Comm Objectives v01
Comm Objectives v01
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1. INTRODUCTION
The need to assess the real impact of advertising and communication campaigns is ever-present
in modern day management. Expenditures in communication campaigns can tie up a significant
amount of resources for organizations of all kinds and sizes; therefore, there is considerable need
to evaluate the returns on these financial expenses. According to authors Young & Aitken, as of
2005, Procter & Gamble, the largest U.S. advertiser, spent $6,000 million in advertising, while
their annual profits were on the order of $7,257 million. (Young & Aitken, 2007:192)
This article proposes a simple frame of reference to measure advertising and integrated marketing
communications (IMC) effectiveness. With the advent of digital technologies, measurement of
results has become increasingly affordable; however, the main point of this article is that an
effective communications effort begins with a clear, precise and measurable communication
objective.
2. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
In order to measure the effectiveness of advertising and IMC campaigns, two pivotal concepts
must be explained and differentiated. This important clarification will enable the user to
rigorously apply the frame of reference proposed in this paper.
2.1 Evoked set and top-of-mind awareness
Top-of-mind awareness is the order in which brand names are recalled within an evoked set,
without any aid. Author Scott Dacko explains:
In the context of a consumer's buying decision process, an evoked set can be viewed as a
selected shortlist or top-of-mind set of alternatives that the consumer generates. In order
for a firm´s products or brands to have a chance of being evaluated by a consumer, such
products or brands need to be in the consumer's evoked set. (Dacko, 2007:195)
For example, when prompted about a generic product category, or an unsatisfied need, only
brand names mentioned through unaided recall ought to be considered as part of the evoked
set. According to the frequency with which they are mentioned, brand names are ranked in a
list. When building a top-of-mind ranking, only the frequency is important; not the attributes
associated with the brand name in question.
2
3
can compose a single communication campaign, but that these messages must avoid
contradictions among them.
3.2 Goal setting in management and in marketing communications
Author Henry Mintzberg quotes W.F. Glueck, regarding strategy in management:
“Strategy is a unified, comprehensive and integrated plan...designed to ensure that the
basic objectives of the enterprise are achieved.” (Glueck in Mintzberg, 1987:12). It
follows then, that objectives are the starting point of any strategy. In this sense, an IMC
strategy must stem from a clear set of communication objectives. As in other management
areas, objectives are to be stated in a rigorous and concise manner, for they are the
benchmark upon which success of the campaign shall be measured. There is ample
literature regarding practical advice to state proper objectives, including the SMART
acronym1. In all cases, there must be a measurement ex-ante, meaning that goals should
be compared to results.
4. COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this section is to illustrate different proposed views regarding the formulation of
advertising objectives and advertising effectiveness.
Mentions of communication objectives in academic journals date back at least to the early
nineteen forties. The earliest mention found about the topic is a reference to a 1942 book by
author Neil Borden titled “The Economic Effects of Advertising”. According to author Charles
H. Patti, Borden posited that advertising effectiveness depended upon numerous factors, the main
ones being:
1) The trend of demand in the particular industry should be rising
2) There should be an opportunity to stimulate selective demand - brand preference for the particular
product. This opportunity is most likely present when:
a) there is substantial chance for product differentiation
b) consumer satisfaction depends on hidden qualities that cannot be easily judged at the time
of purchase
c) strong emotional buying motives exist
3) The combination of potential unit sales times rate of gross margin must be high enough to permit
necessary advertising expenditures in the particular product
(Borden as cited in Patti, 1977:31)
1
According
to
Harvard
Business
Press,
objectives
should
be
specific,
measurable,
achievable,
realistic
and
time-‐
limited.
Pocket
Mentor,
Setting
Goals,
Harvard
Business
Press,
2009.
ISBN-‐13
978-‐1-‐4221-‐5561-‐5.
5
In 1961, a book titled “Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results” by author
Russel H. Colley was published. In it, there is reference to a 1959 Association of National
Advertiser´s committee called to investigate the subject. In 1961, this committee came out with
the so-called DAGMAR Report, from the initials of the book´s title. This report states:
“Advertising results can be measured if specific advertising objectives are first defined” (Colley,
1964:82).
Another reference to the subject is an article titled “Marketing and Advertising: Setting
objectives that get results”, by Stephen J. Welsh, published in Management Review Journal.
According to Welsh (1965), five criteria should be used to establish objectives:
1. Objectives should committed to writing and communicated
2. Objectives should be long-term, but not irrevocable or static
3. Objectives should be followed by plans and programs
4. Objectives should be specific and measurable, whenever possible
5. Objectives should be tailor-made (Welsh, 1965: 9-12)
In turn, a 1966 article titled “The Hypothesis of a Hierarchy of Effects: A Partial Evaluation”
references a 1961 model for the predictive measurement of advertising effectiveness, called the
attention, interest, desire and action or AIDA concept, as posed by Lavidge & Steiner. Little
support was found for such a hypothesis of consumer response (Palda, 1966:1).
