pr social media assignment

AdvertisingCh16.pptx

Home >English homework help >pr social media assignment

Chapter Sixteen IMC: Public Relations, Sponsorship, and Corporate Advertising

©McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom. No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

This chapter explains the role of public relations, sponsorship, and corporate advertising in relationship marketing and integrated marketing communications. By integrating public relations, event sponsorship, and institutional advertising with its general advertising activities, a company can improve the overall effectiveness of its marketing efforts.

Learning Objectives

Learning Objective 16.1: Distinguish between advertising and public relations.

Learning Objective 16.2: Describe the key tasks of public relations practitioners.

Learning Objective 16.3: Explain the potential benefits and drawbacks of sponsorships in an IMC plan.

Learning Objective 16.4: Discuss the functions of corporate advertising.

©McGraw-Hill Education.

LO16.1 Distinguish between advertising and public relations.

LO16.2 Describe the key tasks of public relations practitioners.

LO16.3 Explain the potential benefits and drawbacks of sponsorships in an IMC plan.

LO16.4 Discuss the functions of corporate advertising.

Public Relations (PR)

Public relations (PR) is the strategic management of relationships and communications that individuals and organizations have with other group for the purpose of creating mutual goodwill.

Publics: Groups that are affected by what an organization does, such as employees, customers, stockholders, competitors, suppliers, or the general population of customers

Goals of PR:

Improve public opinion.

Build goodwill.

Establish and maintain a satisfactory reputation for the organization.

©McGraw-Hill Education.

The term public relations is widely misunderstood and misused. Part of the confusion is due to the fact that public relations covers a very broad range of activities. Depending on the context and one’s point of view, it can be a concept, a profession, a management function, or a practice. For our purposes, we define public relations (PR) as the strategic management of the relationships and communications that individuals and organizations have with other groups for the purpose of creating mutual goodwill.

Every company, organization, or government body has relationships with groups of people who are affected by what it does or says. They may be employees, customers, stockholders, competitors, suppliers, legislators, or the community in which the organization resides. Marketing professionals refer to these people as stakeholders because they all have some vested interest in the company’s actions. In PR terminology, each of these groups is considered one of the organization’s publics, and the goal of PR is to develop and maintain goodwill with most, if not all, of its publics. Failure to do so may mean loss of customers and revenues, time lost dealing with complaints or lawsuits, and loss of respect (which weakens the organization’s brand equity as well as its ability to secure financing, make sales, and expand business).

In short, the goals of public relations are to improve public opinion, build goodwill, and establish and maintain a satisfactory reputation for the organization. PR efforts may rally public support, obtain public understanding, or simply respond to inquiries. Well-executed public relations is an ongoing process that molds good long-term relationships and plays an important role in relationship marketing and integrated communications.

Difference between Advertising and PR

PR is:

not paid for or sponsored

edited and filtered by the media

considered more trustworthy and credible

less precise

less memorable

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Many public relations communications, like publicity, are not openly sponsored or paid for. People receive these communications in the form of news articles, editorial interviews, or feature stories after the messages have been reviewed and edited—filtered—by the media. Since the public thinks such messages are coming from the media rather than a company, it trusts them more readily. For building credibility, therefore, public relations is usually the better approach.

However, while advertising is carefully placed to gain particular reach and frequency objectives, PR is less precise. Public relations objectives are not as easy to quantify. In fact, the results gained from public relations activities depend greatly on the experience and skill of the people executing them and the relationship they have with the press. But PR can go only so far. Editors won’t run the same story over and over. An ad’s memorability, however, comes from repetition. While PR activities may offer greater credibility, advertising offers precision and control.

Advertising and PR in the Eyes of Practitioners

Advertising professionals see PR and advertising as marketing tools.

PR professionals see PR as the umbrella process, encompassing marketing and advertising.

Marketing public relations (MPR): Use of public relations activities as a marketing tool

Advertising and MPR need to be closely coordinated in an IMC program.

Many ad agencies have PR departments or affiliate with public relations firms.

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Advertising professionals see marketing as the umbrella process companies use to determine what products and services the market needs and how to distribute and sell them. To advertising professionals, advertising and public relations are marketing tools used to promote sales.

Public relations professionals take a different view. With a background often in journalism rather than marketing, they believe public relations should be the umbrella process. They think companies should use PR to maintain relationships with all publics, including consumers.

When PR activities are used for marketing purposes, the term marketing public relations (MPR) is often used. In support of marketing, public relations activities can raise awareness, inform and educate, improve understanding, build trust, make friends, give people reasons or permission to buy, and create a climate of consumer acceptance—usually better than advertising.

In an integrated marketing communications program, advertising and MPR need to be closely coordinated. Many ad agencies now have PR departments or affiliate with public relations firms. And many companies now have communications departments that manage both advertising and PR.

The Public Relations Job: PR Planning and Research

Opinion sampling: consumers provide feedback via interviews, toll-free phone lines, and focus groups.

Roles of the PR practitioner:

Analyzes the organization’s relationships with its publics

Evaluates people’s attitudes and opinions toward the organization

Assesses how company policies and actions relate to different publics

Determines PR objectives and strategies

Develops and implements a mix of PR activities

Solicits feedback to evaluate effectiveness

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Because public opinion is so important, the PR person must constantly monitor, measure, and analyze changes in attitudes among a variety of publics. A common form of public relations research is opinion sampling using techniques such as shopping center or phone interviews, focus groups, analysis of incoming mail, and field reports. Some advertisers set up toll-free phone lines and invite consumer feedback.

The PR practitioner analyzes the organization’s relationships with its publics; evaluates people’s attitudes and opinions toward the organization; assesses how company policies and actions relate to different publics; determines PR objectives and strategies; develops and implements a mix of PR activities, integrating them whenever possible with the firm’s other communications; and solicits feedback to evaluate effectiveness.

The Public Relations Job: Reputation Management (1 of 3)

Reputation management: Long-term strategic process to manage the standing of the firm with various publics

Publicity: generation of news about a person, product, or service that appears in broadcast or print media

Offers a great return on money invested

Must be newsworthy to attract attention

©McGraw-Hill Education.

One of the principal tasks of public relations is to manage the standing of the firm with various publics. Reputation management is the name of this long-term strategic process. PR practitioners employ a number of strategies and tactics to help them manage their firm’s or client’s reputation, including publicity and press agentry, crisis communications management, and community involvement.

Many public relations professionals focus primarily on generating news and placing it in the media for their companies or clients. A major activity of public relations, publicity is the generation of news about a person, product, or service that appears in print or electronic media. Companies employ this activity either for marketing purposes or to enhance the firm’s reputation.

As a marketing communications vehicle, publicity often offers a considerably greater return on money invested than other communications activities. A large ad campaign might require an investment of 5 to 20 percent of sales; a major publicity program, only 1 to 2 percent.

To attract media attention, publicity must be newsworthy. Typical publicity opportunities include new-product introductions, awards, company sales and earnings, major new contracts, mergers, retirements, and speeches by company executives.

The Public Relations Job: Reputation Management (2 of 3)

Press agentry: planning of activities and the staging of events to attract attention to new products and generate publicity about the company

Crisis management: company’s plan for handling news and public relations during crises

Identify the problem and take immediate corrective action.

Actively cooperate with authorities in the investigation.

Quickly rebuild the brand through strategy.

©McGraw-Hill Education.

The planning and staging of events to generate publicity is called press agentry. Press agentry helps to bring attention to new products or services or to portray their organizations favorably. For print media, the publicity person deals with editors and feature writers. For broadcast media, he or she deals with program directors, assignment editors, or news editors. Successful PR practitioners develop and maintain close, cordial relations with their editorial contacts.

One of the most important public relations tasks for any corporation is crisis management. Brand value can be quickly destroyed if “damage control” is not swift and thorough.

The classic case of exemplary crisis communications management was Johnson & Johnson’s handling of a product-tampering episode in 1982. Several people died when a criminal laced bottles of J&J’s Extra-Strength Tylenol with cyanide on retail shelves. The moment they received the news, management strategists at J&J and McNeil Products (the J&J subsidiary that markets Tylenol) formulated three stages of action:

Identify the problem and take immediate corrective action. J&J strategists got information from the police, FBI, FDA, and press; identified the geographic area affected; corrected rumors; and immediately withdrew the product from the marketplace.

Actively cooperate with authorities in the investigation. Johnson & Johnson was proactive. It helped the FBI and other law enforcement agencies generate leads and investigate security at its plants, and it offered a $100,000 reward.

