CHAPTER 11
PROMOTION
WHAT IS PROMOTION?
PROMOTION is any communication used for the purpose of increasing sales directly or indirectly.
It is the effort that marketeers exhibit to communicate with the target audience.
In the daily life each element of the marketing mix displays some kind of communication. The
package of the product gives a message. The distribution of the goods to the market place
makes them available for purchase. Advertising the goods in magazines gives the message,
promoting it to the consumer. And finally the price tag on the product shows the value.
Promotion is the most dynamic and aggressive element of the marketing mix.
PROMOTION MIX is a careful blending of advertising, personal selling, direct marketing,
sales promotion and public relations to accomplish a firm's promotion objectives.
Promotion objectives are;
- to gain attention for their advertisement through new ways,
Methods and designs.
- to teach the market of their products.
- to remind us of their existence and new uses for their products.
- to persuade that we should try out their product or, even,
change to it.
- to reassure that they are still out there and still have the
best product.
INFLUENCES ON PROMOTION MIX DEVELOPMENT
The factors that influence which elements will be used in a promotion mix and their
relative emphases include;
 The Marketer can use a push or a pull strategy.
Push Strategy
Pull Strategy

A sales building strategy in which the producer actively promotes its product
to intermediaries, which in turn actively promotes it to final buyers.
A sale building strategy in which the producer focuses promotion efforts directly
on the final buyer rather that on the wholesalers or retailers.
The Target Market has a direct effect on the promotion mix to be used. For consumers a
nonpersonal form would be more appropriate whereas organisations personal selling is more
effective.

The Product dependent on the product and the stage when it is being promoted, the promotion mix differs. For a new product, sampling, free coupons would be effective. In the hospitality industry openings, inaugurations, free hosting, free dinners would be effective.

The Situation plays a big role. drop in car sales as in 1995 and again in 1997 determines the
promotion mix to increase sales. Refreshment sales are pushed in the winter months when
there is a big drop in consumption of these products in our country.
ADVERTISING
Advertising is any paid form of non-personal communication through the mass media about a
product by an identified sponsor.
TYPES OF ADVERTISING
 Product Advertising
 Institutional Advertising
Promotion that focuses on selling specifically identified goods and
services through:
-
Primary demand creating a desire for a new product in the
market. The DVD system now in the market draws the interst of many people.
-
Selective demand; geared to create a demand for a specific
brand of product.
-
Comparative advertising is promoting a product comparing it
to one of its rival’s product in the same category.
-
Cooperative advertising is where the advertisement cost of
the retailer is partly covered by the manufacture.
Promotion that focuses on the image of a product category, a
firm, or an industry association, rather than a specific brand.
This is a promotion aiming on the image of a product. Health
and agricultural authorities promote consumption of milk by introducing “Drink Milk”. In California there is a promotion to
market prunes with the slogan “Six prunes have almost the
same amount of fibre as two bowls of cereal”.
Better Homes & Gardens, August 1998
 Advocacy Advertising
A type of institutional advertising in which the advertiser takes a
position for or against a public issue. Advocasy advertising has
recently expanded beyond issues in which the organisation has a
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relation. Mr. Rahmi Koç and the Koç Holding is recently devoting
a great deal of time and money to environmental issues such as
clean seas.
Attack advertising – is it ethical
The challenge in the economic hardships in recent years has made competition much fiercer.
Firms have started to attach each other more saagely. In Argentina, in 1997 Cola-Cola changed
all of Pepsi Cola customers to their product wiping them out of business completely. In the summer time Pilsen refused to supply markets that were selling Tekel beer. Is this ethical? No, but
when business gets tough such measures are unavoidable.
ADVERTISING INSTITUTIONS
 Advertising Departments
A unit of a firm headed by a manager who oversees the production of ads and their
placement in the media.
 Advertising Agencies
A firm that specialises in communication and marketing and that offers these services
to clients (advertisers).
 Advertising Media
¤ Print Media
Communication channels that sell advertising space to marketeers
¤ Broadcast Media
Communication channels that sell advertising time to marketeers
¤ Out-of-home Media
Communication channels that expose the target audience to the sales message when the audience is away from home and closer to the market place
¤ Direct Response Media
Communication channels through which marketers can communicate directly
with target audience
ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT

Defining the Target Audience
Target audience is people who are expected to be effected by a certain ad. This is the target
market or a determined part of the target market.

Defining Advertising Objectives
An ad can be sales or communication oriented. It will either increase the sales by a certain
volume or it will communicate to advise the market of a certain development of product.

Setting the Advertising Budget
Percentage of sales, portion of annual income or a budgeted amount of funds through
costing the expenses for a certain ad.

