Marketing communication: principles and practice

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Table 16.2
Budget-setting approaches
Budgeting approach
Comment
Percentage of sales
A fixed portion of sales income is allocated (ignores 
objectives and strategy) 
Share of market
Implies that offerings are not differentiated
Investment (pay-out 
Takes the view that impact can be reasonably 
planning)
estimated on volume
Competitive parity
No account of effect is taken in simply trying to 
match competing activity
Maximum affordable
Ignores impact and assumes that greater benefit is 
gained from higher spending
Zero-based planning
Based on prioritized SWOT analysis, to identify those
(objective and task)
activities that are the most cost-effective ways to 
capitalize on critical strengths and opportunities, 
while addressing significant weaknesses and threats

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7 Discuss the strategic importance of research in designing the marketing
communication system.
8 Revisit the concept of the appreciative system. Use this to explain the
planning process in marketing communication management.
9 Evaluation is the control function of marketing communication
management. How is this so?
10 Carry out a small survey of recent marketing literature. What are the
‘new’ evaluation methods offered by consultants and agencies, and what
benefits are claimed for them by their vendors?
FURTHER READING
Bonoma, T. (1989) ‘Marketing performance – what do you expect?’, 
Harvard Business
Review
, September–October: 44–7.
Eadie, D. R. and Kitchen, P. J. (1999) ‘Measuring the success rate: evaluating the
marketing communications process and marcomm programmes’, in Kitchen, P.
J. (ed.) 
Marketing Communications: Principles and Practice
, London: International
Thomson Business Press, pp. 459–76.
Gilligan, C. (1995) 
Marketing Communications: Planning, Implementation and Control
,
Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Hargie, O. and Tourish, D. (eds) (2000) 
Handbook of Communication Audits for
Organisations
, London: Routledge.
McDonald, M. H. B. (1992) 
The Marketing Planner
, Oxford: Butterworth-
Heinemann/CIM.
Smith, P. R., Berry, C. and Pulford, A. (1997) 
Strategic Marketing Communications:
New Ways to Build and Integrate Communications
, London: Kogan Page.
Wilson, R. M. S., Gilligan, C. T. and Pearson, D. J. (1992) 
Strategic Marketing
Management: Planning, Implementation and Control
, Oxford: Butterworth-
Heinemann/CIM.
Windahl, S., Signitzer, B. and Olson, J. T. (1992) 
Using Communication Theory: An
Introduction to Planned Communication
, London: Sage Publications.