2.16 Promotion

Marketing and the Competitive Environment Using the Marketing Mix:

Promotion

“What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising? Unethical advertising uses falsehood to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public.”

Vilhjaimer Stefansson

“One of the mysteries of human conduct is why adult men and women are ready to sign documents they do not read, at the behest of salesmen they do not know, binding them to pay for articles they do not want, with money they do not have.”

Gerald Hurst

2.16 Promotion

Using the Marketing Mix: PromotionIn this topic you will learn about:

Elements of the promotional mix

Influences on the choice of promotional mix

2.16 Promotion

Elements of the Promotional Mix

Advertising

DirectSelling

SalesPromotions

Merchandising

Branding

Public Relations

The Promotion Mix

2.16 Promotion

Elements of the Promotional MixPromotion is that part of the marketing mix that informs and persuades customers about the product in order to sell that product.

The Promotional Mix is the variety of methods that a firm uses in order to gain sales.

The promotional mix includes: Public Relations Branding Merchandising Sales Promotions Direct Selling Advertising

2.16 Promotion

Elements of the Promotional Mix

Public Relations (PR)

Public Relations involves communicating with the media such as newspapers, television and radio in order to get favourable publicity for the organisation.

Firms may send out press releases highlighting something good about the company. If the media chooses to publish the press release there is no charge to the business.

They may also spend time and money sponsoring local and national projects and benefiting charities.

2.16 Promotion

Elements of the Promotional Mix

Branding

Organisations spend enormous amounts of time and money branding their company and products.

Branding involves the creation of an identity for the business that distinguishes that firm and its products from other firms. Branding can add value to a product allowing firms to charge higher prices and also leads to brand loyalty whereby customers will continue to buy products from that firm.

Pure Genius:You will need access to the internet to watch this video clip

How can this type of advertising help to brand a product?

2.16 Promotion

Elements of the Promotional Mix

Merchandising

Merchandising is the way in which a firm promotes its product at Point of Sale (POS). Plenty of thought is put into the visual display of a product and the way that the product is presented within the selling location.

The saying ‘never judge a book by its cover’ does not always ring true when selling products – customers are enticed to buy in a number of ways e.g. high quality displays, pleasant shopping environments and nice aromas (imagine the Bakery section of a supermarket).

How Peter Pan visited Harrods: You will need access to the internet to watch this video clip

2.16 Promotion

Elements of the Promotional Mix

Sales Promotions

Sales promotions are short term offers used by firms in order to increase sales for their products.

They may be for products at the launch stage of the product life cycle, for established products in the hope of gaining new customers or as a response to competitor’s activities.

Sales promotions will include competitions, price cuts and discounts for buying more than one product e.g. Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF).

2.16 Promotion

Elements of the Promotional Mix

Direct Selling

Direct selling is where the supplier of a product cuts out the intermediary (‘middle man’) and sells directly to the customer.

Direct selling takes a variety of forms:

Personal selling e.g. Door to Door Direct Mailing through the post e.g. takeaways Telephone selling e.g. Credit cards Direct TV selling e.g. Solicitors

2.16 Promotion

Elements of the Promotional Mix

AdvertisingAdvertising occurs when firms pay for the promotion of their product through the main media such as television, radio and the press. This is known as ‘above the line’ promotion.

Advertising has two main purposes:Informative advertising explains to the customer details of the product and what it does e.g. a car does 0-60 mph in 10 seconds. This increases consumer awareness regarding the attributes of the product.

Persuasive advertising tries to influence the customer to buy the product based on factors other than what the product does by appealing to the emotions and sensitivities of customers.

You will need access to the internet to watch this video clip

Informative or persuasive?

“In our factory, we make lipstick. In our advertising, we sell hope.”

Charles Revson

2.16 Promotion

Elements of the Promotional Mix

Promotional Mix in Practice

For each of the six different types of promotion described above choose a product that you are familiar with and explain how the

promotion was used by the business to promote their product.

Of the different promotional types which one do you believe was the most successful? Justify your answer.

2.16 Promotion

Influences on the choice of Promotional Mix

There are a number of factors that affect the choice of promotional mix that a firm uses:

Product – new products require consumer awareness and are likely to have sales promotions and advertising. Established products will be branded.

Costs – small businesses will not be able to afford the large budgets available to big companies so above the line promotion is less likely.

The target market – what type of promotion will be required for specific market segments.

Legal constraints – there are advertising restrictions placed on types of advertising and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regulates the industry.

Competition – firms react to their competitors’ promotional mix. If one business in the industry is spending heavily on promotion it is likely that other firms in the same industry will react to this.

Read moreabout the ASA

and current cases

2.16 Promotion

Activity – The Best Adverts of All Time

Channel 4 viewers voted these the Top 9 adverts of all time:

Watch each advert. Does it inform you about the product? Does it persuade you to buy the product?

Write a paragraph for each of your five favourites stating why you think each advert will help sell the product.

For each of the products or services above suggest and justify an alternative method of promotion.

9. Walkers Crisps

8. Hamlet

7. R-White Lemonade

6. Levi’s

5. Bonningtons

4. Electric Central Heating

3. Tango

2. Smash

1. Guinness

You will need access to the internet to watch these video clips