Marketing 12th Edition by Charles Lamb,Charles Lamb,Joe Hair

Exercise 1

In Part 5 of your strategic marketing plan you'll continue defining the elements of the marketing mix, focusing on promotion and communication decisions. Use the following exercises to guide you through the advertising and public relations decisions you'll make for your chosen company:
1. Investigate different media placement rates (such as for a school newspaper, local newspaper, national newspaper, local radio station, local TV station, general or specialty interest magazine, local billboard, transit advertising, or the Internet). You can either call local media or consult Standard Rate and Data Services (SRDS). Which media should your firm use? Which media can your firm afford? When should media be used?
2. Are there different advertising concerns for the Internet-only firm than for the firm with an established brick-and-mortar presence? If so, what are they? Design the advertising for each medium selected in question 1. Do all advertising pieces carry a uniform theme and style? Is there sufficient information about benefits offered to consumers? Do customers have an option for obtaining further information?
3. List the public relations activities that your company should do. Be sure to make them consistent with your branding and other promotions. In addition, write a plan for handling bad publicity. Bad publicity travels at light speed over the Internet and is much more of a challenge to an e-marketer. Check out http://urbanlegends.about.com to see how misinformation can travel the Internet and cause public relations nightmares for companies.