Companies have a broad choice of marketing communications choices. The 8 major tools of communication are advertising, sales promotion, public relations and publicity, events and experience, direct and interactive marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, and personal selling. Companies opt for different marketing communication tools depending on their brand objectives.

Suppose you have the contract to market two brands of laundry detergents, Ultra (an established brand) and FreshX (a new brand) in the US East Coast region. Both brands belong to Company A. The combined advertising budget available to you for both products is about $500,000. The target market for Ultra is the budget-conscious customer segment while FreshX is targeted towards younger, upwardly mobile professionals. Design specific communication tools for each of the products (i.e., for Ultra and FreshX) with regard to the following:

1. Message strategy: What specific themes or ideas will you adopt for Ultra and FreshX - keeping in mind the respective target demographic types?

2. Creative strategy: What kind of appeal - informational or transformational - will work best for each brand? Please explain.

3. Message Source: What kind of spokespeople will you choose for each of the products? Please bear in mind the demographics of the target area.

4. Discuss how you can use experiential marketing tools for the brands (especially for FreshX). What tools will you use to measure outcomes from such events?