draft

General vs. Strategic Communication Approaches



General/broad goals, objectives, and messages:

1. To raise  brand awareness, increase engagement, and encourage a change in behavior about Product X

(3 goals)

2. To emphasize the brand characteristics  quality, fun, and customer-focused

(3 brand characteristics)

3. To demonstrate how the brand's quality, fun, customer-focused approach to Product X will add value to the audience

(Vague information, a lot of information, geared to general/all audiences)

 

Strategic/narrow goals, objectives, and messages:

· Raise brand awareness about Product X and emphasize that it is a quality purchase

· Using a strategic approach, everything in the campaign is then based on this goal --  Product X, and quality

· Goal: Raise brand awareness about Dell's laptop products

· Audience: 18-24-year-old professionals who value quality, reliable products

· Key Messages (via a social media ad):

· Dell laptops come in a variety of screen sizes, colors, etc...... starting at $300......

· Dell offers low-cost laptops that rarely have product defects.

· Dell laptops are a worthwhile investment. Customers rate Dell laptops a 4.5 out of 5 on Dell.com, and they say they typically replace their laptops every 5-7 years.

· Measurable Objective: Achieve 100,000 unique views (impressions) for the social media ad.

 

A few notes:

Brand Awareness

If the brand was not a known brand, as Dell is, or if the brand was not well-known to the particular target audience, then the message would need to focus more on naming the brand (Dell) and identifying it as a computer products company for this audience.

(Brand awareness can refer to: What is the name of the brand? What does it do?)

In this strategic example, based on the company's (hypothetical) research, the message is designed for a target audience that knows the brand Dell and what it does. Therefore, the focus is on raising awareness about laptop products among the target audience of young professionals, and emphasizing the quality of the products, because the company's audience research shows that this audience values quality, reliable products. 

(Brand awareness can refer to: What products does Brand X offer -- new products, products new to this audience, etc.?)

Strategic/Narrow Approaches to Communication

We can see how the strategic example is a much more focused message than the general example.

While the general approach might include more information about the brand, the narrower/strategic message is more likely to be effective -- because it creates a clear, defined image of the brand for the audience. As a result, the narrower/strategic message is also more likely to be memorable to the audience.

In a real-world setting, future campaigns/messages would then seek to increase customer engagement among the target audience, once brand awareness has been raised about Dell laptops among this audience.

Once brand awareness has been raised, and another campaign focuses on increasing customer engagement, then another campaign/message can focus on changing behavior -- such as including a call to action.

** In a real-world setting, and with sufficient budgetary, personnel, and time resources, one strategic campaign could potentially include all of these messages -- in different phases. For our purpose and project in the course, as you are learning the strategic process, it's helpful to maintain a very narrow focus. Once you learn the process and have a foundation/structure for the strategic approach, you can then modify it as the circumstances require (in real-world settings), and you will also then likely be more aware of how you are extending the focus of the campaign, intentionally, to include multiple strategic goals, multiple strategic messages, multiple brand characteristics, etc.

Awareness --> Attitudes --> Behaviors

Messages that focus on brand awareness and customer engagement can also lead to a behavior (buying the product), but a campaign that starts with messages about the behavior ("buy this computer") is less likely to be effective than this strategic approach, which follows the way consumers make purchasing decisions:

Awareness (audience is aware of the brand name, and what it offers)

Attitudes/Believes/Values (audience recognizes the product as a quality, reliable product)

Behavior (audience purchases the product, and becomes a loyal customer over time, because brand awareness/characteristics have been strongly defined and developed for the audience)

· Of course, experience with the brand is key as well. The brand must  be  reliable, quality, etc. The messaging must be accurate and ring true for the customer. It isn't enough to say your brand characteristics. They must be demonstrated, consistently, and over time. No message will overcome a customer's actual experience with the brand. The message should highlight what the customer's experience will be, and then live up to that "key promise."