Chapter 31: Using the marketing mix Promotion

What is promotion? The process of communicating with customers or potential customers Can be informative (intended to increase consumer awareness of the product and its features) Can also be persuasive (intended to encourage consumers to purchase the product, usually through messages that emphasise its desirability) Often categorised in 2 ways: Above-the-line promotions (advertising through media (newspapers, tv, radio, the cinema, posters) or Below-the-line promotions (all other promotions such as public relations, merchandising, sponsorship, direct marketing, personal selling and competitions)

Aims of Promotion - AIDA Attention – first step in a promotional strategy is to get the attention of the consumer Interest – gain the interest of the consumers, make the consumers want to find out more about the product Desire – provide the consumer with more specific reasons for purchasing the product Action – converting desire on the part of the consumer into the action of purchasing the product.

Elements of the promotional mix Public Relations (PR) – gaining favourable publicity through the media Branding Merchandising – attempts to persuade consumer to take action at the ‘point of sale’ (PoS) Sales Promotions Direct Selling (direct mail, telephone, door-to-door, personal selling) Advertising Sponsorship Trade Fairs and Exhibitions

Influences on the choice of promotional mix Objectives of the campaign Costs and budgets The target market The balance of promotions in a campaign Legal factors External factors