4.5 Promotion
Aims: (AIDA)
• Arouse awareness
• Generate interest
• Inspire desire
• Initiate adoption
• of the product
Definition:
• It refers to the methods
used by businesses to
make customers aware of
a product and adopt it.
• It brings customers from a
state of unawareness of
the product to a state of
adopting it.
Elements of promotion:
Above the line (pull) promotion
Below the line (push) promotion
• Advertising
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Sales promotion
Publicity
Sponsorship
Personal selling
Exhibitions and trade fairs
Direct mailing
Merchandising
Public relations
Above the line promotion
• Above the line promotion
refers mainly to advertising. It
refers to methods over which a
firm has no direct control and
makes use of external agencies
or media.
• It allows the business to reach
a wide audience and attract or
‘pull’ them into buying the
product.
• That’s why it is also referred as
pull promotion.
Below the line promotion
• This refers to any
promotional activity which
is not advertising.
• It refers to methods over
which the firm has direct
control and do not use
external agencies or media.
• The business pushes the
product towards targeted
customers – push
promotion.
• Informative, i.e. make
consumers aware of the
product specially new ones
and give them some
Advertising is a noninformation on the product
personal form of
persuading
• Persuasive, i.e. convince
customers to buy a
consumers to buy a product
product. It is mostly
because it is more desirable
than others
done above the line.
• Reassuring, i.e. reminding
consumers that their
purchases were correct and
they should continue to buy
3 objectives:
the product
Advertising
Main types of advertising
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Press
Television
Radio
Outdoor (Billboards
Internet
The press: newspapers and magazines
• The press is the most
important medium of
advertising in terms of
expenditure. The press
consists of daily and
Sunday newspapers
and magazines which
are mainly periodicals
(weekly, monthly, etc.).
• Advertising in
periodical magazines is
normally of a specialist
nature to target a
market segment , e.g.
cars, musical
instrument, etc.
• Small businesses often
use local newspapers.
Adv. and disadv. of using the press
• Advantages:
• It is permanent. The
advert can be cut and
kept for future
reference.
• More information can
be provided than in TV
or radio advertising
• Disadvantages:
• It suffers from a lack of
impact when compared
to TV advert
Television advertising
This is mainly used by big firms who can afford the high price of a
TV slot. Sound and moving pictures can bring powerful message
in a very short time to the viewer
Advantages:
It can have a very powerful impact on the viewers.
A very wide and even global audience can be targeted
Disadvantages:
It is very costly to produce a television slot and hence very
expensive for businesses to buy advertising slot.
Radio advertising
This refers to advertising using radio time slots. It is the fastest
growing advertising medium. There is an increasing number of
people listening to radio. The number of independent radio stations
and internet radios is constantly increasing.
Advantages:
Radio advertising can reach a very large audience and yet cheaper
than television a greater number
Listeners can do other things while exposed to the promotions
With internet technology, radio promotions can reach almost anyone
In the world
Disadvantages
There is no visual impact with the absence of moving images
There is lower attention level than with television promotion
Outdoor advertising (Posters, billboards, etc)
Outdoor advertising refers to the use of billboards, posters, banners
to promote a business, a product or brand name. These appear on a
variety of locations (shopping malls, road sides, vehicles, etc.) where
they are visible to large number of people. They tend to be large with
short messages as passers-by or motorist have a few seconds to look at
A recent development is the use of electronic screens with
rotating advertisements.
Advantage
It can be seen repeatedly
There is a high rate of exposure
Disadvantage
It contain a limited amount of information
Prone to damage, vandalism and grafiti
Internet advertising
This refers to advertising using (firm’s) own websites , networking
websites or other electronic sites.
It is the advertising medium which is growing at the fastest rate.
More and more businesses have their own websites and are selling
on line.
Advantage
Websites can be accessed worldwide by consumers
Disadvantage
The audience is limited to internet users
Below the line promotion
• This refers to any
promotional activity which
is not advertising.
• It refers to methods over
which the firm has direct
control and do not use
external agencies or media.
• The business pushes the
product towards targeted
customers – push
promotion.
Sales promotion
Sales promotions are incentives offered to consumers to encourage
them to buy goods and services. Examples include:
Free samples
Temporary discounts or discount vouchers
Gifts in exchange of product labels or buy one get one free
Products give rights to enter into competition with major prizes
After sale guarantee
Loyalty cards or loyalty gifts
Advantage
Sales promotion can boost up sales although temporarily
Disadvantage
The free samples, gifts, etc. reduce profits
Public relations
This refers to the business communicating with the public to improve
its image or products. Such exercises include:
Press conference where journalists are invited to a presentation and
are given information about the company or products.
Press release, that is, written statement of events, activities or products
which may be considered newsworthy.
Packaging promotion
• This refers to the
additional information
on the product on the
protective packaging.
• It also refers to
promoting the business
name on carrier bags
provided by many
retailers.
Sponsorship
This involves providing funds for the conduct of an event, mostly
sporting events (e.g. Coca Cola for the Olympic Games in Beijing).
It also involves supporting teams or individuals athlete. Other forms
of sponsorships take place in the community, the cultural and
educational world
Merchandising/point of sales promotion
Merchandising is an attempt to influence consumers at the point of
concluding sales by proper display of products. The aim is to make
consumers buy what they can see at the point of sale rather than
from a sales assistant.
Supermarkets , petrol stations and banks use this method extensively.
Whilst customers are waiting in line, they are exposed to items such
confectionary, magazines, insurance, etc.
Other features of merchandising used to attract customers to
buy other things they had not intended to buy include:
giant posters,
taste the product,
soft music,
announcement, etc.
Publicity
Publicity is the process of promoting a business or product by
getting media coverage without directly paying for it. Although
the publicity is free, it is the result of a patronage of sports, arts
or learning. For example, giving a Ferrari to a celebrity may result
in a wide coverage of the car.
Advantage
Publicity generates favorable coverage for a product or business
Disadvantage
Publicity is the result of patronage which involves costs.
Direct marketing or personal selling
Direct marketing occurs when a firm’s salesmen promote a product
through personal contact. This can be done over the phone, by
sending e-mails or by knocking at the doors. It is often used for
industrial goods (airplanes, plants and machineries), properties,
insurance, financial planning, etc.
Advantage
It enables explaining technical aspects of a product
Orders can be obtained
Disadvantage
The cost of maintaining a team of sales representatives can be
expensive
Fairs and exhibitions
These are mainly used where there is a need to demonstrate a
product or to discuss the technical aspects of the product with
customers.
Advantage
They give a chance to show how a product actually works
They allow customers to discuss about a product
Disadvantage
Staff have to be remove from work to be available on spot
Direct mail
This is a bit different from direct marketing. Here information is sent
to the customers through the post or e-mail with the option of
placing an order. it is used by mail order business,
local food outlets, bookshops, etc.
Advantage
A wide audience can be reached and it is relatively cheap
Disadvantage
Many people disregard the materials posted or block such e-mails
Word of mouth
Word of mouth promotion refers to the spreading of information
about a product from one person to another through oral
communication. When the message is transferred electronically
it is known as P2P (peer to peer)
Advantages
It is the cheapest form of promotion as there is no cost to the firm .
Disadvantage
It can be damaging if the wrong information is spread
Promotional mix
Promotional mix refers to the range of promotional methods used
by a business. A business usually uses different methods to promote
its products. There are a number of factors the will influence the mix
and these include:
The type of the product
The type of the market
The cost
The promotional mix of competitors
The product life cycle