Quickly rebuild the Tylenol name and capsule line, including Regular Strength capsules, which were recalled, too. Although J&J believed the poisoning had taken place at the retail end of the chain, it first made sure that the tampering hadn’t occurred at McNeil. The company’s two capsule production lines were shut down, and dog teams were brought in to search for cyanide.

Experts on crisis management encourage all companies to follow J&J’s example by being open and candid. Withholding information or evading questions inevitably backfires, as many politicians have learned.

Public Relations Job: Reputation Management (3 of 3)

Community involvement: activity in which companies sponsor or participate in a local activity or supply a location for an event

©McGraw-Hill Education.

The goal of community involvement is to develop a dialogue between the company and the community. This is best done by having company officers, management, and employees contribute to the community’s social and economic development. Every community offers opportunities for corporate involvement: civic and youth groups, charitable fundraising drives, cultural or recreational activities, and so on. A company should ideally adopt one program relevant to its expertise and focus its mission marketing activities. The PR department may help set up such programs and publicize them to the community.

Other Public Relations Activities (1 of 3)

Public affairs: activities related to the community citizenship of an organization, including dealing with community officials and working with regulatory bodies and legislative groups

Lobbying: informing and persuading government officials to support or thwart administrative action in the interests of some client

Speechwriting: function of a public relations practitioner to write speeches for stockholders’ meetings, conferences, conventions, etc.

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Organizations often need to deal with elected officials, regulatory and legislative bodies, and various community groups—the realm of public affairs. Public affairs usually requires a specialist. Many experts think PR and public affairs should become more integrated to combine the skills and policy expertise of the specialist with the PR person’s media and community relations savvy.

Lobbying refers to informing government officials and persuading them to support or thwart administrative action or legislation in the interests of some client. Every organization is affected by the government, so lobbying is big business.

Because company officials often have to speak at stockholder meetings, conferences, or conventions, PR practitioners often engage in speechwriting. They are also frequently responsible for making all the arrangements for speaking opportunities and developing answers for questions company representatives are likely to be asked. Since public relations people may sometimes represent their employers at special events, press conferences, and interviews, they too should be articulate public speakers.

Other Public Relations Activities (2 of 3)

Fundraising and membership drives

Soliciting money for a nonprofit organization or for a cause the company deems worthwhile

Publications

Preparation of a company’s communication materials

Online newsroom: website that provides PR and investor information about companies

©McGraw-Hill Education.

A public relations person may be responsible for soliciting money for a nonprofit organization or for a cause the company deems worthwhile, such as the United Way or a political action committee (PAC).

Charitable organizations, labor unions, professional societies, trade associations, and other groups rely on membership fees or contributions. The PR specialist must communicate to potential contributors or members the goals of the organization and may integrate promotional tie-ins to publicize the drive or encourage participation. In the process, the company PR people may work closely with the advertising department or agency to create ads promoting the particular cause or to publicize the company’s involvement with the cause in product ads.

Public relations people prepare many of a company’s communications materials: news releases and media kits; booklets, leaflets, pamphlets, brochures, manuals, and books; letters, inserts, and enclosures; annual reports; posters, bulletin boards, and exhibits; audiovisual materials; and position papers. It’s important that these materials are also accessible in an online newsroom. Here again, PR people may work with the advertising department or the agency to produce these materials. The advertising people need to keep the company’s overall positioning strategy in mind while trying to help accomplish the particular PR objectives.

Other Public Relations Activities (3 of 3)

Social media

Allows PR professionals to stay on top of any trends and deal with them before they become brand epidemics

Encourages influential people to showcase products as they launch and keep brand loyalists informed

Corporate blog: web-based source of information about a company, its policies, products, or activities that facilitates relationships with consumers or other publics

Special-events management

©McGraw-Hill Education.

The clarity that comes from social media allows PR professionals to stay on top of any trends and deal with them before they become brand epidemics. With a good social media strategy, PR professionals can help get influential people to showcase their client’s products as they launch, keeping early adopters and loyalists abreast of new developments before the advertising hits.

Maintaining and managing a corporate blog can help address important concerns, introduce new products or services, and maintain a dialogue between a company and its publics.

The sponsorship and management of special events is a rapidly growing field.