A 1982 article titled “Developing a Successful Small Business Advertising Program: an MBO
Approach”, by authors Lincoln & Naumann, states:
The initial and most important step in developing an effective advertising program is
formulating advertising objectives. The most salient factors influencing the formulation of
objectives include target market characteristics, the planning horizon and the nature of
competition. These factors must be carefully scrutinized before objectives are finally
determined (Lincoln & Naumann, 1982: 31).
However, the authors finish the article section calling other factors into question, like store type
and other environmental influences (Lincoln and Naumann, 1982:33).
A 1990 article titled “A Knowledge-Based System for Advertising Design” describes a software
application that directs the design of advertising campaigns, including the objective setting
process. Regarding advertising objectives, the article says:
“Consumer motivation is a key consideration in setting communication objectives (Young
& Rubicam) . The two basic motivations for product and brand purchase are the need to
restore equilibrium from an aversive to a neutral state (negative reinforce-ment), and the
need to increase the level of desirable stimulation (positive reinforcement)” (Burke,
Rangaswamy, Wind and Eliashberg, 1990, 217).
6
New
product
categories
/
New
users
of
Stimulate
primary
demand
by
communicating
existing
product
categories
the
benefits
that
tie
the
product
category
to
the
consumer´s
needs
and
wants
Product
is
at
the
maturity
or
decline
stage
of
It
may
be
desirable
to
increase
primary
the
product
life
cycle
and
the
brand
has
a
demand,
as
the
brand
will
reap
a
large
share
large
market
share,
of
the
increased
category
sales
For
products
that
are
infrequently
purchased
The
advertiser
should
remind
the
target
or
purchased
once
and
used
infrequently,
audience
of
its
need
for
the
product
For
both
new
and
existing
products,
if
the
The
advertiser
should
attempt
to
stimulate
target
audience
has
not
used
the
brand
in
the
brand
trial
past
If
consumers
have
used
the
brand,
Advertising
should
be
designed
to
stimulate
repeat
purchase
or
loyalty,
or
to
increase
the
rate
of
brand
usage.
The
rate
of
product
usage
is
positively
related
It
may
be
desirable
to
increase
usage
by
to
the
quantity
purchased,
as
with
snack
communicating
new
brand
uses
and/or
foods
or
ingredients.
directly
stimulating
purchase
through
promotions
(Young
&
Rubicam
).
When
consumers'
consumption
rate
is
not
The
advertiser
should
consider
alternative
influenced
by
the
amount
purchased,
it
is
objectives,
such
as
increasing
brand
loyalty
by
generally
less
beneficial
to
have
consumers
creating
or
reinforcing
positive
brand
beliefs
stock
up
(unless,
e.g.,
the
advertiser
or
by
projecting
a
favorable
brand
image
or
anticipates
heavy
competitive
activity
and
is
lifestyle
attempting
to
maintain
continuity
of
purchase).
(Burke, Rangaswamy, Wind and Eliashberg, 1990, 216-217)
Authors Rossiter, Percy and Donovan reference the Rossiter-Percy grid, a tool for advertising
planning in which they rank product categories into two dimensions: High-Low involvement and
the Think-Feel spectrum. Upon placement of the product in question into one of the quadrants
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(High-Low involvement / Think-Feel spectrum), the authors suggest different advertising tactics
for the advertiser (Rossiter, Percy & Donovan, 1991:11-21).
A 1993 article titled “Developing Combinations of Message Appeals for Campaign
Management” names a selection of advertising objectives, pertaining to: Awareness, Interest,
Understanding, Trial and Repeat Purchase (Davies, 1993: 47, 49). Further into the article, the
author also mentions related advertising objectives like: Product interest/exclusivity, Credibility,
Awareness/reassurance, Memorability, Interest, Product desirability/preference and Product
interest / purchase. (Davies, 1993:51)
In her 1996 article “Effectiveness, Objectives and the Effie Awards”, author Sandra E. Moriarty,
chronicles different approaches available to carry out the objective formulation process. “Setting
objectives, the focus of this paper, is the first step in planning an advertising campaign; however,
even such a basic practice is not commonly understood.” (Moriarty, 1996:55).
In her article, Moriarty refers to the hierarchy-of-effects literature reviewed by author Thomas
Barry in 1987. She also mentions the Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) model as another
reference. Another approach mentioned is the one developed in 1961 by authors Lavidge &
Steiner in terms of cognitive, conative and affective categories of responses. Moriarty also
mentions a refinement of this last approach developed by Rossiter & Percy in 1980, called the
“think, feel, do” approach, as referenced above. She also mentions that another way to structure
advertising objectives is to copytest an ad in reference to the following criteria: persuasion,
communication or recall objectives. (Moriarty, 1996:56).
Moriarty herself posits three domains in her own model:
Domain
Subcategories
Brand/product awareness
Perception Interest
Memory
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Behavior change
(Moriarty, 1996:57)
More recently, authors Bruce, Peters and Naik (2012) posit that advertising contributes both to
growth in sales and brand building. They propose a model that explains intermediate effects of
advertising and provides empirical evidence that their framework applies to a major brand’s
operating hierarchy: advertising→experience →cognition→affect↔sales. (Bruce, Peters & Naik,
2012: 793)
5. PROPOSED CATEGORIES OF COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES
Considering what has been expressed in the preceding sections, the first statement of this paper is
obvious, and follows the DAGMAR Report’s (1959) conclusion: advertising and communication
effectiveness is measured by the degree of fulfillment of the goal or set objective. This statement
presupposes that the firm has carefully studied its needs, has rigorously set the goals or objectives
to attend to them, and has allocated the resources to fulfill them.
