advertisement effectiveness in services marketing

8/14/2019 Advertisement Effectiveness in Services Marketing

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ASSIGNMENT in SERVICES MARKETING

Effectiveness of Advertisements

NAME SONAL

IBS ID NO. 08BS0003303

IUD NO. 08PMP04085

FACULTY NAME Prof. S. DasariCOURSE CODE SLMM 604

Student Signature

Date

Q. In chapter 15 of Z&B the criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of advertisements have been spelt out. Choose any five advertisements pertaining to services of your choice.


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Evaluate each of these advertisements using these criteria. Critique these advertisementswith regard to their overall effectiveness or ineffectiveness in bridging gap4.

A. According to Zeithaml and Bitner following criteria create effective servicescommunication (that is, in this case, advertisements):

a. Present vivid information - Information should create a strong or clear impressionon the senses and produce a distinct mental picture.

b. Use interactive imagery - Imagery is a mental event that involves thevisualization of a concept or relationship and as such it can enhance recall of names and facts about the service. Interactive imagery integrates two or moreitems in some mutual action, resulting in improved recall.

c. Focus on the tangibles - Featuring tangibles is important as services are abstract,for example banks credit card or columns if featured in the advertisements,

provide more clues about the service.d. Feature service employees - Featuring actual employees doing their jobs or

explaining their services in advertisements works in two ways. Firstly, they areeffective for the primary audience, that is, the external customers; and secondly,the internal customers are also made to feel that they are important. Furthermore,when employees who perform their task well are featured in a commercial they

become a benchmark for other employees.e. Promise what is possible - It is very important that the advertisements carry only

those promises and clues which are deliverable to the customers. Many a timesthe commercials raise the expectations so high that actual service performed doesnot live up to that. Such a failure to live up to the promise can backfire.

f. Encourage word-of mouth communication Services advertising need togenerate word-of mouth publicity as it is a certain way to enhance the credibilityof the message delivered in the commercials. This is because of the fact thatservices are high on credence quality and as such people frequently turn to otherslike family members or friends, in order to get information about the services. Assuch, it becomes important that advertisements are compelling, unique or humorous. Community or public relations and sponsorship of events are alsouseful in this regard.

g. Feature service customers this might be useful in generating positive word of mouth as it is a credible way to communicate the benefits of the service.

So now in the following pages we will be looking at five advertisements(released in electronic media) from the standpoints discussed above and as such,evaluate whether the advertisements have been successful in bridging the gap 4or not.


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The first advertisement chosen for the purpose pertains to the advertisement of Hotel Hyatt Regency Sharm-al-Shaikh , Egypt.

The commercial shows the hotel in great detail. Everything from balcony toterrace and sea view to interior dcor of the hotel is shown. A voice in the

background keeps telling us about all the facilities at the hotel and what it standsfor. Even, exotic locations near the hotel are shown for that everlastingimpression. Added to this, we can see customers enjoying their stay at the hotel.Hotel employees have also been shown several times during this longcommercial doing their chores in a very professional manner. In addition to allthis, the commercial also promises adulation, comfort and ultimate luxury to thecustomers. The imagery itself is very strong and interactive so as to build anatmosphere of leisure associated with luxurious stay, and which ultimatelyremains with a viewer even after the commercial ends. The imagery used, in fact

can lead a person to recall the advertisement every time he sees a picture or evenin reality a beach or any other thing like good food.Above all, the advertisement along with the high class service that Hyatt isfamous for, creates a positive impact. This has been fostered by great clientelethat Hyatt has. Besides, the customers of Hyatt are known to have generatedword of mouth publicity for it.Also, throughout the commercial there is a constant focus on luxury and this isreflected in everything that is shown; for example the suits of the hotel reflectultimate luxury. This also helps a person to know that the price to be shelled outwould also be premium. Above all, Hyatt has been extremely successful in

standardizing service delivery process and is also known for the experiencewhich it provides.Overall, we can say that the advertisement aired by the Hyatt Regency has beenquite impressive as well as effective in bridging the gap4.

Now, let us have a look at the famous Incredible India campaign run by theministry of tourism, India.The advertisement that is shown on television is a great example of how anadvertisement can foster interactive imagery. The commercial features manyfamous tourist destinations across the country Rajasthan, Laddakh, Buddhist

monasteries, Kerala and its backwaters, Himalayas and Taj Mahal - one after another contrasting one view with the other. Meanwhile a background score runsin which the seven notes of classical Indian music can be heard. Also, there is alot of emphasis on colors. In other words, beautiful locales are combined withgreat music and some pleasant clichs about the country. This all, virtually, takesthe viewer into a geography of which he might or might not be the part of duringthe playtime. It immediately appeals to the viewer, including those in India and