Public Relations Tools (1 of 5)

News release (or press release): printed or electronic sheet of information issued to print and broadcast outlets to generate publicity or shed light on a subject of interest

Press (media) kit: publicity materials that give information to the press at staged events such as press conferences or open houses

Photos of events, products in use, new equipment, or newly promoted executives

©McGraw-Hill Education.

A news release (or press release), the most widely used PR tool, consists of one or more printed or electronic pages of information issued to generate publicity or shed light on a subject of interest. News releases cover time-sensitive hard news. Topics may include the announcement of a new product, promotion of an executive, an unusual contest, landing of a major contract, or establishment of a scholarship fund.

A press kit (or media kit) supports the publicity of special events such as press conferences, grand openings, and trade shows. It includes a basic fact sheet of information about the event, a program or schedule of activities, and a list of the participants and their biographical data. The kit also contains a news story about the event for the broadcast media, news and feature stories for the print media, and any pertinent photos and brochures.

Photos of events, products in use, new equipment, or newly promoted executives can lend credence or interest to a dull news story. In fact, a photo tells the story faster. Photos should be high quality and need little or no explanation. Typed captions should describe the photo and accurately identify the people shown.

Public Relations Tools (2 of 5)

Feature articles: soft news about companies, products, or services that is written by a PR person, the publication’s staff, or a third party

Case histories

How-to’s

Problem-solving scenarios

State-of-the-art technology updates

Roundups of industry news

Editorials

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Many publications, especially trade journals, run feature articles (soft news) about companies, products, or services. They may be written by a PR person, the publication’s staff, or a third party (such as a freelance business writer). As an MPR tool, feature articles can give the company or product great credibility.

Features may be case histories, how-to’s (such as how to use the company’s product), problem-solving scenarios (how one customer uses the company’s product to increase production), or state-of-the-art technology updates. Other formats include roundups of what’s happening in a specific industry and editorials (such as a speech or essay by a company executive on a current issue).

Public Relations Tools (3 of 5)

Printed materials:

Brochures or pamphlets about the company or its products

Letters to customers

Inserts accompanying monthly statements

Annual reports to stockholders

House organ: a publication about happenings and policies at the company

Can be for internal or external audiences

E-zine: a magazine published online or sent via e-mail

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Printed materials are the most popular tools used by public relations professionals. They may be brochures or pamphlets about the company or its products, letters to customers, inserts or enclosures that accompany monthly statements, the annual report to stockholders, other reports, or house organs.

A house organ is a publication about happenings and policies at the company. An internal house organ is for employees only. External house publications go to company-connected people (customers, stockholders, suppliers, and dealers) or to the general public. They may take the form of a newsletter, tabloid-size newspaper, magazine, or even a periodic e-zine (a magazine published online or sent by e-mail). Their purpose is to promote goodwill, increase sales, or influence public opinion.

Public Relations Tools (4 of 5)

Posters: signs that impart product information or other news of interest to consumers

Exhibits: displays that tell about an organization or its products

Bulletin boards: internal means for making announcements

Intranet: a restricted-access computer network designed to meet a company’s internal needs for sharing information

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Posters can be used internally to stress safety, security, reduction of waste, and courtesy. Externally, they can impart product information, corporate philosophy, or other news of interest to consumers.

Companies use exhibits to describe the organization’s history, present new products, show how products are made, or explain future plans. Exhibits are often prepared for local fairs, colleges and universities, and trade shows.

Internally, the public relations staff often uses bulletin boards to announce new equipment, new products, meetings, promotions, construction plans, and recreation news to employees. Many companies now maintain an intranet site where they can post their internal communications.

Public Relations Tools (5 of 5)

Audiovisual materials: slides and videos used for training, sales, or public relations activities

Video news releases (VNRs): news or feature stories prepared in video form and offered free to TV stations

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Films and slide shows are forms of audiovisual materials that may be used for training, sales, or public relations. Considered a form of corporate advertising, nontheatrical or sponsored films (developed for public relations reasons) are often furnished without charge to movie theaters, organizations, and special groups, particularly schools and colleges.

Many PR departments provide video news releases (VNRs)—news or feature stories prepared by a company and offered free to TV stations, which may use the whole video or just segments. Video news releases are somewhat controversial. Critics see them as subtle commercials or even propaganda and object when stations run the stories without disclosing that they came from a public relations firm, not the station’s news staff.

