By indicating the focus for upcoming class
discussions, these questions provide study guides for the
reading assignments. They provide helpful directions for the
probable focus for quiz questions and students will be asked
to answer many of these questions during class. However, these
are not intended to serve as a test or final exam preview. The
readings or lectures might not provide narrow "answers" to
some of these items because the broadly stated questions don't
have a single concrete answer.
I. Decision Makers & the Context for Their Decisions
(topics 1-4)
TOPIC #1: Background and History of Advertising{return
to syllabus}
Based on the textbook's definition of advertising, looking at
the relationship between business organizations, what is the
difference between advertising and publicity by stating (a) who,
(b) pays whom, (c) for what?
Based on the definitions of advertising, sales promotion and
publicity in the text, is the following an example of
advertising? Why or why not? If not, what are they?
→Is Stan Lee, co-creator with the late Jack Kirby (and others)
of characters in the Marvel comic books, on the "Tonight Show"
to discuss the new movie featuring Thor, Captain America and
Iron Man advertising for the movies or advertising for action
figures based on the characters?
→ A television program selling exercise equipment which buys
time to run the show on various television stations or cable
networks?
→Is a new "Teen-Age Mutant Ninja Turtles" TV program advertising
for the action figure toys?
People often say that advertising is what makes mass
production and mass distribution of products possible. What
historical fact of the origins of branding and advertising in
the latter half of the 19th century prove such assertions as
false?
In the 19th century, manufacturers of unbranded products sold
everything they produced. To sell more, they would manufacturer
more products knowing that it would all sell. What did the
Rotzoll article note as the reason why manufacturers in the
1880s started product differentiation, branding and advertising?
Obviously, it was not to sell more products, so why did he say
companies started to brand and advertise their products?
What is the name of the marketing activity that provides
incentives for purchasing a product such as coupons or premiums?
Why didn't advertisers in the 19th century consider magazines
as an important advertising medium for branded products? (This
asks for advertisers' decision options, not the views of
magazine publishers.)
Important Terms, particularly the differences between:
creative strategy versus media strategy; generic versus brand
advertising; national versus retail advertising; push versus
pull strategy's use of marketing communications tools. (This
last one asks about use of marketing communications tools, not
the definitions of push versus pull.)
The
fact that advertising decision makers are rarely (if ever)
members of their target audiences does not prevent them from
communicating with those audiences, but a failure to recognize
that the fact exists does.
What discourages clients from hiring their own specialized
experts instead of employing of full-service agency?
What single word is the name of the department and job
category of the people who: (a) prepare and plan the message
strategy & tactics; (b) decide the mix of vehicles where the
messages should appear? What two words are the department and
jobs of the agency personnel who are the primary contact between
the advertiser and its advertising/PR agency?
The American Association of Advertising Agencies likes to
claim that agencies provide a value in an "objective viewpoint."
How does an understanding of agency-client relationships prove
that such objectivity does not exist? (Do any of the assigned
readings list clients that fired their agencies for a lack of
objectivity?)
What is a "media rep" company and what does it do?
What is a "targeted agency" and what kind of work does it do
for which types of audiences?
While adhering to the Prime Direction, what is the false
assumption behind "targeted" advertising agencies only working
on advertising for their demographic groups? (This leads into
perspectives needed for understanding communications theory
under Topic #3 and audience segmentation data under Topic #4.)
What does a advertising/promotional planner sees as the
primary purpose of the mass media?
Important Terms: billings; spec work (and why agencies
don't like it); Account Executive; Account Services department;
Creative department; copywriter; art director; Media department;
creative boutique; targeted agency; media representative;
national advertiser as defined by local newspaper, radio station
or TV station.
(Something to keep in mind for now, though you won't have
enough information to answer it until topics 4 & 7) → How
does understanding the nature of advertising organizations help
explain why most firms take a top-down approach to decision
making instead of assessing the cost of attaining goals?
