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Giacomo Balli
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International Advertising as a tool of Marketing Campaign (Feb 2005)

Among the different levers of marketing, the publicity is undoubtedly that one that arouses the levels of involvement you increase. Various explanations exist.
First of all, from a purely business point of view of relationships cost-results, the indications are not always equal.
In front of campaigns that have undoubtedly contributed to the success of a product, sometimes with an important role, there are others that have absolutely not influenced the market shares.
The fact that very thick precise objectives are not fixed for the communication is not often simplifying the work. Isolating the specific effect of the publicity from the other departments of the marketing, even if the relative techniques of search have clearly sharpened, contributes to create towards the publicity a sense of riskiness, a kind of relationship hate-love.
Meanwhile, those people that have inferior familiarity with this tool, are especially simple to sometimes pass from enthusiasm and trust excessive to deep disappointments. Widening the view, it is evident that the publicity is the most exposed lever of marketing. Its nature is to be under the eyes of everybody, and by now advertising has entered to belong to our daily life and it has assumed for some verses an aspect of diversion. Among friends the exchange of opinions on the advertising campaigns is not rare.
For the great majority of the consumers, it is undoubtedly easier to express a judgment on a commercial for a certain product, rather than on the competitive position.
In effect, according to the adopted optics, it has been found in the publicity an essential bunch for the complete expression of the economy of market or a tool of manipulation of the orientations of the consumer. This last attitude has suffered moments of particular hostility in concomitance with the power on phases of the criticism towards the capitalism. Advertising in our days
In the sixties, to speak about publicity meant for a lot of people an invitation to analyze every detail , to launch proclamations on the creativeness, the message and the communication. The economic crisis, with the symptomatology of 1974 and 1975,  brought a change of scene: The publicity as information. Consequently, in a generous competition of declarations, the new expressive canons were delineated: proclamation to the flatteries and the courting. The consumer was considered adult: the assignment of the publicity doesn't consist of having a good time, to interest or to convince, the opposite is the case, advertising should inform or furnish news. In other terms, the publicity as antiseptic communication, as a service for the consumer. At the beginning of the eighties there was a turnaround. In concomitance with an economic resumption that concerned the whole western world,  in Europe happened two interactive facts, with deep repercussions.
On one hand, thanks to the increase of the economic power, the triumph of a new hedonism was created, characterized by the search of the market signals . On the other hand, the advent of the private tv, new for Italy, acted as propeller for the explosion of the investments in publicity: in five years, from 1980 to 1985, the total expense tripled, passing from 1240 to 3800 million liras, and
it actually continues to reach 8200 millions in 1993. The two combined phenomenons produced two equally dangerous consequences, the one from a quantitative point of view, the other from a qualitative point of view.
In the late nineties there has been a new radical change of scene.
Some of the mythical firms of the Rising Sun, normally examples of efficiency, were forced to dismissals of mass.
Substantial changes occurred in the values and in the attitudes of the European consumers, such to ask for a deep reflection from all those people whom are
responsible for the publicity. Analysis of the advertising budget (in Italy)
Increases of the advertising expense on the preceding year
For a more exact understanding of the data, it is nevertheless necessary to remember that the resumption in the last period has strongly been sustained by the investments in the car sector, as well as in the services.
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1980:                                                          100
1981:                                                           +22,2%
1982:                                                           +28,0%
1983:                                                           +29,7%
1984:                                                           +23,8%
1985:                                                           +22,6%
1986:                                                           +23,8%
1987:                                                           +21,9%
1988:                                                           +13,4%
1989:                                                           +12,6%
1990:                                                           +11,0%
1991:                                                           + 8,0%
1992:                                                           + 8,9%
1993:                                                            - 3,9%
1994:                                                           + 0%
1995:                                                           + 5,9%
1996:                                                           + 6,8%
1997:                                                           + 9,8%
1998:                                                           +10,7%
1999:                                                           +14,6%
2000:                                                           +17,1%
2001:                                                           +13,9%
 
