Promotional Strategies Comparison

Advertising Methods

• Types of advertising methods: TV, print, digital, outdoor, product placement, broadcast advertising, sponsorship, and guerrilla advertising
• Guerrilla advertising: using surprising and unconventional events to attract consumers, such as concerts or fairs
• Sponsorship: providing funds for a sporting, cultural, or social event in return for prominent display of the sponsor's company or brand name

Selecting an Advertising Method

• Consider the cost of each method: cost per target consumer or cost per click
• Consider the consumer profile: age, income, interests, etc.
• Consider the message and image to be communicated: written or visual, dynamic, and colorful
• Consider legal constraints: ban on products like tobacco, kids toys, or liquor in Islamic states
• Consider other aspects of the marketing mix: product, place, and price

Sales Promotion

• Definition: incentives directed at consumers or retailers to achieve short-term sales increase and repeat purchase
• Types of sales promotion strategies: price offers, money-off coupons, customer loyalty schemes, money refunds, and buy one get one free
• Sales promotion can be directed at either the final consumer (pull strategy) or the distribution channel (push strategy)

Direct Promotion

• Types of direct promotion: direct mail, telemarketing, and personal selling
• Direct mail: low cost, focused, easy to evaluate success rate, but generally considered as junk
• Telemarketing: low cost, easy to monitor response rate, but can be irritating and may go unheard
• Personal selling: high sales success rate, often used for expensive industrial products, but high cost and customers may feel compelled to buy

Packaging

• Roles of packaging in promotion: making product attractive, protecting and containing the product, giving information, and supporting the brand image
• Functions of packaging: cheap and unattractive packaging can destroy the quality and status image, while distinctive packaging can help promote brand image
• Packaging decisions need to be blended with the overall objectives of the business for its product

Digital Promotion

• Benefits: worldwide coverage, relatively low cost, easy to track and measure results, personalization, social media communication builds customer loyalty, and content marketing
• Limitations: time-consuming, skills and training required, global competition, and complaints and feedback

Measuring Success of Promotions

• Sales performance before and after the promotion campaign
• Consumer awareness data: gathered through surveys
• Consumer panels: a representative group of people used for marketing research
• Response rates to advertisements
• Social media feedback

Place Decisions and Distribution

• Place decisions: how products should pass from manufacturer to the final customer
• Definition of distribution: getting the right product to the right consumer at the right time in a way that is most convenient to the consumer
• Single-intermediary channel: direct selling or zero-intermediary channel

Integrated Marketing Mix

• The key marketing decisions complement each other and work together to give customers a consistent message about the product
• Catering to all 4 Ps of Marketing Mix: product, price, place, and promotion
• The best-prepared marketing plans can be destroyed by just one part of the marketing mix not being consistent with the rest

Learn about the differences between direct mail, telemarketing, and personal selling as promotional strategies. Discover the pros and cons of each method and when they are most effective.