Promotion and the Promotional Mix

What is promotion? Promotion is one of the four P’s of the Marketing Mix Promotion is persuasive communication to inform people about products or services

What is promotion? Goal of promotional activity is AIDA: Attention – catches the eye or ear and stands out amid the clutter of competing advertisements Interest – arouses interest and delivers sufficient impact in the message or offering Desire – creates a desire to learn more or crave ownership Action – spurs an action which leads to achievement of the ad’s original objective – prompts potential customers to purchase or use your product or service

Product Promotion Product Promotion: convince customers to buy one product over a competitor’s product explain features and benefits identify where it is sold advertise sales answer customer questions

Institutional Promotion Institutional Promotion: create a favorable image for the business (sells the business as a whole) help it advocate for change take a stand on trade or community issues build goodwill, enhance reputation, foster favorable image

Promotional Mix 1. Personal Selling 2. Advertising 3. Direct Marketing 4. Sales Promotion 5. Public Relations

Personal Selling Direct contact with the customer Very expensive

Advertising Non-personal promotion Pay to promote goods, services, or ideas Variety of media outlets One way communication Found everywhere – billboard, brochure, internet, magazines, newspapers, grocery receipts, radio, t.v., cars/buses, etc

Direct Marketing Address individuals directly and NOT through a third party Direct mail – USPS Telemarketing – phone E-marketing – search engine marketing, marketing Goal is to generate sales or leads Targeted customers receive special offers / incentives One-way communication By law – customers can opt-out and register for do not call

Public Relations (PR) Try to create a favorable image for a company, its products, or its policies. News releases announce newsworthy developments Social media interacts with customers and provides feedback to the company Through news releases and social media companies gain publicity - bringing newsworthy information about the organization to the public Placement of publicity is free Viewed as more objective Content is not controlled which is a disadvantage

Sales Promotion All marketing activities (other than personal selling, advertising, direct marketing or public relations) that are directed at customers to boost sales Includes: coupons, money off promotions, competitions, product samples, point-of- purchase displays Goals: increase sales, inform customers, create positive image for business

Promotional Mix Most companies use more than one form of promotion to achieve promotional goals Combination of strategies and a cost- effective allocation of resources

Promotional Mix Cycle Identify target market Determine objectives Design message Select promotions Allocate budget Measure results

Push vs. Pull Promotional Mix often developed for each segment of the distribution channel: Push Policy directs promotion towards the next intermediary in the distribution channel (wholesaler, retailer) main purpose is to convince the retailer to stock the products being promoted examples: discounts, free trials, quality guarantees, consignment

Push vs. Pull Pull Policy Directs promotion towards the consumer by creating interest and demand to “pull” the customer to buy the product Examples: free samples, public promotional events such as contests, door-to-door sales, point-of-sale displays, Internet marketing campaigns and telemarketing campaigns

Introduction to the Promotional Mix You will be assigned a component of the promotional mix. You must do the following: Explain the element of the promotional mix Select a company you know well, find an example of how the company VERY effectively utilized this component For the same company, tell us how you would do it even BETTER!! You will present in a INFO SLAM... make it fun and entertaining...in 3 minutes... observers will vote!