Developing the Creative Strategy
 Deciding on the Sales Message – The message to be communicated
 Formulating an Execution of the Message – How the message will be passed on with
use of features like celebrity expressions, cartoons, humour, animation, etc.
 Creating the Ad Element – Application of the AIDA Process (attention, interest,
Desire, and action)
 Providing Technical Direction – Layout of the ad, script, sound effects, actions, etc.
In developing the creative strategy an important issue is the use of the AIDA process.
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The AIDA Process is a way of analysing an ad in terms of bringing the reader or listener through
stages of attention, interest, desire and action.
According to the AIDA process, four main parts of a print media are:
Better Homes & Gardens,
August 1998

Selecting the Advertising Media
Which medium will reach the people I want to address? Mavi Jeans will make use of the
magazines more preferred by the youth whereas BP will select a radio network to reach truckers. Another question is; Can the medium deliver my message effectively? Here sound, colour, action is important. Finally, how much will it cost me per issue?

Evaluating Advertising Effectiveness
This is very hard to pinpoint but advertisers would like to know the final effect of there. Sales
tests, questionaries, increase in sales might give some indication.
PERSONAL SELLING
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Personal Selling is a person-to-person process by which the seller learns about the prospective
buyer's wants and seeks to satisfy them by making a sale
 Objectives of Personal Selling
(1) To find prospective customers,
(2) To convert these prospects to customers,
(3) To keep them as satisfied customers.
 Personal Selling Tasks
Activities that incorporate one or more of the three objectives of personal selling and are often classified into three categories:
(1) Order-Getting Task
(2) Order-Taking Tasks
(3) Sales Support Tasks
THE PERSONAL SELLING PROCESS

Prospecting - Finding leads that qualify to be prospects which can be turned into customers.
A prospect should benefit from the product being promoted, should be able to afford it and
should be in a position to decide to buy it.

Preparing the Pre-approach - Contact with the prospect. Enough information should be
gathered about the person (or persons) before approaching.

Approaching the Prospect - Through calls, appointment, and formal visit. The manner that
the salesperson chooses to adapt for that prospect.
 Making the Sales Presentation
 Stimulus-response Selling to produce a favourable response from prospect
 Problem Solution Selling (Consultative Selling) is in a way acting as a consultant to
solve the prospect problems, after discovering them at the sales call.
 Handling Objections
 Closing the Sale - getting the order. Finally signing a contract or making the actual delivery.
 Following Up the Sale Always! The salesman should check on the delivery of the product,
feelings of the customer on the product, his comments and any further service that can be rendered.
DIRECT MARKETING
Direct Marketing is an interactive system of marketing that uses one or more advertising media to
effect a specific measurable response or transaction at any location. Sale of CD’s on the television requires the customers to calls to place their order.
 The Marketing Database
A collection of data about a firm's current and prospective customers.
 Direct Response Media
 Telephone
 Inbound Telemarketing. Usually using 800 or 900 numbers
 Outbound Telemarketing

Direct Mail and Catalogue Marketing
SALES PROMOTION
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In general, firms and marketers spend more money on sales promotion than on advertisement.
Sales Promotion is any activity that offers an incentive for a limited period to induce a desired
response from target customers, company sales people or intermediaries. Sales promotion seeks
to bring about quick action.
Consumer Sales Promotion
Cents-off offers
Better Homes and Gardens,
August 1998.
Samples
Cash Rebate
Consumer Contests
Non-consumer Sales Promotions
Sales Meetings
Sales Contests
SHELL !!!
The Turkish Daily News
04 February 2000
Point-of-purchase Displays
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Trade Shows
Store Demonstrations
Dealer Contests and Premiums
Turkish Daily News
February 04, 2000
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Public Relations (PR) is communication to build and maintain a favourable image of a firm, maintain the goodwill of its many stakeholders, and explain its goals and purposes. Approaches to PR
are direct contact and Publicity.
Through direct contact PR handles activities like writing letters to customers, conducting plant
tours, addressing groups and clubs, sponsoring events to create or enhance a positive image for
the firm.
Publicity - Coverage in the mass media about a firm and its products, personnel or actions.
Turkish Daily News
February 04, 2000
CASE STUDY
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Choose an article from a recent issue of a newspaper you usually read, that describes the advertisind or promotion efforts of a company. (Wall Street Journal)
1. Who is the company targeting, in other words who are their target market?
2. What specific marketing is the organization trying to accomplish?
3. What role does advertising play in the promotion strategy? What other promotion tecniques
does the article mention? Are any of them unusual to your ideas or noteworthy in our promotion studies? Why do you thing they are?
KEY WORDS
advertising
advocacy advertisement
AIDA process
cents-off offers
comparative advertisement
competitive advertisement
cooperative advertisement
copy
coupons
creative selling
direct mail marketing
direct marketing
direct response media
institutional advertising
media
need-sartisfaction approach
order getting
order taking
personal selling
point-of-purchase display
premiums
product advertising
promotion
promotional mix
promotional strategy
prospecting
public relations
publicity
pull strategy
push strategy
reminder advertising
sales contests
sales promotion
sales support personnel
telemarketing
trade promotions
trade shows
POINT OF PURCHASE DISPLAYS
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Hürriyet, 09 Temmuz 2001
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