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urges them to take a trip. At the end of the commercial also, the great Indiahospitality adage Atithi Devo Bhava is also heard. Actually, theadvertisement has been able to push the number of tourists undertaking a tour of India-not only foreign but also Indians.But there are certain drawbacks in the advertisement that need to be taken careof. First of all, physical evidence related to the service is missing. There is nosuch feature in the advertisement which helps one to form an idea as to what kindof service one can expect during the sojourn. Since the advertisement is directedat the millions of people who undertake world tour every year, it should conveyto them about the kind of services to be expected. Also, many tourists time andagain complain of the lack of proper infrastructure and good hotels at goodrates. Moreover, despite giving a high status to our guests (tourists in this case)there have been incidents which the administration has not been able to deal within swift and efficient manner and thus making mockery of it. So there has been agap between service delivery and external communication to customers.

Yet, the thing to be noted is that the advertisement has generated very good wordof mouth publicity for India, especially among the foreigners who can be calledIndophiles and Buddhists.The advertisement promises just one thing-an Incredible India. This message issuccessfully driven across. On the whole we can say that the feature has had alimited success. So to make it effective in bridging the gap4 certain things asdiscussed above should be taken care of.

Now, let us proceed to the third example of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance .The advertisement chosen for our purpose was aired at the time of launch of the

insurance service by ICICI Bank. This advertisement also has played a lot oninteractive imagery. Throughout the commercial there is a constant theme being

played in the background-Jeevan ka bandhan hai (bond of life). As such to showit a great deal of symbolism is used-like an army personnel going to the war front

putting vermillion (sindur) on the head of her wife, a young couple brieflyseparated in a rush and then reuniting, a women having labor pain, an elderlycouple and also a couple during their own marriage ceremony. In all the frameswomen have vermillion in their heads. In fact, vermillion is a constant theme,which in Indian culture has great significance. If a man puts vermillion in thehead of a woman, it symbolizes that they have been married and as reflects the

vow of the man to take care of the wife all his life. In the last frame a voice can be heard urging the customers to keep their loved ones secure (Aapke apno kosurakshit rakhiye). And at the end of it ICICI Prudentials logo appears and amans thumb runs below it putting a straight line of vermillion which takes theform of a red line in the logo. Through this the message is conveyed that ICICIPrudential promises to take care of our loved ones so that even if we are notthere, they are secure (financially of course). The advertisement fulfilled several


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criteria of an effective campaign - vivid information, interactive imagery,tangibles in the form of logo of the company and a promise that can be fulfilled.It must be noted here that the advertisement did generate a lot of curiosity andalso positive word of mouth for the company. This advertisement was shownduring several cricket tournaments of which ICICI Prudential was a sponsor.Every time a wicket would fall this commercial came up again reflecting the ideaof security. However, the aspects missed here were-service employees andcustomers. Yet, the advertisement can be said to be highly effective.

Now let us analyze the Air-Tel commercial in which two children are shown playing football in a no mans land between North Korea and South Korea,which are hostile countries. The children are from different sides of the border.The soccer lands on the other side of the barbed wire fence and a child in thatside of the border hears the noise. He goes outside and sees a child on another side asking him to kick the ball, and so he does. Then both of them move into the

no mans land to play together and both of them are happy. At the same time theiconic Air Tel music begins to play. A voice at the end says, There is no wall,no barrier that can keep us apart if only we talk.This advertisement also plays a great deal on interactive imagery and vividinformation. The tangibles can be the logo of Air Tel. Besides, the advertisementwas aired when India cricket team toured Pakistan after 16 years gap. Also theadvertisement had great emotional appeal and everyone who saw it would smileat it. Air Tel utilized the brand equity that it had in market and decided not todivulge much information in the advertisement. Besides, it had the resources in

place to deal with service delivery process. Yet, the image that customers formed

because of the advertisement might have tended to create high expectations.Though the advertisement was appreciated a lot and did generate positive wordof mouth, yet it was not highly successful in bridging the gap4.

Now let us see what its rival Vodafone did recently as a sponsor of T20 World-Cup broadcasts. The advertisement used the highly adorable characters known aszoozoos. These zoozos brought about the several service benefits of Vodafonein a very humorous and subtle fashion. As such, everybody began to remember the company and related it to zoozoos. The advertisement was declared a hugesuccess. The advertisement also played on interactive imagery quite successfully.

The subtle manner in which messages were delivered is very typical of Vodafone. The tangible can be seen in the form of Vodafone logo. As such theonly aspect of an effective advertisement that can be found to be missing here areservice employees and service customers. But it can be noted here that in telecomvery less direct interaction takes place between employees and customers.Besides, in recent times Vodafone has enhanced its network coverage also. Now,what is to be observed is whether Vodafone has proper service delivery system in


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place or not. As of now the advertisement seems to have taken care of externalcommunication in an efficient manner.

advertisement effectiveness in services marketing

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