The document discusses developing integrated marketing communication message strategies. It states that all brand messages should create awareness, change or reinforce attitudes, stimulate a response or action, and build brand relationships. It also discusses developing creative briefs to guide message creation, including restating marketing objectives and the intended message impact. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of consistency across all communication channels to build a clear brand image.

1. IMC Message Strategy
All planned brand messages should:
1) Create brand awareness
2) Change or reinforce customers’ attitudes
3) Stimulate some kind of response or action
4) Stimulate the interactivity that helps build brand
relationships
The IMC Creative Brief is based on these mandates
and how they relate to the brand decision-making
process.
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2. Creating Brand Value for a
Biscuit
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3. Brand Message Strategy
Development
The fourth step in the IMC planning process is
developing message strategies.
Companies and their marketing communication
agencies employ strategic thinking at a
variety of levels in the marketing
communication process.
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4. The Creative Message Brief
A creative brief is a document that provides
the guidelines for creating brand
messages.
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5. The Creative Message Brief
Creative briefs typically include items
such as:
 Restatement of the marketing strategy
 Restatement of the marketing objectives in terms of
the intended message impact
 The message format or approach
 The psychological appeal
 The selling premise
 The big idea or creative concept
 The message execution details
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6. Citigate Cunningham’s
“Positioning Platform”
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7. Purpose or Key Problem
Identifying the company’s main opportunity or
key problem is the first step in developing a
selling strategy.
This key problem should summarize the most
important finding from the SWOT analysis.
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8. Functional-Area Message
Objectives
 For each MC area used in the MC plan, message objectives
need to be developed.
 MC efforts are measured against their objectives, so stating
appropriate objectives is an important part of determining the
desired impact.
 Creative message objectives are often based on some notion
of hierarchy of effects such as the AIDA model.
 A less hierarchical approach includes awareness, attitude,
action and relationship building.
 Brand message objectives and strategies need to dovetail
with the marketing plan.
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9. Appeals and Execution Style
 Advertising Appeals
 The approach used to attract the attention of
consumers
and/or
 To influence consumer feelings toward the
product, service or cause
 Execution Style
 The way a particular appeal is turned into an
advertising message
 The way the message is presented to the
consumer
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10. INFORMATIONAL APPEALS
 INFORMATIONAL/RATIONAL APPEALS
 FOCUS ON THE CONSUMER’S PRACTICAL,
FUNCTIONAL, OR UTILITARIAN NEED FOR
THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE
 EMPHASIZE

FEATURES
 BENEFITS

REASONS FOR OWNING
 MESSAGE CONTENT

FACTS, LEARNING, LOGIC
 RATIONAL MOTIVES OR PURCHASE CRITERIA
 CONVENIENCE, ECONOMY, FIVE SENSES,
DEPENDABILITY, DURABILITY, EFFICIENCY,
PERFORMANCE, ECT
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11. Rational Appeals
 Feature appeals
 Focus on the dominant traits of the product
 Competitive appeals
 Makes comparisons to other brands
 Favorable price appeals
 Makes price offer the dominant point
 News appeals
 News or announcement about the product
 Product/service popularity appeals
 Stresses the brand’s popularity
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12. EMOTIONAL APPEALS
 EMOTIONAL APPEALS
 THE CONSUMERS’ SOCIAL AND/OR PSYCHOLOGICA
NEEDS FOR PURCHASING A PRODUCT OR SERVICE
 EMOTIONS WORK BETTER AT SELLING BRANDS
THAT DO NOT DIFFER MARKEDLY FROM
COMPETING BRANDS
 EMOTIONAL INTEGRATION
 CHARACTERS IN THE AD EXPERIENCE AN
EMOTIONAL BENEFIT OR OUTCOME FROM USING
A PRODUCT OR SERVICE
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13. Emotional Appeals
Personal States or Feelings
 Achievement /  Joy
Accomplishment  Love
 Actualization  Nostalgia
 Affection  Pleasure
 Ambition  Pride
 Arousal /  Safety
stimulation  Security
 Comfort  Self-esteem
 Excitement  Sentiment
 Fear  Sorrow / grief
 Happiness 13

14. Emotional Appeals
Social-Based Feelings
 Approval
 Affiliation / Acceptance
 belonging
 Embarrassment
 Involvement
 Recognition
 Rejection
 Respect
 Status 14

15. ADDITIONAL TYPES OF APPEALS
 REMINDER ADVERTISING
 KEEP BRAND NAME IN USERS’ MINDS
 TEASER ADVERTISING
 BUILD CURIOSITY, INTEREST,
EXCITEMENT
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16. Transformational Ads
 The ads create feelings, images, meanings, and beliefs about
the product or service that may be activated when consumers
use it
 These transform the consumer’s interpretations of use of the
product
 The ad must make the experience of using the product
richer, warmer, more exciting and / or enjoyable than that
obtained solely from an objective description of the
advertised brand
 It must connect the experience of the ad so tightly with the
experience of using the brand that the consumer can’t
remember the brand without recalling the experience
generated by the ad
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17. Ad Execution Techniques
 Straight-sell or
 Testimonial
factual message  Animation
 Science / technical  Personality
evidence  Fantasy
 Demonstration  Dramatizatio
 Comparison n
 Slice of life  Humor
 Combination
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18. Consistency
IMC planners focus their attention on two types
of consistency:
 One-voice, one-look
 Strategic consistency
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19. The Consistency Hierarchy
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20. The Consistency Triangle
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21. Consistency Gaps
The consistency triangle is used to
identify gaps in brand communication.
The “say” messages must be consistent
with the “do” and “confirm” messages.
Gaps between any of these points
threaten brand relationships.
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22. A Mess of Messages
Many companies deal with a mess of message
due to a wide array of messages and
communication complexity.
Consistency leads to a positive, well-defined,
clear brand image recognized by all of a
brand’s stakeholders.
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