Keith Crosier and David Pickton
Account planning as a discipline has been somewhat obscured from academic view. In practice, it has played a significant role in the development of the marketing communications…
Abstract
Account planning as a discipline has been somewhat obscured from academic view. In practice, it has played a significant role in the development of the marketing communications (especially, advertising) industry although it has been adopted in varying forms and with differing emphases. It has been misunderstood by many. This paper offers a summary of the insights gained from the papers contained in this special issue of Marketing Intelligence & Planning; papers that represent many years of experience in the field; papers that are a mix of academic and practitioner perspectives. Collectively, they describe this faintly mysterious discipline more completely than any other published source of which we know. What is clear from the papers is the absence of any agreed succinct description or definition of what account planning should be in the current and anticipated future marketing communications environment. This paper attempts to remedy this situation by proposing a definition of account planning derived from this collective work which others may wish to accept, develop, repudiate or (best of all) debate.
Details
Keywords
Merry Baskin and David Pickton
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of account planning by tracing its origins, development and role from its genesis to its current status. Account planning grew…
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of account planning by tracing its origins, development and role from its genesis to its current status. Account planning grew out of dissatisfaction with advertising agencies’ ability to meet the challenges they were facing in the early 1960s. It started out by combining elements of research and strategic planning to inform creative development and to provide the guidance and direction needed to use consumer insight to drive successful creative solutions. Since those early beginnings, a changing advertising environment has fuelled account planning’s exodus as it has been adopted internationally and by marketing communications fields that extend beyond advertising. While the paper brings us to the current day, account planning continues to evolve. It is expected that the trend of adoption by a range of marketing communications specialist agencies will persist but that a new account planning “revelation” will be in the form of independent strategy consultancies and increased client activities.
Details
Keywords
Susanna Winter and Sanna Sundqvist
The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the use of IMC in new high technology product launches among companies that operate in different fields of business…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the use of IMC in new high technology product launches among companies that operate in different fields of business, yet providing similar innovation to the same market.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case research methodology is applied. Multiple sources of evidence are gathered. These include interviews with key informants and documentary data, and IMC mini audits. Concerning the theoretical approach, the related literature in IMC, new product launch and high technology marketing is reviewed.
Findings
IMC is vital to high technology marketers launching new products and services. The analyses reveal that IMC practices vary across firm size, industry type, product/service orientation, and customer orientation.
Practical implications
Companies of different types can be on an equal footing in their integration efforts. Whether service‐ or product‐oriented companies, business‐to‐consumer or business‐to‐business marketers, companies from all backgrounds can achieve higher levels of IMC. What matters most is customer‐centricity, i.e. having a close interaction with customers and being responsive to their feedback.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the integrated marketing communications research field in several important respects. First, it focuses on IMC usage among firms in different industries. Second, it takes a genuinely refreshing view on studying IMC strategies by focusing on usage of IMC as part of new high technology product launch strategy.
Details
Keywords
Abstract
Details
Keywords
Shelby D. Hunt and Sreedhar Madhavaram
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that conceptual frameworks developed from a general theory of competition, i.e. resource‐advantage (R‐A) theory, can facilitate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that conceptual frameworks developed from a general theory of competition, i.e. resource‐advantage (R‐A) theory, can facilitate managerial action.
Design/methodology/approach
After a brief overview of resource‐advantage (R‐A) theory, five conceptual frameworks are developed and offered for the purposes of managerial action.
Findings
This paper identifies several conceptual frameworks and after noting that conceptual frameworks that do not have positive theoretical foundations may not be as useful as those that do, develops five conceptual frameworks that are based on R‐A theory.
Practical implications
The conceptual frameworks developed in this paper have great potential for facilitating managerial action.
Originality/value
Conceptual frameworks that have positive theoretical foundations can be very useful for practitioners. In fact, the frameworks proposed in this paper can replace frameworks that are currently in use for managerial action.
