Week 7: Print, Radio, Online and Social Media, and the Other Promotional Tools

Week 7 widens the media discussion beyond television. It covers the print media (magazines and newspapers) and briefly recaps radio for comparison, then moves to out-of-home and support media, online advertising and social media within IMC, and the other elements of the promotional mix: direct marketing, sales promotion and public relations. For each tool the chapter asks the same questions, following Belch and Belch (2021): what is it good at, what are its limitations, and how does it fit into an integrated plan? The week closes with the measurement problem that digital and social media create, which the syllabus links to the networked data employment analysis (DEA) proposed by Rodgers and Thorson (2026).

Print media: magazines and newspapers

Television and radio were covered in Week 7 (brand equity and broadcast media) as the broadcast media. Print media differ in one fundamental way: they are self-paced. Readers decide how long they look at an ad and can return to it, which makes print suitable for detailed, complex or information-rich messages. Print is also usually a high-involvement medium: people choose a magazine or newspaper because they are interested in its content.

Magazines

Magazines are the most specialized of the mass media. Belch and Belch distinguish consumer magazines, farm publications and business publications, and within consumer magazines a large number of special-interest titles (sports, fashion, cooking, technology, travel).

• Selectivity: magazines reach specific interest groups (audience selectivity) and, through regional and demographic editions, specific areas (geographic selectivity).
• Reproduction quality: glossy paper and colour printing make magazines excellent for products where appearance matters (fashion, cosmetics, cars, food).
• Creative flexibility: gatefolds, inserts, scent strips, pop-ups and other special formats.
• Permanence: magazines have a long life, are kept and are read by several people (pass-along readership), so total audience exceeds circulation.
• Prestige and receptivity: an ad in a respected title borrows credibility from the editorial environment, and readers are receptive because they chose the content.
• Services: split runs (testing two versions of an ad) and audience research.

The limitations are cost (a full-page colour ad in a large-circulation title is expensive, and cost per thousand is high for broad audiences), limited reach and frequency (each title reaches a small share of the market and appears weekly or monthly), long lead times (ads must be delivered weeks before publication) and clutter, since many magazines carry as many ads as editorial pages.

Newspapers

Newspapers are primarily a local medium. Advertising is sold as display advertising (ads with illustrations, headlines and copy, including local retail ads), classified advertising and preprinted inserts (flyers distributed with the paper).

• Extensive penetration of local markets and a broad demographic readership.
• Flexibility: short lead times mean ads can be placed or changed quickly, and geographic editions allow local variation.
• Geographic selectivity: suitable for retailers and for national advertisers who need local support.
• Reader involvement and acceptance: readers use newspapers to look for information, including ads for sales and promotions, so the medium suits price and offer messages.

Limitations include poor reproduction quality (especially for colour), a short life span (a daily paper is read once and discarded), clutter, limited audience selectivity beyond geography, and complicated buying procedures for national advertisers who must deal with many papers with different rates. Newspapers also face declining print readership.

Out-of-home and support media

Support media reach people where they are outside the home and are mostly used to reinforce messages delivered through the major media.

Out-of-home advertising

• Billboards and outdoor: large posters, painted bulletins and, increasingly, digital billboards whose messages can rotate and change by time of day.
• Transit advertising: inside cards (in buses and trains), outside posters (on the vehicles) and terminal posters (stations, airports).
• Place-based media: messages in locations where specific audiences gather, such as gyms, cinemas, doctors' offices, campuses and stores (including in-store and point-of-purchase media).

Strengths of outdoor media are wide coverage of local markets, high frequency (people pass the same location daily), geographic flexibility, creativity (size, colour, 3D and digital effects), the ability to create awareness, efficiency (low cost per thousand) and closeness to the point of sale. Limitations are waste coverage (many passers-by are not in the target market), very limited message length (often only a few words can be read at speed), wearout, cost for national coverage, measurement problems and image problems, because many people see billboards as visual pollution. Transit advertising adds exposure time (commuters are a captive audience), frequency and timeliness, but suffers from reach limited to transit users and a cluttered, sometimes negative environment.

