Deck 10: Integrated Marketing Communications

Question 1

The most widely used method of setting the advertising budget and planning advertising expenditures is the _____ approach.

A) objectives and task
B) percentage of sales
C) competitive matching
D) arbitrary
E) incremental

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A price reduction offered to channel intermediaries for purchasing specified quantities of a product at a single time is called a:

A) merchandise credit.
B) buying allowance.
C) selling incentive.
D) push money allowance.
E) cooperative incentive.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In today's economy, personal selling has evolved to take on elements of customer service and marketing research. Why is this the case?

A) It is less expensive to deliver service and conduct research with the sales staff.
B) It is more time efficient because salespeople are already interacting with customers.
C) Personal selling now focuses more on developing relationships than on generating transactions.
D) It allows salespeople to earn higher commissions for doing more work.
E) None of the above is correct.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Why is promotion based on creativity alone likely to waste valuable marketing resources?

A) Because truly creative promotion is too expensive
B) Because the majority of promotional efforts do not create results in the short term
C) Because promotion that is based solely on creativity is no better than one-on-one personal selling
D) Because most potential customers simply ignore promotion
E) All of the above are reasons.

Question 5

Despite conventional thinking, _____ accounts for the bulk of promotional spending in many firms. This is especially true for firms selling consumer products in grocery stores and mass-merchandise retailers.

A) personal selling
B) advertising
C) public relations
D) sales promotion
E) publicity

Question 6

Overall, what is the major disadvantage associated with the use of public relations and publicity?

A) It is normally very expensive.
B) The amount of negative publicity always outweighs the good.
C) Few, if any, customers pay attention to public relations messages.
D) Most people find it to be less credible than advertising.
E) The firm has limited control over how the message will be delivered or interpreted.

Question 7

_____ is paid personal communication that attempts to inform customers about products and persuade them to purchase those products.

A) Personal selling
B) Sales promotion
C) Publicity
D) Public relations
E) Advertising

Question 8

In the context of IMC strategy, what is the difference between public relations and publicity?

A) Public relations deals with positive information; publicity deals with controlling negative information.
B) Publicity deals with many stakeholders; public relations deals only with customers.
C) Publicity is normally done via an in-house staff; public relations is typically outsourced to a specialist.
D) Publicity is more narrowly defined and focused on gaining media attention.
E) There is no difference between public relations and publicity.

Question 9

Which of the following sales promotion methods would you recommend to a packaged goods marketer who wants to stimulate trial of a new product?

A) a contest or sweepstake
B) a coupon
C) a free sample of the product
D) an in-store product demonstration
E) a point-of-purchase display

Question 10

Which of the following statements best represents the universal goal of all sales promotion activities?

A) to increase sales volume in the long term
B) to stimulate customer interest and attention
C) to induce product trial and purchase
D) to enhance the image of the firm
E) to gain the attention of members of the supply chain

Question 11

Which sales force compensation system is best suited to situations where salespeople are responsible for pre- and post-sale service and sales managers want maximum control over selling expenses?

A) straight commission
B) a combination approach
C) direct compensation
D) geographic allocation
E) straight salary

Question 12

As a method of sales force compensation, _____ is best suited to situations where aggressive selling is required and salespeople have direct control over sales outcomes (i.e., their efforts are directly responsible for meeting sales goals).

A) straight commission
B) a combination approach
C) straight salary
D) direct compensation
E) pay-as-you-go salary

Question 13

Which of the following IS NOT a reason that most firms prefer rebates over coupons when granting price reductions to customers?

A) Firms have more control over rebates.
B) Rebates can be launched and ended very quickly.
C) Rebate programs allow firms to collect additional customer information.
D) Rebates are much better at inducing purchase.
E) Most customers never bother to redeem rebate offers.

Question 14

When firms use a(n) _____ strategy, they focus their promotional efforts toward stimulating demand among final customers, who then exert pressure on the supply chain to carry the product.

A) pressurization
B) IMC
C) pull
D) guerilla
E) push

Question 15

Which of the following is perhaps the main advantage associated with the use of advertising?

A) It takes little time to develop an advertising campaign.
B) The total dollar layout in advertising is usually low.
C) It is an extremely cost efficient way to reach a large number of people.
D) It can quickly convey a large amount of technical information.
E) It can be quite memorable.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about integrated marketing communications (IMC) is FALSE?

A) IMC refers to the strategic, coordinated use of promotion to create one consistent message.
B) IMC takes a 360-degree view of the customer.
C) The role of mass television advertising is growing more important to IMC strategy.
D) IMC reduces costs and increases efficiency because it can reduce or eliminate redundancies and waste.
E) The key to IMC is consistency and uniformity of message across all elements of promotion.

Question 17

In a recent campaign, IBM advertised that it provides infrastructure and solutions for e-business. Interestingly, these messages did not name the company's products or explain how their infrastructure and solutions actually work. What type of advertising is IBM using?

A) advocacy
B) institutional
C) pioneer
D) product
E) competitive

Question 18

In launching its new line of power tools, Black and Decker spent a considerable amount of time and resources to educate, motivate, and compensate members of its supply chain. By investing heavily in these types of promotions, Black and Decker hopes its _____ strategy will lead to a more effective product launch.

A) pull
B) AIDA
C) institutional
D) push
E) placement

Question 19

In terms of the AIDA model, mass communication elements such as advertising and public relations tend to be very effective at:

A) stimulating awareness of and interest in a product.
B) explaining highly complex and technical products.
C) stimulating immediate purchase of a product.
D) marketing high priced products.
E) closing the sale.

Question 20

To be successful, firms must move potential customers beyond mere interest in the product. Good promotion will stimulate _____ by convincing potential customers of the product's superiority and its ability to satisfy specific needs.

A) dedication
B) investigation
C) attention
D) action
E) desire

Question 21

Discuss the importance of managing negative public relations and give examples of how firms have handled negative events. What can we learn from these examples? What do you believe is the key to successfully managing a negative event?

Question 22

Identify and discuss the issues and challenges involved in measuring the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. Is it relatively easier to measure effectiveness before or after the campaign has been implemented? Explain.

Question 23

Discuss the steps involved in the AIDA model of outlining promotional goals. How does IMC strategy shift from one step to the next in the model? How does the important of various promotional elements vary across the steps?

Question 24

Discuss the issues associated with the increasing fragmentation of mass media audiences. How are advertisers and media companies coping with the issue?

Question 25

Discuss the role of sales promotion in consumer markets. In your answer, identify several types of consumer sales promotion activities and how they might be used in an overall IMC program.