In
this course, we look at marketing communications or the promotion
element of the marketing mix. We use the term marketing communications
to avoid confusion between promotion (one of the 4 Ps of the marketing
mix) and sales promotion (a short-term tactical tool which can be used
with advertising, publicity or other mechanisms to reach the audience).
Most
marketers are faced with difficult choices when developing marketing
communications strategy, not just in terms of determining appropriate
objectives which integrate with the overall marketing plan, but in
developing messages, which will appeal to their target audiences, choosing
the most effective mechanisms to reach them and measuring the results.
Here
you examine the nature of the communications process and analyse the
requirements of an effective marketing communications plan.
You will need to read Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16.
of
Principles and Practice of Marketing, David Jobber, second
edition, Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill (1998).
By the end of this course you will be able to:
-
identify
and define the key elements of the marketing communications mix
-
detail
the characteristics of different marketing communications tools
-
use
the key stages in planning a marketing communications campaign
-
evaluate
the effectiveness of marketing communications in given situations
-
describe
the communications process and two alternative models of how
advertising works
-
develop
appropriate marketing communications plans for given situations.