Sponsorship and Events

Cash or in-kind fee paid to an event or organization in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that event or organization

In kind: donation of goods and services as payment for some service such as a sponsorship

Cause marketing: donation of proceeds from for-profit products to a nonprofit cause in order to increase sales for the products while raising money and visibility for the cause

Philanthropy: support of a cause without any commercial incentive

©McGraw-Hill Education.

A sponsorship is a cash or in-kind fee paid to a property (which may be a sports, entertainment, or nonprofit event or organization) in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property. In other words, just as advertisers pay a fee to sponsor a program on radio or TV, they may also sign on to sponsor a bike race, an art show or chamber music festival, a fair or exhibition, or the Olympics. The sponsorship fee may be paid in cash or in kind (that is, through a donation of goods and services). For instance, if a local TV station signs on as a sponsor of a 10K run, it will typically pay for some part of its sponsorship by providing advertising time for the event.

Cause marketing, a related strategy, is a partnership between a for-profit company and a nonprofit organization, which increases the company’s sales while raising money and visibility for the organization’s cause. Typically, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of certain products is donated to the cause.

While the sponsored event or organization may be nonprofit, sponsorship is not the same as philanthropy. Philanthropy is support of a cause without any commercial incentive. Sponsorship is used to achieve commercial objectives.

Benefits of Sponsorship

Thought of favorably by the public

Has the ability to involve customers, prospects, and other stakeholders

Targets highly self-selected audiences

Enhances company image

Boosts company morale

Converts fan loyalty into sales

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Certainly one benefit of sponsorship is that the public approves of it. One study by Roper Starch Worldwide reported that 80 percent of Americans believe corporate sponsorship is an important source of money for professional sports. This is a far higher approval rating than most companies would get for their advertising programs.

More than almost any other marketing communications tool, sponsorships and events have the ability to involve customers, prospects, and other stakeholders. Events are also highly self-selective of their target audience. So marketers that define their audiences tightly can select just those sponsorships that offer the closest fit. A significant benefit is the opportunity to enhance the company’s public image or merchandise its positioning through affiliation with an appropriate event. Marketers that sponsor an event simply because it has a large audience are misusing this tool.

Also important, but often overlooked, is the effect sponsorship can have on employees. Affiliating with a dynamic event can really boost the morale and pride of the troops in the trenches.

Some marketers have discovered that sponsorships can rapidly convert fan loyalty into sales. For example, 74 percent of stock-car racing fans report that they often buy products they see promoted at the racetrack.

Drawbacks of Sponsorship

Expensive when an event is solely sponsored

Clutter in co-sponsored events

Tricky to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular sponsorship

©McGraw-Hill Education.

Like all marketing communications tools, sponsorship has some drawbacks. First, it can be very costly, especially when the event is solely sponsored. For this reason, most companies participate in co-sponsored events, which spreads the cost among several participants.

The problem with co-sponsored events is clutter. Some events have so many sponsors that getting one marketer’s message through is extremely difficult. Look again at stock-car racing. How many logos do those cars sport?

Finally, evaluating the effectiveness of a particular sponsorship can be tricky at best—especially since it rarely happens in a vacuum. The problem is in separating the effects of a sponsorship from the effects of other concurrent marketing activities.

Types of Sponsorship (1 of 2)

Sports:

Target of 69 percent of sponsorship spending

Ambush marketing: Utilized by nonsponsors to capitalize on the popularity of an event or property by giving the false impression that they are sponsors

Entertainment:

Second-largest area of sponsorship

Includes concert tours, attractions, theme parts

Causes:

Charity events and educational institutions

Increasingly used by health care marketers

©McGraw-Hill Education.

While there are many, many avenues and events available for sponsorship, IEG Inc. groups most of them into six categories: sports; entertainment, tours, and attractions; causes; the arts; festivals, fairs, and annual events; and associations and membership organizations.

The vast majority of sponsorship money, approximately 69 percent, is spent on sports events. This includes everything from the Olympics to NASCAR racing to professional athletic leagues. In hotly contested markets, the giants in their fields fight over sponsorship rights.

But controversy often swirls around big sports sponsorships. The most controversial practice is ambush marketing, which is a promotional strategy nonsponsors use to capitalize on the popularity or prestige of an event or property by giving the false impression that they are sponsors. Ambush marketing techniques, like buying up all the billboard space around an athletic stadium, are often employed by the competitors of the property’s official sponsor.

