The Role of Promotion Promotion Role of promotion Commonly the object of two misconceptions Promotional activities make up the entire field of marketing Promotional activities are unnecessary and cause higher prices Role of promotion To facilitate exchanges directly or indirectly by informing individuals, groups, or organizations and influencing them to accept a firm’s products or to have more positive feelings about the firm Convey product and service information directly to target market segments Provide information to interest groups, regulatory agencies, investors, and the general public To maintain positive relationships between a company and various groups in the marketing environment Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved

Information Flows Into and Out of an Organization A promotional activity’s effectiveness depends on the information available to marketers Source: William M. Pride and O. C. Ferrell, Marketing: Concepts and Strategies, 15th ed. (Mason, Ohio: South-Western/Cengage Learning, 2010). Adapted with permission. Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved

The Promotion Mix The particular combination of promotion methods a firm uses to reach a target market Advertising A paid nonpersonal message communicated to a select audience through a mass medium Personal selling Personal communication aimed at informing customers and persuading them to buy a firm’s products Sales promotion The use of activities or materials as direct inducements to customers or salespersons Public relations Communication activities used to create and maintain favorable relations between an organization and various public groups, both internal and external Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved

Possible Ingredients for an Organization’s Promotion Mix Source: William M. Pride and O. C. Ferrell, Marketing: Concepts and Strategies, 15th ed. (Mason, Ohio: South-Western/Cengage Learning, 2010). Adapted with permission. Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved