4.5 Promotion

What is promotion?

Promotion (n): methods of communicating messages to the market with the intention of selling a firm's product
PROMOTION IS NOT ADVERTISING.
Advertising is a method of informative and/or persuasive promotion that has to be paid for.

THERE ARE THREE KEY OBJECTIVES TO ANY MARKETING CAMPAIGN
1. Inform:
--> to alert the market about a firm's product (particularly new ones); raise awareness of the business itself (name, purpose & brand)
* promote updated existing products, provide facts & figures about a business
2. Persuade:
--> to encourage customers to make a product, switch from rival brands & create loyalty toward brand/ product
* product differentiation- enhance product image; comparison advertising- directly/ indirectly compares firm's product with rival
3. Remind:
--> to retain customer awareness and interest of an established product
* suitable for products in the maturity or saturation stages of product life cycle

Objectives of a promotional strategy

Common promotional objectives include:

Providing information about a new product or service
Differentiating a product. (See video on the right)
To stimulate demand and increase sales.
To stabilise sales (e.g. holding contests during slow sales periods)
To accentuate the value of a product. (e.g. emphasize the long life of a product)

In order to meet these objectives businesses use the promotional mix, which is a combination of individual methods designed to meet promotional objectives.

The promotional mix

The Promotional Mix is the combination of individual promotional methods used by a business (such as advertising, public relations, personal selling or sales promotions )

A.I.D.A

When deciding on a promotional mix marketers need a set of criteria to judge the success of a promotional campaign; the most common criteria are: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.

Here is one of the most recognizable posters of the 20th century, how does A.I.D.A apply to it?

Attention: The caption and pointed finger grab your attention
Interest: Why does he want me?
Desire: Evokes feelings of national pride and the wish to serve one's country.
Action: I am going to join the Army

EXAM TIP - The AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) acronym can be used as a set of criteria for judging the success of a promotional campaign. You can use this to judge the extent to which promotional strategies draws the attention of the public, how it engages their interest, the intensity of desire from customers, and ultimately the level of action taken to make a purchase.

Institutional vs. Product advertising

Institutional advertising tries to develop goodwill for a company rather than to sell a specific product. Its objective is to improve the advertiser's image, reputation, and relations with the various groups the company deals with. This includes not only end-users and distributors, but also suppliers, shareholders, employees, and the general public. Institutional advertising focuses on the name and prestige of a company.

Product advertising tries to sell a product. It may be aimed at the end user or at potential representatives and distributors. Product advertising may be further classified as pioneering, competitive, and reminder advertising.

What is the difference between Primary Demand and Selective Demand?

Selective/brand demand and primary demand are two different approaches to presenting advertising messages. Selective demand occurs when companies deliver messages that depict their brand as the best match for the needs of the target market. Selective demand is branding in a product. The Snapple ad as it appears above is quite simple. There is only Snapple Green Tea products being displayed.

The basic definition of primary demand advertising is any form of marketing is any form of marketing that stimulates the main demand for a product. Primary demand advertising educates the consumer base about the benefits of an entire product class. This is different to from selective demand advertising, which seeks to point out the advantages of one brand product over other products of the competing companies. Primary advertisement is without a brand, much like an advertisement that is for British beef. When we see an ad for this, it’s telling us to buy beef that comes from British cows, so it really doesn’t matter when it comes to branding.

Pull and Push promotional strategies

Seth Godin, marketing guru, outlines why bad or bizarre ideas are much more successful at getting our attention than boring ones

Textbook review

1. Clearly explain the difference between above the line & below the line advertising strategies. (p217- 218) (2 marks)

2. Identify five different forms of below the line promotion.
(5 marks)