استراتژی بازاریابی و تکنیک های پنهان  Covert Marketing Strategy and Techniques

1. Introduction Firms traditionally carry out their marketing activities with a mutual communication they establish with the customer. This communication is established with the help of messages. This strategy was beneficial for firms in the period when the level of rivalry was relatively low. Nowadays, conditions have totally changed. Customers at the present time attach importance to the value they receive in return for their money and at the same time they request high quality products (Roy and Chattopadhyay, 2010, p. 69). While consumers’ sensitivity to price is greater than before, it is known that brand loyalty has decreased and, accordingly, the tendency to change brand has increased. On the one hand, the features of consumers have changed to the detriment of firms. On the other hand, the conditions of the market have become much more difficult. The increase in rivalry and the number of consumers and, at the same time, too many market segments have made it difficult for firms to communicate with consumers and attract their attention. Firms in particular, try to communicate with the consumer and sell their products by using advertising tools. According to the report of the Turkish Association of Advertising Agencies (TAAA), advertising investments increased by approximately 3 percent all around the world and by 2 percent in Turkey in the first nine months of the year 2013 (TAAA, 2014). The figures in the report are significant in the sense that they show the importance of the marketing communication dimension to which consumers are daily exposed. According to researchers, consumers are exposed to between 200 and 5000 commercial messages every day (Silverman, 2006, p.40; Kirby and Marsden, 2006, p.201; Pringle, 2007, p. 98). It is known that the consumers consciously cannot perceive a major part of these messages. In the market in which the number of the messages has increased so much, the success of a marketing campaign is evaluated by the transmission level of the campaign to consumers and the level of change in their attitude and behavior. However, research shows that only a small part of the messages sent actually lead consumers to the stores for shopping (Jurca, 2010, p. 323)