After sports marketing, the largest area of sponsorship is entertainment, which includes things like concert tours, attractions, and theme parks. In 2012, U.S. companies spent an estimated $1.9 billion on this category.

Sponsorship of charity events and educational institutions is a tried-and-true PR activity that often fits with the IMC strategy of mission marketing. In 2012, marketers spent an estimated $1.7 billion in cause-related sponsorships. Health care marketers such as hospitals, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and managed-care companies are increasing their sponsorship activities.

Types of Sponsorship (2 of 2)

Arts:

Includes symphony orchestras, chamber music groups, art museums, and theater companies

Relatively untapped area

Festivals, fairs, and annual events

Associations and membership organizations

Venue marketing: links a sponsor to a physical site such as a stadium, arena, auditorium, or racetrack

Symphony orchestras, chamber music groups, art museums, and theater companies are always in desperate need of funding. In 2012, sponsors spent an estimated $890 million to support the arts—one of the least funded of the major sponsorship categories. What this means is that this is still a relatively untapped area, and it provides outstanding sponsorship and underwriting opportunities for both national and local firms interested in audiences on the highest end of the income scale.

Over 3,200 fairs are held in North America each year. When IEG surveyed 1,000 members of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions, the findings revealed a very healthy, growing environment. The average yearly sponsorship increased a whopping 20 percent over the previous four years. Moreover, renewal rates averaged 88 percent! By 2012, sponsorship revenue increased to an estimated $825 million.

The associations and membership organizations sponsorship category was added by IEG in 2004. These sponsorships were previously considered a part of festivals, fairs, and annual events because most associations sponsored annual conventions. But that is no longer the case, as sponsors are now more likely to sign year-round partnerships with trade groups, professional membership organizations, and other associations. Those sponsors spent an estimated $550 million in this category in 2012.

Finally, an area not covered by IEG’s report is venue marketing, a form of sponsorship that links a sponsor to a physical site such as a stadium, arena, auditorium, or racetrack. Venue marketing is changing the economics of professional sports. Sponsorships help pay for stadium renovations and upgrades and may assist the home team in defraying high operational costs. Many teams keep the money from their stadium luxury suites, stadium advertising, naming rights, and food and beverage concessions. Under the new economic rules, big stadium revenues are essential to signing big-name players and staying competitive.

Methods of Sponsorship

Buying into an existing event:

As the sole sponsor

As one of many co-sponsors

Easiest method of sponsorship

Creating an event to sponsor:

“Sponsownerships”: sponsor owns and controls the entire event

Allows more control

More cost effective

Companies interested in sponsorship have two choices: buy into an existing event or create their own. Event marketing specialist Paul Stanley predicts that many corporate event sponsorships will become “sponsownerships,” where the sponsor owns and controls the entire event. This would allow more control and would likely be more cost-effective. It would also help the company achieve its marketing objectives.

For most companies, though, it’s easier to buy into an existing event, either as the sole sponsor (the Buick Invitational) or as one of many co-sponsors. What’s most important is to get a good fit between the sponsor and the event.

Measuring Sponsorship Results

Methods:

Measuring changes in awareness or image through pre- and post-sponsorship research surveys

Measuring spending equivalencies between free media exposure and comparable advertising space or time

Measuring changes in sales revenue with a tracking device

One of the problems with event sponsorship (as with public relations activities in general) has historically been how to evaluate results. Experts suggest there are really only three ways to do this:

Measure changes in awareness or image through pre- and post-sponsorship research surveys.

Measure spending equivalencies between free media exposure and comparable advertising space or time.

Measure changes in sales revenue with a tracking device such as coupons.

Unfortunately, none of these methods covers all the reasons for sponsoring. For example, how do you measure the effect on employee morale? What if the sponsorship is aimed at rewarding current customers or enhancing relationships within the trade? These are important possible objectives, but they are very difficult to measure.

Pointers for Measuring the Value of Event Sponsorships

Have clear and measurable goals and narrowly defined objectives

Set a measurable goal.

Measure against a benchmark.

Do not change other marketing variables during the sponsorship.

Incorporate an evaluation program.

At the outset establish a budget for measuring results.

