Marketing communication: principles and practice

P L A N N I N G T H E S Y S T E M
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Low efficiency with low 
High efficiency with low 
effectiveness = sudden death
effectiveness = disappointment
Low efficiency with high 
High performance 
effectiveness = improvement 
management
opportunity
Figure 16.6
Strategic and tactical performanc
Intended/foreseen
Unintended/unforeseen
‘We’ve successfully
‘Don’t you just love it 
Constructive
accomplished our 
when a plan comes 
objectives’
together?’
Destructive
‘The price of success!’
‘What went wrong?’
Figure 16.7
Types of communication effect

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• evaluation is too demanding of limited resources
• the planner/manager dare not find out the truth about the effectiveness
of the system and his/her plan
• communication campaigns are treated as ends in themselves such that the
aim is accomplished only when the campaign is completed
Actually, marketing managers can afford to be somewhat more confident of
their professional value than can public relations managers. The latter are
even less likely to invest in a full management system incorporating
evaluation. But beware, this should certainly not be taken as an excuse or
justification for failing to manage. 
Evaluation is demanding and burdens the manager, but benefits both the
system and the programme.
EVALUATING MARKETING COMMUNICATION
ACTIVITY
The evaluation aspect of the marketing management process involves making
carefully judged objectives and media selections and measuring performance
results against predetermined goals. Evaluation enables managers to
determine the effectiveness of their implementation and to plan corrective
action where necessary.
We can imagine evaluation operating at four levels in the marketing system,
as shown in Figure 16.8.
Summative evaluation is research carried out after execution to explain
whether or not the objectives of the system or campaign have been met and
allows a proper decision about continuation. Formative evaluation is much
more valuable as a planning tool. This effort produces knowledge that is fed
back into the process to assist managers in making improvement decisions.
The professional communication manager will assess all effects of their
activities – both functional and dysfunctional (see Figure 16.7 above).