The communications model in the book states that there
must be an overlap in experiences between a communicator and
audience. Yet "affluent, well paid, college educated, white
collar job holding, largest cities living, relatively young
people," the description of the typical mass communications
managers, is not a description of the typical advertising
audience members. If targeted agencies are unnecessary attempts
to create overlap between communicators and audiences, how does
being different from an audience not foreclose a person's
ability to communicate with those people? (See question 6 under
topic 2)
What is required for effective communications?
What is the primary factor of communications decoding?
What should be primary concern in use of a celebrity
spokesperson in advertising?
Finish this sentence in three words or less: "The mass
communications theory that provides a basis by which you would
expect subliminal advertising to influence consumer purchases
_____ _____ _____." (Yes, it can be done in three words, or two
if one is a contraction.)
Inverted-Matthew Auto Repair has been running quarter-page ads
in the local newspaper for months. The managers intuitively
believe the ads get reader attention: models clad in
form-fitting exercise suits stand under headlines that proclaim,
"We want your body." But newspaper reading potential customers
mostly report that they do not recall having seen ads for the
shop. Based upon communication theory (and the concepts of the
frame of reference, meaning and signs), explain how this can be
happening!
How can humorous commercials harm the advertising
effectiveness?
How do communications and persuasion theories explain why
threats of death and destruction and heads rolling down the
street might not be very persuasive to get young people to drive
safely?
An assessment of your reading: As
you read the assigned chapters, what one topic stands out as
highly probable for at least one quiz question from Professor
Rotfeld?
Important Terms: clutter; hierarchy of effects model;
demographic data; psychological data; theory; difference between
fear and a threat.
What is the difference between a stereotype and a market
segment? How does answering this help address the question on
"targeted" agencies under topic #2? (The answer must follow the
requirements of the syllabus' Prime Direction.)
Why must all national advertisers include demographic data as
part of their audience segmentation definition? Why are such
data insufficient for other advertising decisions and what type
of data must be used for those other decisions?
Describe and explain a situation in which, after delineating
your possible target audiences, your best target is neither the
possible audience segment of the product's heavy users, nor the
segment of present and potential customers with the most people.
If not, who is the target and why should it be selected?
What is an example of a good communications goal
according to Colley's DAGMAR?
What is the immediate, primary and pragmatic value in setting
goals? (It is not for assessments of accomplishments, which
would not be "immediate," nor is it to "keep everyone working
together.")
When advertising is the only marketing mix element that
differs between firms, it is intuitively obvious that
differences in sales must be the result of advertising, yet the
text implies that communications goals would still be useful.
Why?
Apply the principles of a good objective in writing a
communications objective for a leading brand of bicycles, and
explain why it meets the text's criteria for good goals.
Is a good objective "To tell as many people as possible that
bicycle riding is inexpensive fun for the whole family." Is this
a good objective for a marketing communications campaign? Why?
(Assess this by criteria for communications goals, NOT as a
message strategy.)
Important Terms: DAGMAR model; benchmark; audience
segment; reach versus advertising exposure versus communications
versus persuasion.
II. Communications Strategy (topics 5-7) TOPICS #5: Creative Strategy
(& Tactics){return to
syllabus}
What should be the primary determinate for a brand's creative
strategy? How does it guide a decision for creative strategy to
determine if and when (in terms of strategy, not tactics): (A)
When should a celebrity be used as part of the message strategy
-- this means a star presenter, not an endorser, which is a
tactic -- and when should they be avoided? (It is not how they
relate to the product itself) (B) What makes a product
appropriate for use of a sex appeal or sexual images in the
advertising? (It is not how the product is "used.") (C) How can
humor used as a tool of message strategy?
Many advertising writers complain that research data inhibit
the production of "creative" advertising in that it imposes
restrictions on their creative work; to meet research-based
directives, they might not be able to win a creative award. Why
are they right or wrong? What should a copywriter who makes such
complaints be told, or rather, what short to-the-point answer
would they probably be told?
Message strategy and tactics is known as the "creative
function." Does this mean that successful and creative movie
makers be given free reign to plan message strategy and
write/produce the resulting television commercials? Why or why
not?
In his reviews of the advertising, Bob Garfield found a common
(and very basic) problem of strategy no matter how well produced
the ads might prove to be. What are their problems? Why do the
people in charge of making creative decisions make so many
expensive campaigns that fail to sell the product?
