Elements of Marketing Communications

Planning for communications mix starts right from the stage where the positioning strategy is being developed for the product at hand. Once marketers have conducted research on which segments they want to target and their key objectives, they decide on how they want to position their product in the mind of the target consumer, what elements they would want the customer to remember about the brand, and how would they want to develop the image and personality of the brand. To understand the key elements of marketing communication, let us study the DRIP model designed by Chris Fill.

1. Differentiate: It involves differentiating a particular product from its competitors.
2. Reinforce: It includes reminding people of their interactions with the brand and providing reassurance that the brand works better than any other, to resist competitor’s attempts at getting ‘top of the mind awareness.’
3. Inform: It includes ways and means on making potential customers aware of the organization’s offering.
4. Persuade: It entices the customer on the desirable prospects of getting into an exchange and buying the product.

As an example to understand how the DRIP model can be applied, let us take the case of a juice brand coming up with a no-calories variant of its earlier launched brand which has not done that well in market. Applying the DRIP model to this case:

1. Differentiate: The key differentiation which the company puts forth can be improved taste, no-calorie product, and renewed fresh packaging.
2. Reinforce: The brand will develop its messaging around how customers can enjoy a juice drink with no impact on their health and reinforce the ‘new and improved taste factor’ available in different easy-to-carry packages.
3. Inform: involves choosing key channels and promotional messaging which the brand would develop to market its new product.
4. Persuade: With its messaging and brand elements, the brand will attempt to persuade customers to leave their earlier juice brand and go with this new variant which has more desirable elements.