Promotion

Promotion is the way of communicating what the product is to the consumers

It aims to persuade customers to buy the product

• Above the line promotion – Advertising that uses independent media
• Below the line promotion – Sponsorship, Public Relations, Special offers, Influencer Marketing

Advertising

Advertising can be done using a variety of media including:

• Online (apps and website)
• TV and Streaming
• Radio – local, national
• Press – newspapers, magazines, local, national, specialist press
• Outdoor (posters at bus stops etc)

Type of advertising media is dependent on:

• Cost
• Target audience

Sponsorship

• Individuals, events or teams are sponsored by organisations to increase company recognition and sales
• Businesses often choose individuals / teams / events that have a similar target audience and similar ethos to themselves
• E.g. The WSL sponsored by Barclays, Rolex sponsor Wimbledon.

Sales Promotions

• These are ways to boost sales e.g. BOGOF – buy one get one free, 20% extra free
• These are used to boost short term sales

Public Relations

• Where businesses have contact with the media to send out specific messages about the firm / its product
• This is free advertising
• Sometimes public relations can backfire for a business

Personal Selling

• This is where a product is being promoted in a face-to-face situation
• The product is promoted by a salesperson whose aim is to increase sales of the product
• This often happens in the financial services industry

Direct Mail/ Email

• This is where mailshots are sent directly to customers
• These can be sent via mail, text or email
•  As customer profiling techniques become more sophisticated mail shots are increasingly targeted
• E.g. Tesco club card send promotions to their customers based on their purchasing patterns and segmentation analysis.