Advertising intent and consumer response

Advertising

Assessing the Intention of Advertising Campaigns

Branding's long-term effectiveness is in large part defined through the accumulated effects of advertising campaigns. The extent to which an advertising campaign stays consistent and bolsters a company's branding and the unique value proposition (Anderson, Narus, Rossum, 2006) in the long-term and contributes to greater awareness and sales in the short-term is the essence of the challenge companies have in creating their advertising campaigns.

Assessing Starbucks and Chrysler

In the article Dumb Cup (Mirsky, 2007), the use of controversial, debatable quotes on the side of Starbucks coffee cups is discussed as one of the many marketing strategies Starbucks is using. The bottom line is that this strategy was effective in terms of gaining greater awareness for the company, as one of the editors for Scientific American felt compelled enough to devote a column to it. The humorous recommendations made (Mirsky, 2007) including quotes from comedian Lewis Black on the proliferation of Starbuck's outlets brings an entirely different and more light-hearted perspective to the marketing campaign. In considering the broader effectiveness of this strategy of putting controversial and debatable quotes on the side of coffee cups, the unique value proposition of Starbucks' is also fueled by this strategy. The catalyst for the creation of Starbucks' is modeled after the cafes the founder experienced while on a trip to Italy, where patrons often linger and talk for hours and socialize. The idea of having Starbuck's patrons linger and debate the quotes is meant to further support the unique experience Starbucks hopes to deliver to customers and make part of their brand and unique value proposition.

Chrysler's branding on the other hand is not nearly as deliberate and focused as Starbuck's (Halliday, 2007). From the efforts to define a premier brand using the branding slogan "Inspiration Comes Standard" to the progression of "Engineered Beautifully" the branding still misses the mark of where the company is resonating with consumers today. The first is on the 300M, a Bentley look-alike vehicle that has become a mid-size bestseller. The second is their perennial winning product line, the minivan, called the Town & Country. Including swivel seats and entertainment options are making the 2008 Town & Country even a topic of discussion with elementary school children. Ironically however Chrysler seems to not have the ability to solidify its branding, unique value proposition and therefore advertising strategies around a single message. With the introduction of a re-vamped Sebring convertible, the confusion will most likely continue. The uber-cool 300M is taking the brand in one direction while the most profitable product segment, the minivans, continue to dominate their financial results. The branding experiments the company has had into higher performance cars and models also add more confusion to the brand. Not settling for the role of the soccer Mom must-have minivan, Chrysler continues to look for break-out products to redefine their image. The success of the 300M has been that catalyst, yet the company has not been able to capitalize on that as of yet. The bottom line is that the branding strategy of Chrysler has yet to gain critical mass and definitively define the company's identity.