MKT20021

Integrated Marketing Communication

Semester Jan 2023 – Week 6
By Zulik Nguyen
Internal use only
MESSAGES and IMC
4 kinds of message

All messages must be consistent.

SOURCE OF THE MESSAGE WHAT THE MESSAGE TELLS US KIND OF MESSAGE

Product How well it works, its price, its

What the product tells us. Do
messages distribution, its quality, its image.

What the people who work for the The responsiveness, reliability,
Service
company (sales representatives, assurance & empathy of staff; the Do
messages
receptionist, delivery people) tell us. service facilities (e.g., toilet).

What the company tells us through Brand and product knowledge like
Planned
advertising, public relations, direct features, benefits, image, purchase Say
messages
marketing, sales promotion. information.

News stories, gossip, rumors,

Unplanned
What everyone else tells us. independent or government Confirm
messages
agencies, word of mouth.
Message consistency
“Say” messages are the
company’s promise.
Message consistency is when what the
company says is reinforced by what they
do and by what others say about them.

“Confirm” messages are “Do” messages are what

what people say about they deliver through
the product/brand. products & services.

The message
consistency triangle
Message structure

The structure of a persuasive message can influence its

effectiveness, including:

1. Order of presentation: The strongest arguments should

be presented early or late in the message, not in the middle.
Message structure

The structure of a persuasive message can influence its effectiveness, including:

1. Order of presentation: The strongest arguments should be presented early or

late in the message, not in the middle.

2. Conclusion drawing: The message should explicitly draw a firm conclusion or

allow receivers to draw their own conclusion. In general, messages with explicit
conclusions are easily understood & effective in influencing attitudes.
Message structure

3. Message sidedness:

One-sided message mentions only positive attributes.

More effective when target audience is less educated

or already has a favorable opinion.

• Look-objective PR articles
Two-sided message presents both good & bad points. • Review of products/services
• KOLs, influencers
More effective when target audience is more
• Emphasize differences/USPs
educated or has an opposing opinion.

Look less biased & more objective → May enhance

credibility of the source.
Message structure
CAT
4. Verbal vs. Visual messages or
Consumers develop images/impressions based on visual
elements. The use of pics providing examples increases
both immediate & delayed recall of product attributes.

But if the verbal information is already high in imagery

value, the addition of pics does not increase recall.

Sometimes, the visual is incongruent with or contradicts

the verbal info because the unexpected image will grab
customers’ attention & get them to engage in more
collaborative processing.
Creativity is the best

Why creativity is essential?

The perspective on advertising creativity:

1. Does this advertising position the product simply and with unmistakable clarity?

Target audience must recognize what the product is, who it is for, why they should be
interested in it. Without a simple, clear, focused positioning, no creative work can begin.

2. Does this advertising bolt the brand to a clinching benefit?

Ad should be built on the most compelling and persuasive consumer benefit, not some
unique-but-insignificant peripheral features.
Creativity is the best

3. Does this advertising contain a power idea?

Power idea is the vehicle to transform the strategy into a dynamic, creative
communication concept. The ideal power idea should:

• Be describable in simple words without reference to any final execution.

• Be likely to attract customers’ attention.

• Focus on the clinching benefit.

• Allow you to brand the advertising.

• Make it easy for customers to vividly experience our product/service.

Creativity is the best

4. Does this advertising design in brand personality?

It’s not only about the ad, but also about brand personality.

All brands do something, but great brands are something.

5. Is this advertising unexpected?

Dare to be different because sameness is suicide.

Can’t be outstanding unless we first stand out.

6. Is this advertising single minded?

If you want people to recall one big thing from an ad, don’t make it difficult to identify,
don’t waste time to say anything else. Advertising should be about that one thing.
Creativity is the best

7. Does this advertising reward the prospect?

Give the audience an emotional stimulus (e.g. a tear, a smile, a laugh) to trigger them
to see the ad again and again.

8. Is this advertising visually arresting?

Great advertising to remember, and play back in mind, should be compelling, riveting,
a nourishing feast for the eyes.

9. Does this advertising exhibit painstaking craftsmanship?

Should go for the absolute best in concept, design, and execution (writing, visuals,
music, lighting, casting, costumes, direction, IT, etc.).
Every IMC task is creative

Creativity is not the exclusive job of the creative director.

Creativity is the process of discovering new relationships between things that

were previously unconnected (Albert Einstein) → Creativity is the process of
connecting our customers’ needs with our product’s benefits.