IEG suggests the following pointers for measuring the value of event sponsorships:

Have clear goals and narrowly defined objectives.

Set a measurable goal.

Measure against a benchmark.

Do not change other marketing variables during the sponsorship.

Incorporate an evaluation program into the overall sponsorship and associated marketing program.

At the outset establish a budget for measuring results.

Corporate Advertising

Broad area of nonproduct advertising aimed at enhancing a company’s image and increasing lagging awareness

Areas covered:

Public relations advertising

Institutional advertising

Corporate identity advertising

Recruitment advertising

When a company wants to communicate a PR message and control its content, it may use a form of corporate advertising. In an integrated marketing communications program, corporate advertising can set the tone for all of a company’s public communications. Corporate advertising covers the broad area of nonproduct advertising, including public relations advertising, institutional advertising, corporate identity advertising, and recruitment advertising.

Public Relations Advertising

Attempts to improve a company’s relationship with its publics

Promotes sponsored programs and the company’s sponsorship of them

Enhances community citizenship

Creates public goodwill

To direct a controlled public relations message to one of its important publics, a company uses public relations advertising. PR ads may be used to improve the company’s relations with labor, government, customers, suppliers, and even voters.

When companies sponsor art events, programs on public television, or charitable activities, they frequently place public relations ads in other media to promote the programs and their sponsorship, enhance their community citizenship, and create public goodwill. If the public relations people don’t have advertising experience, they will typically turn to the firm’s advertising department or agency for help.

Institutional Advertising (1 of 2)

Attempts to obtain a long-term favorable attention for the business as a whole. Objectives include:

Build awareness of the company

Make a good impression on the financial community

Motivate present employees and attract better recruits

Influence public opinion on specific issues

In recent years, the term corporate advertising has come to denote a particular type of nonproduct advertising aimed at increasing awareness of the company and enhancing its image. The traditional term for this is institutional advertising.

What can good corporate advertising hope to achieve? David Ogilvy, the late founder and creative head of Ogilvy & Mather, thought at least one of four objectives:

It can build awareness of the company. Opinion Research Corp. states, “The invisibility and remoteness of most companies is the main handicap. People who feel they know a company well are five times more likely to have a highly favorable opinion of the company than those who have little familiarity.”

Corporate advertising can make a good impression on the financial community, enabling you to raise capital at lower cost—and make more acquisitions.

It can motivate your present employees and attract better recruits. “Good public relations begins at home,” Ogilvy said. “If your employees understand your policies and feel proud of your company, they will be your best ambassadors.”

Corporate advertising can influence public opinion on specific issues. Abraham Lincoln said, “With public opinion against it, nothing can succeed. With public opinion on its side, nothing can fail.”

Institutional Advertising (2 of 2)

Advocacy advertising: communicates an organization’s views on issues that affect society or business

Advertorials: ads that are half advertising, half editorial, and aimed at swaying public opinion

Umbrella advertising: communicates messages about a company and its products simultaneously

A variation on corporate advertising is advocacy advertising. Companies use it to communicate their views on issues that affect their business, to promote their philosophy, or to make a political or social statement. Such ads are frequently referred to as advertorials since they are basically editorials paid for by an advertiser.

Corporate advertising can also build a foundation for future sales, traditionally the realm of product advertising. Many advertisers use umbrella advertising campaigns to simultaneously communicate messages about their products and their company.

Corporate Identity Advertising and Recruitment Advertising

Corporate identity advertising: done to familiarize the public with a corporation’s name, logos, trademarks, or corporate signatures

Recruitment advertising: advertising found in the classified sections of daily newspapers or in online job boards, aimed at attracting employment applications

Companies take pride in their logos and corporate signatures. The graphic designs that identify corporate names and products are valuable assets, and companies take great pains to protect their individuality and ownership. How does a company increase consumer awareness or enhance its image? What does a company do when it changes its name, logos, or trademarks, as when it merges with another company? This is the job of corporate identity advertising.

Companies use recruitment advertising to attract new employees. Most recruitment advertising appears in the classified help-wanted sections of daily newspapers or, increasingly more frequently, on the Internet and is placed by the human resources department rather than the advertising department. But many ad agencies now employ recruitment specialists, and some agencies even specialize in recruitment advertising.

Advertising Chapter 16

The End