IMC Advertising and Promotion Exercises
These exercises are part of the Advertising Journal. Details of this assignment can be found in the
course syllabus, while
individual exercise due dates can be found in the course calendar. Please note that most
of these assignments require set-up time, so please plan accordingly; do not wait until the last minute to
complete assignments. Analysis should be generally be in the range of 600 to 1,000 words.
Whenever possible, include all supporting material, such as copies of articles, ads, etc. When doing
research on articles, please rely more on the library databases (ABI/INFORM probably the best)
than on Internet searches. Some of your supporting material MUST come from legitimate advertising and marketing journals.
Finally, remember that the Advertising Journal consists of these exercises and analyses of ads.
Chapter 1: Using Advertising and Promotion to Build Brands
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is all about having all communications,
all marketing, have a consistent message. Apple Computer has gotten major kudos
for the iPod (whether the original, nano, or shuffle). Do a little research… go to the
Apple iPod Website, try to find an iPod ad (in print or television), and examine any
PR Apple has gotten about the iPod. Examine the product and the packaging. What
is the message one gets from all these elements? Why did it become so much
more successful over other MP3 players? Finally, i8n your opinion, has Apple followed an IMC strategy --
and not just for the iPod, but for the entire company?
Chapter 3: Brands and Stakeholder Relationships
Think about a brand with which you have a relationship -- always use it, feel it's a good product --
but you also get great service or consistent quality when you use it… a total brand experience.
Identify the brand and examine/describe
why it is so great… what is it's position in the market? What are the competing brands --
and what are their strengths/weaknesses? How is your brand different than the competition?
What would ever make you switch brands? How can your brand get other consumers to
switch to it?
Chapter 4: How Brand Communication Works
Ever wonder about the laundry detergent product category? Why do several companies
produce the majority of laundry brands? For example, Procter & Gamble markets Tide, Gain,
Era, Cheer, and Ivory. How does P&G differentiate these brands? How many different
messages can you develop about laundry detergent? Use the P&G Website. Then, go do
a little hands-on research by visiting a retail outlet that sells laundry detergent; conduct
an analysis of the P&G brands of laundry detergent. What are the distinguishing features
of each brand? Compare prices, shelf space, etc. What are the target markets for each
brand? Are the positions different enough to avoid cannibalization? Should P&G even care
about the issue of cannibalization?
Chapter 5: Consumer Response
Retail coffee shops are big business. Of course, Starbucks is the national leader,
while Dunkin Donuts is the old-timer. Then there are other growing franchises like It's
a Grind and Java Dave's. What's the difference? How can coffee be more than a commodity?
If you were going to open a national coffee shop in DeLand (keeping in mind local
competition like Boston Gourmet), how would you position it? What are some promotional
techniques you would use to break into the DeLand market? And how would the market
be segmented? What positioning would you use?
Chapter 6: IMC Planning
Time to take a strategic look at your university. Conduct a detailed SWOT analysis on
Stetson, focusing on our core, the undergraduate program. (Be sure to give a hard look
internally at Stetson as well as externally to traditional college education.) Given the
results of your analysis, what kind of promotion mix should Stetson be using to reach
its target market? Along with the SWOT analysis, Stetson is finally emerging with a new
branding strategy (read about it here: http://www.stetson.edu/brand/)... provide a short
analysis of this new branding strategy.
Chapter 7: Segmenting and Targeting
Find five different ads targeting five different segments of the market. You don't have to
use products from the same category, though there are some product categories that
do have numerous target markets. Hint: You may need to go through five different
magazines to find the five ads. Explain your results and provide a short analysis of the
effectiveness of each ad.
Chapter 8: Data-Driven Communications
Pick a product or service that does not currently have a customer loyalty program.
Develop a loyalty program for collecting information, developing relationships.
Use research sources to examine several different types of loyalty programs
(examining their pros and cons of each type) before you develop yours. Finally,
should marketers even use loyalty programs? Do they help or hurt?
Be sure to conduct some research and find at least one journal article that
supports your views.
Chapter 9: Creative Message Strategies
From your earlier research on Stetson, take a step back and develop the Big Idea that
Stetson needs. A few years back we were "Florida's First Private University…" and then "We
Excite the Mind." Both have flaws and neither are well-liked on campus. Why is it so hard to
find Stetson's big idea? Come up with the new one. Develop it and then test it with a small
convenience sample of current Stetson students. Be sure to include some detail about
what your big idea means and why you chose that one for this assignment.
Chapter 11: Media Characteristics
Choose your favorite medium from the major media -- newspapers, magazines, television,
radio, outdoor, direct marketing, and Internet -- and develop a detailed summary of key
attributes, strengths and weaknesses, top properties in the medium, and other key
information that would help sell that particular medium over the others. Be sure to get
at least two sources outside the textbook -- ideally one being a fairly recent journal
article that discusses trends in that medium.
Chapter 13: Advertising and IMC Media Planning
Media planning is all about reach and frequency. Which is more important?
When is reach more important? When is frequency more important? State your
position -- and your rationale for your decision. Then go out and find a recent
article (within the last year) that supports or refutes your position, summarize
the article, and then decide whether this new "evidence" changes or reinforces
your position. Hint: The best bet for finding a reputable article is using the ABI
Inform database (available at the library or from the library's Website),
although there may be some good articles published on the Web.
Chapter 17: Public Relations and Brand Publicity
We know traditional advertising is a dying breed, but how powerful is PR? Is it true
as one book proclaims, The Fall of Advertising, the Rise of PR? Can a strong public
relations campaign be enough to sustain a brand, regardless of the type of product
or service, and if not, what role does PR play? And while you're at it, examine the
power of a subset of PR – the use of cause-related marketing, which is a controversial
strategy in some circles. Provide some insight into the whole issue of the power of PR.
Be sure to use outside sources to support your reasoning.
Chapter 19: Experiential Contact: Events, Sponsorships, and Customer Service
How powerful are sponsorships? Should they be included in an IMC Marketing and
Promotion plan? Examine the huge market of sponsorships in the hottest spectator
sport, auto racing (NASCAR). Your best strategy should be to focus on team/driver sponsorships.
Traditional marketers (beer, cigarette, and other male oriented brands) have been
replaced or supplemented by brands appealing to newer racing fans (Tide, Home Depot,
Garnier Fructus). Conduct some research, find some articles on the power (or waste)
of sponsorship, and report your findings.
