CMA Marketing Communications & Advertising 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which element of the communications mix is best defined as any paid, non-personal presentation of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor?
- Public relations
- Advertising (Correct answer)
- Personal selling
- Sales promotion
Correct answer: Advertising
Advertising is specifically defined as paid, non-personal communication from an identified sponsor, distinguishing it from PR (unpaid) and personal selling (personal).
Question 2: The AIDA model in advertising stands for which sequence?
- Analyze, Identify, Deliver, Assess
- Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action (Correct answer)
- Attention, Impression, Decision, Acquisition
- Awareness, Influence, Demand, Achievement
Correct answer: Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action
AIDA stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action — a classic hierarchy-of-effects model describing how advertising moves consumers toward purchase.
Question 3: An advertiser sets its budget by matching competitor spending levels. This approach is known as:
- Objective-and-task method
- Percentage-of-sales method
- Competitive parity method (Correct answer)
- Affordable method
Correct answer: Competitive parity method
The competitive parity method sets the advertising budget to match or mirror what competitors spend, based on the assumption that their spending reflects industry wisdom.
Question 4: Reach in media planning refers to:
- The number of times an average audience member is exposed to an ad
- The total number of unduplicated people exposed to a media schedule (Correct answer)
- The cost per thousand impressions of a media vehicle
- The geographic area covered by a media outlet
Correct answer: The total number of unduplicated people exposed to a media schedule
Reach measures the total number of unique (unduplicated) individuals who are exposed to a media schedule at least once during a given time period.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes 'integrated marketing communications' (IMC)?
- Using only digital channels to deliver brand messages
- Coordinating multiple promotional tools to deliver a consistent brand message (Correct answer)
- Allocating equal budget across all promotional channels
- Centralizing all marketing decisions within one department
Correct answer: Coordinating multiple promotional tools to deliver a consistent brand message
IMC involves coordinating and integrating all marketing communication tools — advertising, PR, direct marketing, sales promotion — to deliver a clear, consistent message.
Question 6: A company runs a campaign where customers receive a coupon redeemable at point of purchase. This is an example of:
- Advertising
- Public relations
- Sales promotion (Correct answer)
- Direct marketing
Correct answer: Sales promotion
Sales promotions include short-term incentives like coupons, discounts, and rebates designed to stimulate immediate purchase behavior.
Question 7: The 'share of voice' (SOV) metric in advertising measures:
- The percentage of consumers who recall an ad
- A brand's advertising spend as a proportion of total category ad spend (Correct answer)
- The ratio of earned media to paid media
- Customer satisfaction scores relative to competitors
Correct answer: A brand's advertising spend as a proportion of total category ad spend
Share of voice quantifies a brand's advertising expenditure as a percentage of the total advertising spend within its product category, indicating competitive visibility.
CMA Marketing Communications & Advertising 1
Which element of the communications mix is best defined as any paid, non-personal presentation of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor?