Is long-term (i.e. longer than 10 weeks) brand building the only reason to advertise? You will find

❸ Is long-term (i.e. longer than 10 weeks) brand building the only reason to advertise? You will find those who argue that mass media advertising is the direct impetus to sales, even short-term sales. This may not apply across all products. In large measure, it depends on the decay rate for the advertising in individual product categories, and for particular brands, as to whether or not advertising has an effect on long-term measures, including sales.

Certainly, there are short-term sales outcomes to advertising, particularly when a sales promotion (see Chapter 12) is included for the purpose of stimulating immediate or short-term sales. It seems that advertising has a long-term outcome that is best measured by intervening variables, such as awareness, attitude and relative brand positioning. The link between the intervening variables and a sales response can, however, be more tenuous.

Nevertheless, companies maintain that they advertise to gain a sales response. What are your views? (Learning Objective 3) (AACSB: Reflective Thinking)