Working for the Inverted-Matthew Walking Shoes, you discover
that present and potential purchasers perennially relate a
stylistic aversion to donning the product. They are comfortable
and last long, but they are also ugly. This attitude is
pervasive and very strongly held. As copywriter, your assignment
is to persuade people to consider going to the store to see how
they feel. What do you do? Why? (The question says "as a
copywriter," so the answer requires doing that person's job, not
speaking in general descriptions.)
How does the business term for the department of message
strategy and tactics possibly cause the creation of "bad" or
useless advertising?
On the Bob Garfield reviews: What does he describe of
that the Dyson advertising says about the vacuum cleaners? How
does the message in Special K Berries commercials stand out? Why
are the road rage commercials doomed to fail? What is the bottom
line of the Lee Jeans advertising effort?
Important Terms: storyboard; copywriter; art director
Must know the differences between: account executives
view of advertising's primary purpose versus some in their
creative departments; creative as a job title versus artistic
creativity; creative strategy versus creative tactics; star
presenter versus an endorser
For
any advertising-supported vehicle, audiences have value only
insofar as they able to attract advertisers who might wish to
reach them. The success of a cable-TV network, radio station
format, special content magazine, ethnic newspaper or some web
delivery of news or entertainment is determined by their
advertising support. You must view the media alternatives as a
communications decision maker, not as an audience member.
Important
Terms that you need to know how they are calculated:
gross impressions; reach; effective reach; average frequency;
GRP; TRP; CPM; TCPM; clutter; waste. (The terms are at the top
here because they are needed to answer questions below.)
For just this room shown in the picture at the right, what is
the reach of your commercial if it is running at this time?
What is the difference between "reach" in media strategy and
"communications?"
When a subscriber takes several days to read a magazine, what
does a media planner consider as the frequency of individual ads
in that magazine?
What's the business term for a vehicle's high ratio of
advertising to editorial content?
What term describes the difference between CPM and TCPM and
between GRP and TRP?
You have decided to run a series of local radio
advertisements, using the same commercials and have to decide
between two options with the exact same total costs: (1) Average
frequency of target audience = 1.4, with a reach of 95% of the
target audience; or (2) Average frequency of target audience =
6.65, with a reach of 20% of the target audience. Which schedule
should you purchase?
Media vehicles' rates are usually compared on a CPM basis,
but such comparisons should be made with extreme care. What are
the factors which make such extreme care necessary?
Our local advertising program runs in a community with 10,000
TV households. We can buy one television spot in each of seven
programs that reach 30%, 10%, 15%, 16%, 14%, 25% and 20% of
households, respectively. With this buy, our total reach would
be 65% of the market or 6,500 households. In this market, how
many households are in one ratings point? What is the GRP, the
gross impressions in households, and the average frequency of
this package?
Explain why a budgeting method like objective-and-task is
more "information oriented" while percentage of (past or future)
sales and affordable methods are more "judgment oriented."
If a manager states "I never know how much to spend on
advertising. My brand managers ask for a certain amount and I
never know if I am spending too much or too little." Are some
budget methods better than others to address this concern?
Similarly, John Wanamaker said, "I know half the money I spend
on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half."
Address his comment in relation to various budget setting
methods, noting how (or if) one budget method is better than
others to help address this management issue?
What does a competitive parity approach to budget setting
presume about the spending levels of other companies in your
industry?
What is being done when the budget is set by an affordable
method?
If all of your competitors are expected to spend $90 million
on advertising in the next year, and your sales goals for the
year are a ten percent (10%) market share, what would a
competitive approach to budget setting indicate as your
advertising appropriation for that year?
What does the S-shaped advertising-sales response curve
suggest about very low advertising budgets and, after the "take
off point," what is the relationship between increases in
advertising spending and sales up to the point of diminishing
returns?
