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|460 PART 3 Designing a Customer Value-Driven Strategy and Mix

working feverishly to make more effective use The best use of celebrities requires that remain an important element in the marketing
of celebrities in social media. kind of authenticity. Thanks to success stories of many brands. “We live in a celebrity-crazed
like Nike’s, although the whos and hows might culture,” concludes one analyst. “Advertisers
The success of celebrity endorsements change to fit the shifting marketing communi- will never abandon them.”
seems to come down to matching the right cations environment, celebrity power will likely
celebrity with the right brand. Too often, en-
dorsement deals come off to consumers as Sources: Kurt Badenhausen, “How Michael Jordan Still Earns $80 Million a Year,” Forbes, February 14, 2013, www
offhand paid commercial pairings of the ce- .forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2013/02/14/how-michael-jordan-still-earns-80-million-a-year/; Liat Kornowski,
lebrity and the brand. For example, a recent “Celebrity Sponsored Tweets: What the Stars Get Paid for Advertising in 140 Characters,” Huffington Post, May 30,
music video ad for Hot Pockets microwavable 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/30/celebrity-sponsored-tweets_n_3360562.html; Abby Johnson, “Super
sandwiches featuring Snoop Dogg rapping Bowl Commercials: What Makes Them Effective?” WebProNews, January 31, 2012, http://www.webpronews
to Kate Upton and Larry King left audiences .com/super-bowl-commercials-what-makes-them-effective-2012-01; Joyce Chen, “Snoop Dogg, Kate Upton Join
mystified. But a Kardashian sister tweet- Together for Trippy Hot Pockets Music Video Ad,” Us Weekly, October 8, 2013, www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-
ing about cosmetic products is a no-brainer. news/news/snoop-dogg-kate-upton-join-together-for-trippy-hot-pockets-music-video-ad-2013810; Lucia Moses,
And there’s perhaps no better endorsement “Why Celebrity Weeklies Should Worry about Dreft’s Baby Notice,”Adweek, February 4, 2014, www.adweek.com/
fit than professional athletes and the shoes news/advertising-branding/why-celebrity-weekies-should-worry-about-drefts-baby-notice-155467; and James Nye,
they wear. After Lebron James won his sec- “Psst, Don’t Tell Samsung: Ellen Uses Oscar Sponsor’s Galaxy for Her Onstage Stunts,” Mail Online, March 3, 2014,
ond NBA title with the Miami Heat, sales of www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2572343/.
his signature Nike shoes rose by 50 percent.

Author In this section, we’ll look at Collecting Feedback
Comment the promotion budget-setting
process and at how marketers blend the After sending the message or other brand content, the communicator must research its ef-
various marketing communication tools fect on the target audience. This involves asking target audience members whether they
into a smooth-functioning integrated remember the content, how many times they saw it, what points they recall, how they felt
promotion mix. about the content, and their past and present attitudes toward the brand and company. The
communicator would also like to measure behavior resulting from the content—how many
people bought the product, talked to others about it, or visited the store.

Feedback on marketing communications may suggest changes in the promotion pro-
gram or in the product offer itself. For example, Macy’s uses television and newspaper
advertising to inform area consumers about its stores, services, and merchandising events.
Suppose feedback research shows that 80 percent of all shoppers in an area recall seeing the
store’s ads and are aware of its merchandise and sales. Sixty percent of these aware shop-
pers have visited a Macy’s store in the past month, but only 20 percent of those who visited
were satisfied with the shopping experience.

These results suggest that although promotion is creating awareness, Macy’s stores
aren’t giving consumers the satisfaction they expect. Therefore, Macy’s needs to improve
the shopping experience while staying with the successful communications program. In
contrast, suppose research shows that only 40 percent of area consumers are aware of the
store’s merchandise and events, only 30 percent of those aware have shopped recently, but
80 percent of those who have shopped return soon to shop again. In this case, Macy’s needs
to strengthen its promotion program to take advantage of its power to create customer
satisfaction in the store.

Setting the Total Promotion Budget and Mix

We have looked at the steps in planning and sending communications to a target audience.
But how does the company determine its total promotion budget and the division among the
major promotional tools to create the promotion mix? By what process does it blend the tools
to create integrated marketing communications? We now look at these questions.

Setting the Total Promotion Budget

One of the hardest marketing decisions facing a company is how much to spend on pro-
motion. John Wanamaker, the department store magnate, once said, “I know that half