produce some award-winning ads, but often they not meet the advertisers’ objectives!

• An effective ad accomplishes the objectives desired by the client. The task of making sure the ad accomplishes the IMC objectives is a major challenge. Seven basic principles of advertising effectiveness should be followed:

Principles of effective Principles of effective advertising advertising

1. Visual consistency2. Campaign duration3. Repeated taglines4. Consistent positioning- avoid

ambiguity5. Simplicity6. Identifiable selling point7. Create an effective flow