Secondly, a classification of communication objectives is described. In this paper, it is proposed
that strategic communications be managed around four major organizational needs; and that the
corresponding objectives be formulated accordingly:
5.1 Major Communication Objective Categories
1. Top-of-Mind Awareness.- A top-of-mind objective is set either when the brand name
needs to maintain a first place ranking or improve its place on the ranking. This type
of objective assumes that the attributes associated to the brand name are the desired
ones. Highly creative advertising is recommended for this situation.
2. Brand Image.- A brand image objective is set when the brand name is associated with
undesired attributes. In this case, it is better to show than to tell. In other words, due to
the weak credibility of traditional advertising messages, it is in the firm´s interest to
use Public Relations and/or BTL interactions as a means to improve the brand´s image
perception.
3. New Product Introduction.- A new product introduction communication objective is
set when a company needs to launch or introduce such an offer. In this case,
communication effectiveness ought to be measured by the number of requests for
information the company received versus number of people reached by the
communications campaign. In other words, what is measured is the number of people
who made contact with the organization due to the messages´ stimuli. Actual sales are
not taken into account, since the new product launch probably will not coincide with
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the consumer´s actual need manifestation in the precise moment the campaign is
launched.
4. Promotional.- A promotional communication objective is set when there is a need to
stimulate sales of a product for a limited time, by means of a relevant economic
incentive. Effectiveness of this type of campaign is measured by variation in sales, as
compared to a previous season or period of time.
Table 1 - Proposed classification of major communication objectives
Communication
Message
Aim
Remarks
Objective
Recommendation
10
11
12
With the advent of mass technology, many new advertising metrics have been made available to
marketing and communications managers. In addition to the traditional reach, frequency and
circulation metrics, new digital ones have emerged. This data is useful when deciding on media
selection, and in turn the aforementioned should be made according to the main communication
objective set for the campaign in question.
With respect to media selection, it shall be noted that there can be considerable confusion
regarding the effectiveness of a certain medium over another. Managers and scholars should have
in mind that if a medium exists, it must be effective for some purpose. This is to say that it is very
hard to determine that one medium is better than another. Instead, it is useful to think that a
particular medium is more appropriate to the campaign communication objective. In this sense,
the first and most important step in planning an IMC campaign is to formulate a clear and precise
communication objective. The fact that, due to rapid technological change, assumptions
regarding media effectiveness probably will evolve in the short run, should also to be noted.
It is also common that marketing managers demand projected results from ad or communication
agencies. This attitude is perfectly understandable, out of the necessity to justify the good use of
deployed financial resources. However, it is important to note that there are a large number of
factors that are beyond the agency's control; and for that reason, campaign results are highly
unpredictable, even in the face of result projections. This situation is akin to sales forecasts of a
totally new product launch: only basic projections can be made, with high margins of error.
With respect to this last situation, Philip Kotler quotes department store mogul John Wanamaker,
who famously said: “I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; but I can never find
out which half” (Kotler, 2011:96). Nevertheless, rigorous objective setting, along with the new
technologies available, can dramatically improve the assessment of a campaign`s results.
7. CONCLUSIONS
Measuring benefits resulting from advertising and IMC expenditures is an area that has been
studied for decades. Various models related to the subject exist. However, research carried out for
this paper showed no consensus among experts regarding the field of study in question.
For this matter, advertising and IMC results ought to be studied in a more detailed fashion.
Furthermore, an opportunity exists in the development of an industry standard to carry out the
task of measuring IMC effectiveness. Said standard should take into consideration the needs of
the organization and the objectives that correspond to them. Also, new communication
13
technologies ought to be considered when developing a universal model for measuring IMC
effectiveness.
This paper posits a simple frame of reference that can help communications executives and
marketing managers set clear goals to measure the effectiveness of their advertising and IMC
campaigns. It is proposed that communication campaigns be formulated upon a strategic
objective, which in turn is categorized in one of four major groups: top-of-mind awareness, brand
image, new product introduction and promotional. Two exceptions to this categorization are
noted: social cause campaigns and public election campaigns. However, both situations are
explained according to the proposed ideas; therefore including them into a coherent and
functional model.
A possible limitation of this frame of reference lies in the fact that a campaign constructed upon
one of the cited objectives can impact the other objective categories as well. However, the
proposed categorization is a tool that essentially provides guidance for setting communication
objectives; and therefore, the collateral effects of the campaign in question are not to be confused
with the main objective set for it.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to all the professionals and scholars I have met during the last twenty years, whose
interactions have nurtured in me a strategic view of communications and advertising
management. Additionally, all my students should also be mentioned in this section, since
without their demands and curiosity I could have not come to this humble, alternative proposal to
improve the measurement of the effectiveness of strategic communications in the corporate
world.
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