Question

CASE STUDY 9.3
Integrated Marketing Strategy
Many people who might benefit from hearing aids do not wear them. Further, those who might benefit from surgical treatment are even more unlikely to present for treatment. Among adults aged 18 years or older with impaired hearing, 78 percent do not own a hearing aid. As the US population ages, the need for hearing assistance will become nearly universal—but even today among the hearing impaired who are aged 65 years or older, 61 percent do not wear hearing aids. Research has found that although people would readily acquiesce to wearing eyeglasses to correct their vision, would have no problem taking pain relievers to alleviate aches, and would not mind having to walk with a cane, the prospect of having to wear a hearing aid would be difficult for them to accept.
The hearing and speech communications literature suggests that use of a hearing aid carries a stigma that implies the wearer is old, feeble, and incompetent. An article in the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology described the denial and depres- sion people associate with hearing loss. In addition, hearing loss, if not addressed with hearing aids, can lead to greater dependence on a spouse and withdrawal from social events. People do not want to admit their hearing loss to themselves because it connotes aging; nor do they want to admit it to others for fear of being viewed as incompetent.
Given all these considerations, when Business Week featured a hearing aid manufacturer in its Annual Design Awards, the product receiving acclaim was tiny and said to “nestle discreetly in the ear canal.” Hearing aid sales surged when a prominent person publicly acknowledged that he had begun to wear one, likely because hearing aids were then perceived as more acceptable when associated with a popular and purportedly virile individual rather than one who was old and feeble.
A product with such a negative image as hearing aids clearly pre- sents a challenge for marketers interested in stimulating sales. Research conducted to determine how to induce more favorable attitudes toward these personal, stigmatized products assessed the applicability and effectiveness of integrated marketing communication in the promo- tion of hearing aids. In addition, the research looked at whether a stigmatized product might best be approached through multimodality approaches, thereby reinforcing the advertising message.

The hearing and speech communications literature suggests that use of a hearing aid carries a stigma that implies the wearer is old, feeble, and incompetent. An article in the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology described the denial and depres- sion people associate with hearing loss. In addition, hearing loss, if not addressed with hearing aids, can lead to greater dependence on a spouse and withdrawal from social events. People do not want to admit their hearing loss to themselves because it connotes aging; nor do they want to admit it to others for fear of being viewed as incompetent.
Given all these considerations, when Business Week featured a hearing aid manufacturer in its Annual Design Awards, the product receiving acclaim was tiny and said to “nestle discreetly in the ear canal.” Hearing aid sales surged when a prominent person publicly acknowledged that he had begun to wear one, likely because hearing aids were then perceived as more acceptable when associated with a popular and purportedly virile individual rather than one who was old and feeble.
A product with such a negative image as hearing aids clearly pre- sents a challenge for marketers interested in stimulating sales. Research conducted to determine how to induce more favorable attitudes toward these personal, stigmatized products assessed the applicability and effectiveness of integrated marketing communication in the promo- tion of hearing aids. In addition, the research looked at whether a stigmatized product might best be approached through multimodality approaches, thereby reinforcing the advertising message.

A panel of respondents was established as a test market. The researchers contacted 4,344 participants at time 1, before being exposed to the aforementioned marketing communications. The atti- tudes of 3,351 participants were then measured at time 2, after being exposed to the combination of synchronized materials. Finally, the atti- tudes of 3,049 respondents were remeasured three months after being exposed to the marketing materials, at time 3.
Three advertising themes were tested in this study: warm and emo- tional, educational, and wedge of doubt. The warm and emotional print advertisement began with the question “Honey, can you pick up some nails?” A response of “Sure” was printed in the middle of the page, with a photograph of a can of escargot. The tagline printed at the bottom of the page inquired, “Is it any wonder hearing loss can frustrate those around you? Have your hearing checked. For you. For them.”
The copy in the educational message stated, “Use your head once a year” and was placed above a photograph of headphones. The adver- tisement’s closing copy read: “Annual hearing checkups help you spot changes in your hearing. Hear today. Hear tomorrow.”
The wedge-of-doubt advertisement began with copy that warned: “If you think it’s difficult admitting your hearing problem, imagine admitting all the mistakes you’ve made because of it.” At the bottom, the advertisement read: “When you can’t hear clearly, it’s easy to misun- derstand someone. And before you know it, people start thinking you’ve lost your mental edge.”
Once these messages had been tested with various audiences, they were adapted for delivery via other media vehicles: mass media (includ- ing print and television ads) and private media customized to appeal to targeted individuals (including telemarketing phone calls and direct marketing mailings).
The analysis showed that consistent combinations of media (both mass or both private) were more effective than mixed media; the two private media (telemarketing combined with direct marketing) outper- formed any two mixed media (telemarketing and print, telemarketing and television, direct marketing and print, or direct marketing and tele- vision). In addition, the private media combination outperformed the public media combination. Learning more about the product in a private setting appeared to increase acceptance.
Finally, the content of the message affected the impact of the par- ticular class of media (mass or private). The integrated private media (telemarketing and direct marketing) performed best, first with the wedge-of-doubt content and then with the warm and emotional content. The combination of two private exposures did not perform well in all cases—the combination with the educational advertising message was not effective. The wedge-of-doubt content, which worked best when delivered via the two private media, did not perform well in all cases, either; it performed the worst when delivered via a mass medium.

Marketing health services can be complicated. As this investigation demonstrates, rarely can a marketer choose a medium or an advertising message without considering the big picture. Media cannot be simply pasted together to achieve some seemingly critical threshold of ad weight; many mixed media can perform worse than fewer exposures of sensibly integrated media. Similarly, the choice of media outlets depends on both the product and the content of the ads. A well-thought- out combination of media and messages appears to have greater influ- ence on consumers than a haphazard collection of media and messages.

Many factors have influenced the use of integrated marketing. Demonstrate your understanding of the situation by answering questions 1 through 3.

- What challenges are faced by those trying to promote hearing aids to the consumer market?

- What type of message appeared to resonate most with consumers and why?

- What characteristics of integrated marketing contributes to the success of this campaign?

Answer 1

1. The major challenges are faced by those trying to promote hearing aids to the consumer market is that elderly population of the country do not like to wear the aid as they think this kind of appearance in the society may mislead the people that they are old, feeble, incompetent and passes through depression.

2. The message is very clear and it states that if the aids are not worn then society may think they are under depression stage. So the sounding statement is to create a positive environment so that attitude towards the product will start changing and more and more consumer will start wearing.

3. The two major tools integrated marketing contributes to the success of this campaign. These are,

Advertising in print media and television media.

Telemarketing

Direct Marketing