Effective Advertising and PR

129 Pages·1985·4.69 MB·English

by  Alison Corke (auth.)

Pan Breakthrough Books
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Alison Corke is a freelance writer and consultant who specializes
in advertising, public relations and sales promotion. She worked
extensively in the advertising industry, for Saatchi and Saatchi,
Channel TV and Longman publishers, before starting her own
consultancy business.
Alisof1 Corke, who lives in York, is the author of Advertise
Yourself-A Practical Guide to Advertising for the Small
Business (1984).
Pan Breakthrough Books
Other books in the series
Background to Business
The Business of Communicating:
Improving Communication Skills
The Business of Data Processing
Computers Mean Business:
An Introduction to Computers in Business
The Economics of Business
Introduction to Personnel Management
Keep Account:
A Guide to Profitable Book-keeping
Making Numbers Work:
An Introduction to Business Numeracy
Management: A Fresh Approach
Marketing: A Fresh Approach
Practical Accounts 1
Practical Accounts 2
Practical Business Law
Practical Company Law
Practical Cost andM anagement Accounting
Production and Operations Management: A Fresh Approach
Supervision: A Fresh Approach
Understanding Company Accounts
Understanding Financial Management
Understanding Industrial Relations
Understanding Office Practice
Using Statistics in Business 1
Using Statistics in Business 2
What Do You Mean 'Communication'?
An Introduction to Communication in Business
Pan Breakthrough Books
Effective Advertising
and PR
Alison Corke
A Pan Original
Pan Books London and Sydney
To Tim Bell
and John Honsinger
First published 1985 by Pan Books Ltd,
Cavaye Place, London SW10 9PG
9 8 7 6 54 3 2
© Alison Corke 1985
ISBN 978-0-333-48156-1 ISBN 978-1-349-10559-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-10559-5
ISBN 978-0-330-28591-9
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of
trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated
without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
If you wish to study the subject-matter of this book in more depth,
write to the National Extension College, 18 Brooklands Avenue,
Cambridge CB2 2HN, for a free copy of the Breakthrough Business
Courses leaflet. This gives details of the extra exercises and
professional postal tuition which are available.
Contents
Foreword vii
1 General introduction 1
2 The set up 25
3 The major media 36
4 Public relations 62
5 Sales promotion 74
6 Advertising and the law 82
7 Planning and evaluation 97
9 Conclusion and glossary 110
Recommended reading 127
Professional associations 127
Foreword
Effective Advertising and PR examines the three main areas of
communication in marketing - advertising, public relations and
sales promotion. Imaginary case studies concerning advertising
and public relations are related in full so you can at first simply
enjoy a glimpse 'behind the scenes'. Problems and mistakes are
highlighted as well as successes, to give you a more realistic idea
of what goes on. The section dealing with sales promotion asks
you to select your own case study for examination. Separate
sections dealing with advertising and the law, and planning and
evaluation complete the groundwork.
We are surrounded by advertising-on posters, in the papers,
on the television and radio. It would be a shame not to make use
of this so I frequently ask you to check for yourself some of my
observations. I also recommend you start your own cuttings file
and suggest ways of sorting the advertisements you collect.
These activities, along with the self checks and the review
questions, have been included to help you get as much as possible
out of the book. Do try to complete all the exercises, it is all too
easy to read through a book and find at the end that you can
hardly remember a thing. And if you are trying to get a job in
advertising a well kept cuttings file will undoubtedly help you
talk sensibly about what is happening in advertising today, and
this may give you the edge over the other applicants.
1 General
introduction
Introduction
In classical times when Aeschines had finished speaking the
people said, 'How well he spoke'. But when Demosthenes had
finished speaking the people said, 'Let us march'.
Today we may argue about whom we think was the more
successful speaker; judgement would depend on whether we
placed a higher value on the people's opinion or on the people's
action. We would have to decide whether we were going to
measure success in terms of 'enhanced image' (i.e. opinion
'How well he spoke') or in terms of 'sales' (i.e. action-'Let us
march').
Advertising is usually (though not always) trying to do both.
