Marketing communication and consumer behaviour Essay

Marketing communication and consumer behaviour - Essay Example However, usually this communication flow is disturbed by the presence of noise or distractions. This results in failed communication. All marketing communications are carried out keeping a certain objective in mind. These objectives can range from informing the consumer about the product to persuading the consumer to buy the product. (Michael, Gary, Soren and Margrate, 20) Marketing communication has been used to establish social control in many different areas. It has been especially useful in influencing public opinion for religious and political campaigns. However, before embarking on a communications journey; the marketing mix must be in place for a product. The marketing mix consists of 4Ps, namely product, place, price and promotion. Product refers to the essential feature of the product including packaging, place refers to distribution and where the product will be available while promotion is the element concerned with marketing communications. For a company to excel, its promotional effort must be in coordination with the marketing. Therefore the advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations must all convey the same message. As a child I was very fond of the movie E.T and the movie went on to become a super hit with audiences all over the world. Kraft foods utilized this opportunity to plan a three-sixty degree approach to marketing its products, teaming up with ET. E.T was featured on all Kraft Foods products across eight product categories, there were E.T related in package premiums in all Kraft foods, sweepstakes were conducted with prizes which included trips to Universal Studios, providing point of purchase stand alone displays to be used by retailers and developing of E.T related television advertisements linking E.T, the sweepstakes and Kraft Foods. Needless to say Kraft Foods became a favourite with E.T lovers all over the world. IMC however requires an understanding of the target audience, the use of a mix of promotional tools, coordination of all promotional tools and a carefully timed continuous flow of information. Companies which do not follow the IMC properly often end up confusing the consumer no end and this results in confused positioning of the brand. An example is of Burger King which insisted on using different taglines all the times which confused the consumer no end, thereby the fast-food joint had no clear positioning and gave no reason to the consumer to eat there. (Michael, Bruce and William, 28) Communications are concerned with products and brands. There is a significant difference between the two. In ancient times branding was known to be the act of burning a mark on the flesh of your sheep to claim ownership. A brand is a set of attributes both tangible and intangible that distinguish one product from another and create a distinct identity for a product. This is how people perceive the same milk with a different name, differently. Volvo and BMW are both essentially cars which have the same function. However to the consumer they are distinguished entities; while BMW is the drive machine, Volvo stands for safety and reliability. Also significant are the values and personality associated with a brand. Coca-Cola has values such as fun, music and friendship associated with it. While