Under Topic 2, question #9, it was not answered as to "How
does the nature of advertising organizations and agency-client
relations help explain why most firms take a top-down approach
to decision making instead of assessing the cost of attaining
goals?" You should now be able to answer this: (a) state how a
budget would be calculated by a task-objective approach; (b)
indicate what type of information would be needed for this
calculation; (c) review what type of expertise (i.e. job titles)
would be best able to gather and interpret that information; and
therefore (d) assess how modern agency-client relations play a
role in this? (Answering this question requires reference to
topics #2, 5 and 6, as well as 7.)
Communications goals must be "realistic." What does this
requirement indicate in the following two situations:
a) You have carefully calculated the necessary advertising
appropriation (also called a budget) by an objective-and-task
approach and have come up with a figure that is grossly more
than the firm can afford to spend in the coming year (i.e. there
is no way the money can be obtained it is so out of line with
current resources). What do you do?
b) Is it situation any different when you are only slightly
higher than what financial officer and senior marketing managers
are willing to allocate? Why? What are your options?
Important Terms: competitive parity; share of voice;
investment versus expense view of advertising spending
III.
Media Vehicles & Measurement (topics 8-12)
TOPICS #8: Media Selection - Broadcast & Cable{return
to syllabus
What are the implications of the fragmentation of radio and
cable television audiences a problem and as an opportunity for
media planning and tactics?
What does the increased clutter of prime time television mean
for media decision making?
Give a numerical example using the cost-per-thousand formula
to show that even though a commercial in "NCIS" costs $10,000
more than the same ad in "Grimm," "NCIS" would be the more
efficient buy.
What is the term for the local TV or radio stations that get
programming from a network?
What is the name of the time period before the Fall TV season
when networks sell much of their commercial time and the large
advertisers commit the bulk of their budgets for the upcoming
holiday season?
What are the commercials sold on local television or radio
stations by national advertisers who negotiate directly with the
stations?
And what is the name of the salespeople or companies that
work for the local stations or cable systems selling to the
national advertisers?
What is the barter time on syndicated programs?
"A national advertiser might buy spot TV spots." Define and
distinguish between the two uses of term "spot" in that what is
the difference between "spot TV" and "TV spots"?
You have decided to run a series of local radio
advertisements, using the same commercials and have to decide
between two options with the exact same total costs: (1) Average
frequency of target audience = 1.4, with a reach of 95% of the
target audience; or (2) Average frequency of target audience =
6.65, with a reach of 20% of the target audience. What are the
TRPs of each buy? Which schedule should you purchase?
Important Terms: up-front market; station reps (also
known as media reps); spot advertising (e.g. spot TV, spot
radio, spot cable); TV spots; network; network affiliates; up
front market; barter syndication; rating; GRP; TRP
As a media rep for the O-A News daily newspaper
selling space to a national consumer goods advertiser, what is
your "sales pitch?"
What are the SRDS classifications of magazines?
While a printacular placement can be a large revenue boost
for a publication, why would some publishers be opposed to it,
as well as other advertisers who purchased space in the same
issue?
Purchase of space that will only appear in the regional
edition of any magazine (also known as a "partial-run") is
considered more expensive than a purchase of the full national
run despite the lower total costs, because it will have a higher
CPM. Under what conditions can it be more cost efficient than
the full national run?
Cover 4 of any publication will cost more than page 54 or any
inside page, yet by definition they have the same reach meaning
that any special cover placement is a higher CPM purchase. How
can this be quantitatively justified as cost efficient?
(Remember, this is not about individual users of the vehicle,
but what the media buyer is purchasing. It also involves the
definition of reach versus advertising readership)
Important Terms: Gatefold spread; printacular; Cover
4 (also cover 3 and cover 2); controlled circulation (also known
as "controlled circ"); FSI; Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC);
Run of paper rates (ROP); CPM; TCPM; partial run of magazine;
reach versus readership
Unlike
magazines, newspapers, TV and radio, the audiences for the
"supporting" vehicles are not gathered for some purpose other
than advertising. For the advertising messages, this alters the
communications dynamic in that any audience attention that is
created must be by something other than editorial content.
Why do the the non-traditional and new media options defy
audience measurement and how are the audience measurements
misleading for Internet, buzz agents or other up-and-coming
vehicle options?