Think of any commercial you have seen recently on television;
the advertiser will be hoping it will have left you with an en
hanced image or opinion of his product and, if you are in the right
target market (i.e. one of the people at whom the commercial
was directed), that you will want to act and buy that product,
whether it be a new perfume or after-shave, can of beer, packet
of cornflakes, or even a new car.
The television commercials and glossy advertisements we all
take for granted do not appear at random or at the whim of the
company chairman. Advertising is the profession which deals in
the careful creation, production and placing of these advertise
ments.
In 1982 over three thousand million pounds was spent on
advertising in the UK-in any terms a huge amount. I hope in this
book to explain why, where and how this money goes.
If you have had no experience of advertising campaigns, public
relations exercises or sales promotions it is difficult to acquire
both an overall understanding of what is going on and a grasp of
the details. I always find it much easier to understand machinery
1
2 Effective Advertising and PR
if I can actually see it working, so I have made up case studies for
two of the main areas covered by this book, advertising and
public relations. The section dealing with sales promotion, how
ever, calls upon you to research your own case study. (Mine are
imaginary, yours will be real!)
You will probably find the case studies contain terms you have
not met before. Don't worry if you cannot understand some of
these, I will be looking at each part of the advertising process in
detail later in the book. As you come to the case studies, just read
them and try to get a feel for the subject and begin to see how
everyone and everything must work together. You may find it
helpful to keep a list of any technical terms mentioned in the case
studies, then you can check these off as you progress through the
book.
Case study-the launch of the GCL Jerry
Client: Grantley Cars (GCL) is a small family firm established in
the 1930s. It builds specialist sports cars and has a reputation for
reliability, expertise - and expense. Until now GCL has been a
modestly profitable company but newcomers to the Board felt it
was time for GCL to expand. Hence after lengthy research and
discussion GCL has just finalized a deal with an American com
pany to produce and sell a new car in the UK. In the past GCL
has advertised on a small scale in the specialist motoring press
with the advertising all handled in house'. This major launch
calls for the appointment of an advertising agency. 'Biffin and
Smart' is the agency selected to handle the GCL Jerry launch.
Product: GCL Jerry - a smallish buggy-type car which is bought
as a basic, simple model with very few accessories. The owners
can customize their cars from a wide range of components and
accessories, some easy to fit, such as carpets, others more com
plicated, such as a twin exhaust.
Target market: Young males/females, 17-30: (B, C1, C2)2 with
DIY abilities.
Timing: 5 months to launch date.
General introduction 3
Budget: £800,000 to£ 1,000,000.
Background
GCL come to the agency for a meeting with the account team.
GCL brief Biffin and Smart to produce a range of ideas to show
how they will handle the launch of the Jerry and the follow-up
advertising. The agency agrees to respond in two weeks with
media recommendations and creative proposals.
Events
1 The account executive prepares initial briefs for the creative
and media departments to give them time to start thinking
about the product (and where and how it will be advertised)
while all the necessary information is compiled.
The production department is informed (the production
executive will be responsible for ensuring the press adver
tisements are prepared and despatched in time to meet the
copy dates, and that the artwork is the right size and in the
correct form for each publication).
2 The account executive researches and prepares all the back
ground information and draws up a written brief for the
media and creative teams, including:
a history of both GCL and their newly acquired American
backers;
b all the details about the product (from the basic, simple
model to the wide range of accessories and components
that can be added);
c where the GCL Jerry fits in the market;
d research data available (carried out by an independent
research company commissioned by GCL), including
product tests and consumer group tests (i.e. how well the
product works and what people think about it);
e media and creative objectives;
f positioning and 'tone of voice' for advertising;
g timing plan.
3 Account executive arranges a visit to GCL's factory for the