It is interesting to underline the increases year by year. It undoubtedly results evident that some blocks can be individualized with different rhythms of growth.
1. 1980-1987:        superior growth to 20%
2. 1988-1992:        equal growth to 10%
3. 1993-1994:        stasis
4. 1995-2001:       growth over 10%
  Marketing Strategy
The assignments of  publicity, from a business point of view,  are universally known. Philip Kotler is quoting them:
“The goal of the advertising is that the potential consumers answer in more favorable way to what the firm offers. This objective can be reached by offering information to the consumers, trying to modify their desires and furnishing motivations to prefer the specific products of the firm.”
In other terms the publicity is a tool of marketing that has to acquit a precise objective towards the consumer, not a pretext for himself. Seeing that in Italy the investments in publicity have grown a lot we ask us how much of these have gotten a result corresponding to the expectations?   Often the formulations of an advertising country, which is an extremely complex fact , that requires professionality and strength, is faced with superficiality and lightness. Certainly, sometimes a good advertising campaign can also be born from a happy intuition. But it is only a fortunate case and the risks are too high. In the actual context of market, characterized by high competitiveness and  a reduction of the objective differences among the products, improvisation  is more dangerous. The publicity has to derive from a precise strategy of marketing using rigorousness and creativeness.
Kenneth Roman, authoritative expert of advertising strategies. ( Come fare Pubblicità, Rizzoli, Milan, 1983): “Look at the publicity that the agency proposes . If it doesn't correspond to the strategy, refuse it. You will never have an easier and more valid motive to reject a creative proposal. It can be bright publicity, convincing, but if it is not corresponding with your strategy it is useless.”
Dario Landò, one of the Italian advertising experts for the strategic aspect of the communications, adds with healthy realism an incontestable consideration.
“If a photo is wrong , within twenty days you realize it, and 20 millions are thrown away. If a tape is wrong you realize it within one-two months , and 200-300 million are thrown away. But if  you make mistakes on the strategy, you realize it after two-three years. In the meantime a lot of millions are wasted and the brand has probably suffered a non indifferent damage.”
The creation to achieve is the final verification of its validity. If in the creative phase you discover that something is missing, that the result doesn't sufficiently show competitiveness, you have to change it immediately . To complete the discourse is worth a reflection: in the positive case, the discipline of the strategy makes excellent publicity. In the negative case, it assures that also a modest advertising campaign results acceptable in terms of sale.
Some examples.
The campaigns for Levi's 501 and for the pneumatics Pirelli have leaned their foundations on rigorous strategies. But this has not prevented that a creative realization of maximum levels was created. Strategically correct, with a precise position, has brought the success. The whiskey Glen Grant and many others earned positions in the respective markets. If what precedes is true, it is worthwhile once and for all that a good advertising campaign is the result of a rigorous and professional trial. To speak of copy strategy or of consumer benefit is very less modern and bright than it could have been 10 years ago.
  The Brief
The firm knows better the market and the products and the agency the techniques of communication to make appreciate them by the audience. This is the sense of the relation between Avis and Doyle & Bernbach, that brought to a collaboration of great success. It is logical that the firm has to furnish the basical strategic elements for the formulation of the campaign. This could be done informally, within some conversations, but it is extremely risky since this can cause dangerous misunderstandings. Therefore it is always worthwhile that the formulation of the campaign is constituted by a written document
- it forces the business marketing to rationalize its own orientations
- it involves the different business levels
- it sets the agency in a situation right-duty.
The brief consists in a brief document that reassumes the strategy of marketing in two-three pages in which the firm specifies its own choices on the most important aspects as
- performances of the product
- positioning
- competing to fight
- public target
- objective of the communication
The definition of these five points is enough for the advertising campaign departs with correct premises.
  The effect of the advertising campaign
The evaluation of the effect obtained by the campaign is fundamental for the business success.
Nevertheless it can happen that the firm doesn't have the enough time and in this case and however in any situation in which it is desired to have rapidly an idea of the validity of the campaign that is not based on emotional factors, is opportune look at some objective criterias
- coherence with the strategy
- impact or ability to attract the attention
- clarity and simplicity
- exploitation of the benefit
- identification and connection with the brand
- involvement and respect of the consumer
  Conclusion
The pact of civilian and intelligent agreement between communicator and recipient it is without doubt the expression of a well done publicity, that is created to involve and to amuse the consumer. Unfortunately between declared principles and realization of the same a certain difference exists. From some years the European communication, rather than to progress, has completed back different footsteps, as it confirms Emanuele Pirella, one of most prepared Italian advertising experts in a recent interview. The Italian communication seems in fact to be lately flattened on some seams that can be so summarised
- vetero-optimistic
- testimonial-save us
- Photo-signature
- adoption of international countries
- search of the effect to every cost
To complete the picture, it is correct to remember bawdiness of the means, that to exploit every occasion, the hybrid spaces of the tv-sales are invented so that the consumers can buy happy. In conclusion we can say that an indistinct continuum between diversion and publicity causes damages to the consumer and the economy in general.
Finally I would like to gather the occasion to cordially thank the
Teacher Prof. Dragoljub Pavicevic who has made the realization of this project possible. Bibliography
- K.Roman & J.Maas, Come fare pubblicità, Rizzoli, 1983
- David Ogilvy, La Pubblicità, Mondadori, 1987
- Pierre Martineau, Motivazioni e pubblicità, Etas Libri, 1974
- Philip Kotler, Principles of marketing
- Internet
- www.Dieseljeans.com
- www.Ferrero.it
- www.Pirelli.it
- www.unilever.com
- www.cocacola.com

Published: Thu, Nov 15 2012 @ 7:02:17
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