Many Marketers Would Take the Stance That Communications Objectives Are

question 72

Essay

Many marketers would take the stance that communications objectives are the only legitimate objectives for advertising a brand like Sweet Sunshine.They would argue that it is not reasonable to set sales objectives for its advertising effort when other variables in the mix might undermine the advertising effort,or might be responsible for sales of Sweet Sunshine orange juice (or lack of sales)in the first place.In addition,viewing advertising as primarily a communications effort will allow the marketer to consider a broader range of ad strategies in promoting the Sweet Sunshine brand.Overall,communications objectives should create an awareness for the Sweet Sunshine brand,offer information about its features and benefits,and develop a favorable attitude toward the brand that may lead to consumer preference.These objectives have certain advantages over sales objectives-they consider a broaderrange of strategies,and they gain a greater appreciation for the overall communications process.But there is always the idea,even if it is in the background,that advertising must sell.So the marketer may use both types,as long as certain criteria are met.Any objectives that enable a firm to make intelligent decisions about resource allocation-whether based on communications or sales-must be stated in an advertising plan in terms specific to the organization.The objectives must establish a quantitative benchmark,specify measurement methods and criteria for success,and identify a time frame for the desired results to occur.

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Definitions:

Cost Drivers

Factors that cause variations in the cost of an activity or process, used in activity-based costing to allocate overhead costs more accurately.

Profit Center

A branch or division of a company that is directly responsible for generating a significant portion of the company's profits.

Support Department Allocations

The process of distributing the costs of support departments (e.g., human resources, maintenance) to producing departments based on their usage of services.

Operating Income Before

Income generated from normal business operations before deductions such as taxes and interest.