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Advertisers increasingly depend on research to understand the markets
they are attempting to reach. The text states that “increased
knowledge of such factors as lifestyle and personal attitudes has
led to improved advertising decisions.” Explain how increased
knowledge of these factors may have led to improved advertising decisions
on each of the following brands. Remember to focus on these brands’
advertising decisions, not their product decisions.
a. Tide detergent
b. Lexus cars
c. First Choice Haircutters
d. Michelina frozen dinners
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Retail advertising is done by stores that sell goods or services
directly to consumers. Much of it consists of full-page newspaper
ads indicating the products that the retailer currently has on sale
and their sale prices. Canadian Tire has been running an advertising
campaign in recent years featuring a middle-aged couple that are obviously
keen do-it-yourselfers. The ads always feature some new, relatively
innovative product available at Canadian Tire and indicate its price.
Although the Canadian Tire campaign is retail advertising, can it
also be classified according to the types of product advertising (informative,
persuasive, reminder)? If not, why not? If so, what type(s) is it?
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Figure 19.2 illustrates the general relationship between type of
product advertising (informative, persuasive, reminder) and stage
of the product life cycle. Categorize the advertising you have seen
recently for the following brands and determine the stage of the product
life cycle that each of these brands is in. Are your findings consistent
with Figure 19.2? If not, speculate why they may not be.
a. Hallmark cards
b. Dove soap
c. Levi Strauss jeans
d. Dell computers
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Comparative advertising makes direct promotional comparisons with
competitive brands. The text states that “this strategy is best
employed by firms that do not lead the market”? Do you agree
with this statement? Can you think of examples of comparative advertising
done by market leaders and the benefits they saw of using this technique?
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Celebrities have been used to endorse products in advertising for
several years. Do you generally consider them to be credible product
endorsers always, sometimes, or never? Explain your position on this
issue.
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DoubleClick is a company that specializes in Internet advertising.
In particular, it can target specific Internet users to receive ads
from sponsoring companies and ensure that people not in the target
audience do not receive these ads. What are the pros and cons of a
service like DoubleClick from the standpoint of both marketers and
consumers? Do you think that if most consumers were aware of it, they
would object to it as a violation of their privacy?
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Table 19.5 compares direct response marketing with general advertising.
Name three products that you feel are better promoted using direct
response marketing rather than general advertising. Explain your selections.
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Personal selling as described in the text is becoming an increasing
demanding profession. Many companies now only hire salespeople who
have earned university degrees in business management or a field related
to the goods or services they have been hired to represent (e.g.,
mechanical engineering graduates are hired to sell car parts to the
major automobile manufacturers). Why does professional sales require
people with post-secondary education?