How are the audience measurement problems of question #1 an
inherent limitation of the using those advertising media
vehicles, especially when compared to more "traditional" options
such as broadcasting, print or outdoor?
As an advertiser, how confident are you of the promised
audiences delivered for Internet or Specialty advertising?
What does it mean to say that the advertising specialty is
"useful" for the target audience and why is this important?
What are the basic advantages and disadvantages of movie
theater advertising?
In Professor Horne's article, his collection of mail over 15
years provided an example of what ongoing error by many direct
mail advertising companies?
With the direct mail offers sent to Professor Horne, what
does he question about the data collected by direct mail
companies?
Assume that after you graduate you set yourself up in a
direct mail advertising-service business. You offer to plan and
execute direct mail advertising campaigns for retailers, local
clubs, hospitals and other local organizations. At lunch one
fine day, a local businesswoman tells you that she thinks that
most of the money spent on direct mail is wasted because most of
the mail that comes to her is immediately thrown in the
wastebasket. She is confident that the same practice is followed
by the great majority of people. If that is true, she reasons,
advertisers would be foolish to spend much (if any) money in
direct mail. What is your response and how does Professor
Horne's article guide you in making that answer?
What does the GRP number for a package of outdoor signs
indicate and for what time period? What is difference in meaning
of GRP in Outdoor versus what the term means in the broadcast
media?
Can direct mail ever be quantitatively justified as an
advertising medium when it's CPM is often 20 or 30 times that of
television or magazines? (While you should not make CPM
comparisons between dissimilar vehicles, this hypothetical
discussion is to explain the nature of CPM and the value of
direct mail for certain target audiences.)
Based on the above questions, is there a part of the assigned
readings that stands out as a probable focus for two or more
questions on this quiz?
Important Terms: advertising specialties; direct mail
advertising; GRP for outdoor as different from broadcasting GRP
What is meant by the distinction between sales promotion
moving the product toward the consumer while advertising moves
the consumer toward the product?
What are sales promotions designed to do that is different
from other tools the fall under the advertising budget?
How can increased use of sales promotion have a negative
impact on brand equity?
What types of consumers would a company not want to be the
predominant users of coupons of other sales promotion offers?
To a company selling a product or service, what is the key
pragmatic managerial disadvantage of using product publicity
instead of advertising?
What determines if communications strategy can make use of
product publicity as a sales tool?
Why do many public relations specialists consider their job
to mostly involve publicity control and why are they wrong?
How does a publicist measure his or her effectiveness in the
job?
Important Terms: bonus packs; different types of sales
promotions; difference between publicity and public relations
Commercial A copytested slightly better than copytest B, but
the creative director believes that, unlike A, the animatics do
not give a good representation of what commercial B would look
like after final and production. What research terminology
explains what she is saying about the copytest? How would you
choose which commercial to produce and use in the campaign?
According to Weilbacher and other readings, what should be
the basis for choosing the research method that would be used to
ascertain potential effectiveness for any particular advertising
effort?
Weilbacher ("The Enigma of Copytesting") describes a common
basis for selecting a copytest method, resulting in test results
that might not provide the appropriate information for
decisions. How did he say managers usually select the
research approach for copytesting and why might this approach
for choosing a research method provide a valid reason for
creative people to ask that resulting data be ignored?
While Weilbacher concedes that the
common basis for selecting a research method for copytesting
might be an exhibition of industry wisdom, yet he
immediately notes from industry practice that disproves this as
a possibility. What would show industry-wide wisdom and what
reality illustrates that it does not exist?
What are the three recognition
scores generated by Starch Ad Readership Reports and how does a
Starch score differ from a statement of the reach of an ad in a
magazine?
What is shown by physiological measures of advertising
effects and what basic insight in not revealed by the
measurement?
Given the above questions on topic 12, what part of the
readings can you be fairly certain will have multiple questions
on the quiz, will be the basis for several questions in class
and will probably be the focus of a question on the final exam?
Important Terms: Burke Day-After Recall; portfolio
tests; Starch Ad Readership Reports. Physiological measures;
animatics