QUESTIONS FOR ASSIGNMENT

Instructions: Please attempt any 4 questions out of Q1-Q9. Q10 is compulsory.

Q1. Select a brand of your choice and spell out the elements of its marketing mix. Describe the features of the product, its packaging, services, various price points, channels of distribution and the various promotional tools it uses. Also categorize the tools into high, medium and low control tools giving your views about the suitability of each.

Q2. Discuss the role of public relations as an IMC tool. Give an example of a company that has integrated public relations in its communications strategy. Was the company able to achieve desired results?

Q3. Research indicates that IMC is used more in companies that encounter a high level of competition. Do you think it is true? Give reasons and examples to support your claim.

Q4. Select a product of your choice and outline the entire purchase decision process that a consumer is likely to follow for that product. Identify the needs that my trigger the requirement for that product, sources of information that the consumer may rely on, attributes on which the consumer may evaluate the brands in the evoked set, decision rules that she may apply in arriving at a decision, purchase decision that she might make and the post purchase issues she is likely to face.

Also explain how communication managers can influence her decision at each stage.

Q5. Name the product categories for which consumers are likely to follow traditional response hierarchy models and also those for which they would follow the alternative response hierarchy models. Justify your choice briefly.

Q6. Discuss the three primary source attributes noted by Herbert Kelman and the different processes by which they can influence attitude and /or behaviour change. Find an example of an advertisement that utilizes each attribute.

Q7. Find a celebrity who is currently appearing in an ad for a particular company or brand and use Mc Cracken’s meaning transfer model to analyse the use of this model as the spokesperson.

Q8. Explain the difference between the S shaped response model and the rapidly diminishing returns model. Some believe that the former may be best suited for low involvement products and the latter for high involvement products. Do you agree? Explain.

Q9. In the periods of downturns in the economy, many companies slash their advertising and promotion budgets. Is this the correct strategy to follow? Explain.

Q10. Please read the attached case carefully and attempt the questions given at the end.