Details
Keywords
This chapter focusses on analysing the origins and evolution of the SWOT analysis. It explains the drivers and limitations of the conventional SWOT analysis, laying the groundwork…
Abstract
This chapter focusses on analysing the origins and evolution of the SWOT analysis. It explains the drivers and limitations of the conventional SWOT analysis, laying the groundwork for new decision-making models that can aid researchers and practitioners in comprehending both the external landscape and the internal characteristics of a company. This chapter demonstrates how the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the SWOT analysis can be approached dynamically. Conventional SWOT analysis offers only a limited perspective on the environment and employs terminology that can confuse users, hindering their clear understanding of the factors that influence an organisation’s situation. This chapter provides a concise literature review of tools for evaluating quality management, its resources, and the surrounding environment, which serves as a valuable means to grasp the economic and social context within which a firm operates.
Details
Keywords
Helen Gabriel, Rita Kottasz and Roger Bennett
To examine the extent to which “account planners” in advertising agencies use formal academic models of “how advertising works” and to identify the factors that discourage…
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the extent to which “account planners” in advertising agencies use formal academic models of “how advertising works” and to identify the factors that discourage non‐users from applying academic advertising theory.
Design/methodology/approach
Account executives in 152 full‐service and 72 creative advertising agencies in the UK completed a questionnaire concerning the use of formal models, preferences for developing those in‐house versus adopting pre‐existing “textbook” prescriptions, and factors that might discouraged application of academic advertising theory in any form. The data collected were interpreted by means of factor analysis, structural equation modelling and correspondence analysis, and conclusions drawn with respect to theory and practice.
Findings
There was considerable ignorance of formal models of advertising effect. Agencies using them typically favoured the hierarchy‐of‐effects variants. Although more than a third of the sample eschewed models, there was little evidence of animosity towards advertising theory of itself. Non‐adoption was significantly explained by constructs drawn from the academic literature of knowledge dissemination.
Research limitations/implications
It was not possible in this study to establish precise details of agencies' in‐house proprietary models, so the degree to which those reflected either current practice or textbook prescriptions could not be determined.
Practical implications
The study emphasises the pressing need to harmonise formal models of “how advertising works” with conceptual frameworks used by advertising agencies in practice (if any), for the improvement of campaign planning and evaluation.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical study to investigate the extent to which advertising theory is actually used by account planners in advertising agencies.
Details
Keywords
The most marked example of progress in marketing communications is the emergence of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). Many organizations now consider IMC to be a key…
Abstract
The most marked example of progress in marketing communications is the emergence of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). Many organizations now consider IMC to be a key competitive advantage of marketing. This paper reviews the developmental progress of IMC. Now, just a few years into the 21st century, IMC is entering a critical period, with many businesses – and the agencies that service their needs – apparently enmeshed in the first stages of IMC development. The early promise that IMC offered seems to be fading, unless organizations start to take it seriously, even when faced by the realities of organizational exigency.
Details
Keywords
Sheila Wright, David W. Pickton and Joanne Callow
There is a danger of allowing competitive analysis to receive less than adequate attention in the marketing‐planning process as it is subordinated to a customer‐driven focus…
Abstract
There is a danger of allowing competitive analysis to receive less than adequate attention in the marketing‐planning process as it is subordinated to a customer‐driven focus. Clearly important though customers are, they should not dominate marketing strategy and planning to the exclusion of other influential groups, one of these being competitors. With this in mind, a pilot research project was undertaken to gain a better understanding of how UK companies conduct competitive intelligence. From this pilot, a tentative typology of companies was developed to reflect four attributes of competitive intelligence activity: attitude, gathering, use, and location. Further research was subsequently undertaken to corroborate the findings of the pilot study, test the appropriateness of the typology and further develop the classification definitions. The research has resulted in a typology that illustrates a continuum of behaviour on the four strands of investigation. From this, an understanding of CI best practice can be deduced.