The Changing Role of Advertising And Promotion in Consumer Markets Essay

The Changing Role of Advertising And Promotion in Consumer Markets - Essay Example Thus, a product may fall short of standards and is inferior to its competitors, but if the advertising done to promote the product is clever and effective, business will be good for the company involved.But there is a growing consensus among top businessmen that the current crop of advertisements is not effective enough to cover for any shortcomings of a product. Nothing demonstrates this better than the amount of respect that advertising gets - or does not get - from business decision-makers. In a US survey of 18,000 business executives conducted by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), it was found that advertising is no longer held in high esteem by business. Of the respondents in the survey, 29 percent said the most important aspect of the business processes is product development, followed by strategic planning with 27 percent of the vote. Public relations got the nod of 16 percent, while 14 percent went for both R&D and financial strategies. Advertising and legal brought u p the rear with 10 percent and 3 percent, respectively (Ries, A. & Ries, L., 2002). The image of advertising before company bosses has in effect plunged to the level of corporate lawyers, whose job has always been the favorite butt of jokes in company gatherings. While the AAF survey served to tarnish the credibility of advertising, it put a shine on the image of public relations. This strengthens the growing conviction that advertising can no longer influence consumers and generate sales on its own. No matter how you look at its miserable rating at the AAF survey, 10 percent is 10 percent and this is enough indication that it still counts as a promotional tool. The unmistakable message gleaned from the survey then is that advertising should now only be part of a marketing mix that ought to include public relations, first and foremost, and the other proven techniques such as sales promotions and personal selling. Marketing Adopting a combination of strategies to push a product or service is what marketing is all about. According to its textbook definition, marketing is "the whole process of storing, shipping, advertising and selling to promote and actualize a sales transaction." Getting the right marketing mix, however, is easier said done. Bedbury & Fenichell (2002) suggest that to get the right combination, companies must first identify their audience, then choose the right message for the right medium. The message must be new and personalized, not something that has been flogged to death by others. In choosing the audience, the selection must be based on such attributes as age, gender, income, married or single, family or couples, housing types, car ownership, hobbies, holiday preferences, attitudes. Don't emphasize the obvious and don't insult the intelligence of consumers with false offers, Bedbury & Fenichell advice. In the marketing strategy, positioning plays an equally important part. Positioning a product for a feasible market involves communication, which has become difficult in an "over-communicated" society (Ries, A. & Trout, J., 2000). But a firm can manage if it considers not only its own strengths and weaknesses but also those of its competitors. The reason is there just too many companies, too many products, and too much noise such that in the US alone, per capita consumption in advertising is placed at $200 per year. The easiest way to get into a person's mind is to be there first