Product placement and branded entertainment

Placement varies in prominence: a brand can be visible in the background, used by a character, or integrated into the story line. Advantages are exposure to a large and receptive audience, frequency (films are repeated on many channels and platforms), support for other media, source association (the brand is linked to a liked character or star), cost efficiency and avoidance of zapping because the brand is part of the content. Disadvantages are high absolute cost for prominent integrations, limited time of exposure, limited appeal (there is no room for detailed product information), lack of control over how the brand is shown, possible public reaction against commercialization of entertainment, competition for the best placements and the risk of negative placements.

Branded entertainment goes one step further: the brand creates or co-creates the content itself, for example a web series, a short film, a game, a podcast or an event that is built around the brand. The aim is engagement rather than interruption.

Online advertising and social media in IMC

Digital media change the communication model from one-way to interactive: consumers can respond, share, create content and talk to each other about the brand.

Forms of online advertising

• Display advertising: banners, rich media and video ads on websites and apps, increasingly bought through programmatic (automated, data-driven) buying.
• Search advertising: paid search ads linked to keywords, paid per click, plus search engine optimization (SEO) to improve unpaid rankings.
• Native advertising and sponsored content: paid content that matches the form and style of the platform on which it appears.
• Online video and mobile advertising: pre-roll ads, in-app ads and location-based messages.

Strengths of online media are targeting (by interest, behaviour and location), interactivity, speed and flexibility, the ability to deliver detailed information, the creative possibilities of video and rich media, and measurability of exposures, clicks and conversions. Limitations include ad blocking and banner blindness, clutter, privacy concerns and regulation of data use, ad fraud and brand safety problems (an ad appearing next to harmful content), and the fact that easily measured metrics such as clicks do not necessarily show brand effects.

Paid, owned and earned media

The three types work together. Paid media generate reach and drive traffic to owned media; good content on owned media is shared and creates earned media; earned media are the most credible to consumers but also the least controllable. In IMC terms, the task is to plan the three types so that they carry one consistent message.

Social media platforms and objectives

Platforms differ in audience and format (social networks, visual and short-video platforms, professional networks, messaging apps). A brand chooses platforms according to where its target audience spends time and which content format fits its message. Typical objectives for social media in IMC are:

1. Building awareness and brand image (reach and impressions).
2. Creating engagement (likes, comments, shares, time spent with content).
3. Building community and relationships with customers.
4. Generating traffic, leads and sales (social commerce).
5. Customer service and listening: monitoring what consumers say about the brand.
6. Stimulating word of mouth and user-generated content.

The risks are loss of control (consumers can criticize the brand publicly, and negative content spreads fast), the need for continuous content and moderation, and the difficulty of linking social activity to sales.

Influencer marketing (introduction)

Influencers range from celebrities with millions of followers to micro and nano influencers with small but highly engaged audiences. For now it is enough to know that influencer marketing sits between paid and earned media and that sponsored content must be disclosed. Selection, source credibility, disclosure rules and effectiveness are covered in depth in Week 10.

Direct marketing

Direct marketing is more than direct mail: it uses a wide range of media and is defined by its aim of a measurable response.

Objectives and strategy

Direct marketing objectives can be a direct sale (one-step approach: the medium is used to obtain the order directly) or support for other goals such as lead generation, building traffic, store visits or keeping the brand top of mind (two-step approach: the first contact screens or qualifies prospects, a later contact closes the sale). It is also used to build relationships with existing customers and to support IMC programmes, for example by sending samples or invitations to customers who responded to an ad.

Database marketing

A database supports several functions: improving the selection of market segments, stimulating repeat purchases, cross-selling related products, and customer relationship management. Sources include internal records (purchases, loyalty programmes, registrations) and external sources such as list brokers.

A common way to evaluate customers in a database is RFM scoring: customers are scored on recency (how recently they purchased), frequency (how often they purchase) and monetary value (how much they spend). Customers with high RFM scores are the most valuable and most likely to respond, so they receive more attention and better offers.

Direct-response media

• Direct mail and catalogues: personal, selective and measurable, but costly per contact and often seen as junk mail.
• Email: inexpensive and fast, but cluttered inboxes and spam filters limit attention.
• Broadcast media: direct-response TV spots with a phone number or URL, and infomercials (long-form commercials that look like programmes).
• Print: ads with a coupon, QR code or response address.
• Telemarketing and teleshopping.
• Online and mobile: search ads, retargeting, apps and text messages that lead directly to a purchase.

Evaluating direct marketing

Because every response can be traced, direct marketing is relatively easy to evaluate. The basic measure is cost per order (CPO): the cost of the campaign divided by the number of orders it generated. Marketers also test offers, lists and creative versions against each other. Advantages of direct marketing are selective reach, segmentation, frequency control, flexibility, timing, personalization, cost efficiency per responsive customer and measurability. Disadvantages are image problems (intrusiveness, junk mail and spam), the accuracy of databases, content support (the message cannot rely on an attractive editorial environment) and rising concerns about privacy.

Sales promotion

Sales promotion has three characteristics: it offers an extra incentive to buy, it is an acceleration tool that speeds up the selling process, and it targets different parties: consumers (consumer-oriented promotion) and resellers such as wholesalers and retailers (trade-oriented promotion). Its growth is explained by, among other things, the growing power of retailers, declining brand loyalty, more promotion-sensitive consumers, brand proliferation, short-term focus and clutter in advertising.

Consumer-oriented promotion

• Sampling: giving consumers the product free or at a very low price to induce trial. It is the most effective way to get trial but expensive; methods include door-to-door, direct mail, in-store, on-package and event sampling.
• Coupons: certificates offering a price reduction. They target price-sensitive consumers and can encourage trial and repurchase, but have low redemption rates, misredemption and fraud, and mostly reward existing users.
• Premiums: items offered free or at a reduced price as an incentive to buy (free with purchase, in-pack or self-liquidating premiums where the consumer pays part of the cost).
• Contests and sweepstakes: in a contest consumers compete for prizes on the basis of skill; a sweepstake is decided by chance and requires no proof of purchase. Both create involvement and excitement, but legal rules are strict and many participants are professional entrants with little brand interest.
• Refunds and rebates: money returned after purchase on submission of proof of purchase. Effective for higher-priced items, and the low share of consumers who actually claim keeps costs down, which can also create dissatisfaction.
• Bonus packs: extra product at the regular price (for example 20 percent extra). They reward users and take consumers out of the market for a while, but mainly reach current customers.
• Price-off deals: a reduction marked on the package. Strong short-term effect on sales, but may cheapen the brand and train consumers to wait for deals.
• Loyalty programs: frequency programmes that reward repeat purchases with points, discounts or privileges, and also feed the customer database.
• Event marketing: promoting the brand by linking it to an event or a themed activity, where samples, information and other promotions are offered to consumers on site.

Trade-oriented promotion

Trade promotions aim to obtain distribution for new products, maintain shelf space for established brands, encourage retailers to display and promote the brand, build retail inventories and counter competitors.

• Trade allowances: discounts or deals to retailers, such as buying allowances (a price reduction per case ordered), promotional allowances (payment for featuring the product in ads or displays) and slotting allowances (fees for shelf space for new products). A known problem is forward buying and diverting, where retailers stock up at the deal price or resell to other markets.
• Trade contests and incentives: rewards for reaching sales targets, and push money (spiffs) paid to retail salespeople for selling a specific brand.
• Point-of-purchase displays: displays, shelf talkers and signs that attract attention in the store.
• Trade shows: industry exhibitions to show products, meet buyers, generate leads and gather competitive information.
• Cooperative advertising: the cost of advertising is shared, most often vertical cooperative advertising where the manufacturer pays part of a retailer's ad featuring its product.

Push versus pull

Most firms combine both: a new food product needs trade allowances for shelf space (push) and sampling plus advertising to create demand (pull).

Franchise building versus nonfranchise building

Belch and Belch distinguish consumer franchise-building (CFB) promotions, which communicate distinctive brand attributes and contribute to brand image (for example sampling that demonstrates quality, or a loyalty program linked to the brand's values), from nonfranchise-building promotions, which only generate short-term sales with a price incentive and do nothing for the brand's identity (for example a pure price-off deal).

Risks of sales promotion

Overuse of sales promotion can damage the brand. Frequent price promotions can lower the reference price consumers have in mind and weaken perceptions of quality, which contributes to brand equity erosion. Consumers become deal-prone and wait for the next promotion, so sales are borrowed from the future rather than created. A further danger is the sales promotion trap (also called the promotional trap): when competing brands all rely on promotions, each feels forced to keep promoting to defend its share, and they end up spending heavily without gaining share or building their brands. Promotions should therefore be integrated with advertising, support the positioning, and have clear objectives and a limited duration.

Public relations and publicity

Traditional PR is aimed at many publics: employees, shareholders, the community, government and the media. In the new role of PR, marketing and PR work together and PR is used more actively for marketing goals. This is called marketing public relations (MPR): PR activities designed to support marketing objectives, for example by building awareness for a new product, increasing credibility or reaching hard-to-reach audiences.

The PR process

1. Determine and evaluate public attitudes: research what the various publics think of the organization.
2. Establish a PR plan: define the situation, objectives, target publics and programme, in line with the overall IMC plan.
3. Develop and execute the PR programme: select target audiences and implement the activities and tools.
4. Evaluate results: measure what the programme achieved and adjust.

PR tools

Crisis management

PR plays a central role when something goes wrong: a product recall, an accident, a scandal or a wave of negative social media posts. Effective crisis management requires preparation (a crisis plan and trained spokespersons), a fast response, openness and honesty, taking responsibility where appropriate, and consistent communication across all channels. Social media shorten the time available to respond. A badly handled crisis turns earned media against the brand.

Advantages and disadvantages of PR

Advantages: credibility (news coverage is not seen as paid persuasion), low cost compared with advertising, avoidance of clutter (the message appears as news), lead generation, the ability to reach specific groups that avoid advertising, and image building. Disadvantages: lack of control over what the media report and when, the risk that the message is changed or lost in translation, timing problems, the risk of negative publicity, and a lack of connection when PR is not coordinated with the rest of the marketing programme.

Measuring PR

PR is often hard to evaluate because its effects are indirect. Methods include media monitoring and counting of coverage (clippings, mentions, reach of articles), analysis of the tone and content of coverage, measures of awareness and attitude change in surveys before and after a programme, social media metrics (mentions, shares, sentiment), and links to behaviour such as website visits or inquiries. Good practice is to measure outputs (what was produced and placed), outtakes (what audiences received and understood) and outcomes (changes in attitudes and behaviour), and to relate these to the PR objectives.

Measuring an integrated media mix: networked data employment analysis

The syllabus ends Week 7 with "proposed measurement approaches: networked data employment analysis (DEA) and other developments" from Rodgers and Thorson (2026). The reason this topic belongs here is clear from the rest of the chapter. Traditional media were measured one medium at a time: ratings for TV, circulation and readership for print, response rates for direct marketing. In a digital and social environment, however, exposures do not follow a simple line from sender to receiver. Paid, owned and earned media interact; consumers share, comment on and remix content; influencers pass messages through their networks; and one person may meet the same campaign on several screens and platforms. Measuring each channel separately, or counting clicks and likes, then misses how effects spread through networks of consumers and touchpoints and how channels reinforce each other.