→ Seek for creative solutions to problems encountered in planning, developing,

and implementing an IMC campaign.
“Unless your advertising
has a big idea, it will pass
like a ship in the night”

BIG IDEA through 5 questions:

1. Did it make me gasp when I first saw it?
2. Do I wish I had thought of it myself?
3. Is it unique?
4. Does it fit the strategy?
5. Could it be used in the long run?
PERSUASION
Modes of persuasion

Ethos
(Credibility,
Authority,
Reliability)

Modes of
persuasion

Pathos Logos
(Emotion, (Logic,
Imagination, Reason,
Sympathy) Rationality)
Appeals by Ethos – appeals to values/trust

Borrowed Interest & Character

• Utilizing the equity of another identity or

entity to attract attention, garner support &
persuade is a technique to create advertising
effectiveness & efficiency.

• The challenge is to ensure that the other party

doesn’t overshadow the brand it represents.

• Celebrity endorsements in brand campaigns

always face a risk vs. reward assessment.
Appeals by Ethos – appeals to values/trust

Slice of Life

Common scenarios that are relatable enables to create a

connection with the audience to garner attention and seek
to persuade towards the intention of the ads.
Appeals by Pathos – emotional appeals

Empathy and Shared Experience

Scenarios that trigger emotional responses are employed to shape attitudes

towards brands/products.

Themes include nostalgia, pity, sympathy, envy and compassion among others.

Glittering Generalities – Vivid Imagery

Often sensory communications that say nothing logical or rational about a product.
Appealing words without any concrete idea of what is being advertised.

Some brands revert to this format when they are at the end of the product lifecycle
and need to maintain brand awareness but have no new news about the product.
Appeals by Logos – logical appeals

Card stacking

By presenting facts or info in particular ways, marketers can

adjust the way messaging is perceived and what effect it has on
an audience.

Omission of facts & details is another technique of card stacking.

Appeals by Logos – logical appeals

Bandwagoning

Referential terms that suggest ‘in-group’ behavior entice

audiences to show interest based on an underlying desire
among humans to belong.

Suggesting a bigger group already use or approve of a

brand/product creates a construct of social proof that
influences judgements and feelings towards a product.
Appeals by Logos – logical appeals

The “Plain Folks” appeal

Using imagery to suggest everyday

lives & commonalities between
the audience & the brand
alleviates the gap between an
organization and its audience.
(mix of both logos and ethos)
Types of persuasive shortcuts

6 shortcuts that assist people in making faster decisions

(or marketers to persuade individuals more effectively):

• Reciprocity

• Scarcity

• Authority

• Consistency

• Liking

• Consensus
Other types of persuasive techniques

Including but not limited to:

• Anchoring: A product’s value is perceived by what it is compared to.

• Decoys: When choosing between 2 similar products, introducing a decoy can push people toward the
desired direction.

• Fleeting attraction: Feelings of similarity between a messenger & their audience can double compliance.

• Humor: He who laughs is defenseless.

• Attractiveness: “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness” – Leo Tolstoy

• Guarantees: “If you’re not satisfied, your money back”

• Social proofing: People have an innate drive to copy others’ decisions and behavior.

• Alter casting: Casting people into a social role makes them behave in ways expected by the role.
Sometimes enough exposure can change attitudes

Repeated exposure through IMC can be a core principle of

effective advertising penetration & recall.

Sometimes material empty of emotional appeal or meaning can

take on significance to audiences through enough exposure.

Image + Logo = Effective brand recall?

Effective advertising Is distinctive and builds
brand codes & attributes.
Differentiation is important
to build compelling
Achieves a shift in attitudes, propositions, but distinction
perceptions, and beliefs. & efforts toward generating
Meets the stated longer term fame generate
From the beginning to the
objectives. longer term returns.
end, all IMC work needs to
achieve a shift of some sorts. Aligns to the stated intent
and role for Can be recalled.
Is ‘On-Brand’ and aids communications at all The ad fails if the audience
time and through the can’t recall, or the product
Positioning.
coordinated touchpoints
Carries the identity & tone of attribution does not occur.
& wider orchestration of
the brand image at all time. campaign management.
The communications should
not deviate from the brand
for the sake of being ‘witty’ Resonates with the target
or ‘smart’. audience.
No need to be all things to
all people.
Case study

Sometimes opportunities present

themselves in the most unlikely
ways, and creative thinking can
turn challenges into opportunities.

Case study: KFC → FCK

In Feb 2018, 800 of 900 KFC

restaurants in England closed due
to the shortage of chicken.
Thank you for listening!
Next week: The creative process
Acknowledgement of Country
We respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, who
are the Traditional Owners of the land on which Swinburne’s Australian
campuses are located in Melbourne’s east and outer-east, and pay our
respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.

We are honoured to recognise our connection to Wurundjeri Country,

history, culture, and spirituality through these locations, and strive to ensure
that we operate in a manner that respects and honours the Elders and
Ancestors of these lands.

We also respectfully acknowledge Swinburne’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander staff, students, alumni, partners and visitors.

We also acknowledge and respect the Traditional Owners of lands across

Australia, their Elders, Ancestors, cultures, and heritage, and recognise the
continuing sovereignties of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations.