Enduring Principles in Times of Turmoil This is one of the most exciting times to take an advertising course because of all of the changes in the industry – new technology, new media, new types of consumers and media users, new ways of looking at marketing communication, and new economic challenges. It is also a great time to study the basics of advertising because this is the era of “back to basics.” As you will see in this book, effective advertising and marketing communication are founded on basic, enduring principles. These principles are central themes in this textbook: 1. Brand. Build and maintain distinctive brands that your customers love. 2. Position. Identify your competitive advantage in the minds of consumers. 3. Consumer. Focus on consumers and match your brand’s strengths to consumer needs and wants. 4. Message. Identify your best prospects and engage them in a brand conversation. 5. Media. Know how to best reach and connect with your target audience. 6. Integrate. Know how to connect the dots and make everything in the marketing communication toolkit work together. 7. Evaluate. Track everything you do so you know what works. The principles and practices described in this book provide direction even when the economy crashes. That does not mean that brand communication is unchanging. In fact, the practices are dynamic and continually adapting to changing marketplace conditions. But the basic principles are unchanging even in times of change. In the chapters that follow, these principles and practices will be explained, as will the key practices of advertising and marketing communication. In Part I, the first two chapters focus on defining advertising and marketing and explaining where marketing communication fits. Chapter three analyzes the ethics and social responsibility of marketing communication.