1 CHAPTER NINE: PROMOTION DECISIONS

Learning outcomes
Upon completing this topic, you should be able to:

• Identify the various elements of the promotional mix

• Show an understanding of the concept of the integrated marketing com-
munication
• Describe the process of developing an effective marketing communication

1.1 INTRODUCTION
After companies have developed a product, they must inform the customers and
prospects about the product. The process of passing on product information to
product users is referred to as product promotion.

1.2 Designing and Managing an Integrated Marketing Com-

munication (IMC)
Integrated Marketing Communication refers to the various ways in which a firm
communicates a marketing idea to induce influence on the target market and
develop effective demand to their benefit and the benefits of the organisation.
IMC is the basic engine for driving PROMOTION as a tool of the marketing
mix.

Basic Purpose Promotion

1. To inform

2. To persuade
3. To remind
4. To induce inquiry

Steps in Developing effective integrated marketing communication

(IMC)
1. Identify the target audience

2. Determine the communication objectives

3. Design communication item
4. Select communication channel

5. Establish communication budget

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 6. Decide on the communication media mix
7. Measure communication results
8. Manage integrated IMC

1.3 Key Promotional Strategies

These are also termed as elements of a promotion mix or promotion tools. they
include;
1. Advertising
2. Sales promotion
3. Events and Experiences
4. Public relations
5. Direct marketing
6. Personal selling

1.3.1 ADVERTISING
Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of
ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor.

General Objectives of Advertising

1. To announce product existence

2. Highlight specific feature: Unique Selling Proposals (USP)

3. Develop favorable corporate or brand image 4) Remind and enforce brand
loyalty
4. Encourage greater use 6) Encourage no users to use the product

5. Correct any false information 8) Demonstrate how the product works

6. Provide a reassurance that a customer has made a good decision

Media and Methods of Advertising

• Television
• Newspaper

• Magazines and Trade Journals

• Commercial Radios
• Transport Media
• Cinema /Motion pictures

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 • Packaging
• Brochures and booklets
• Posters and leaflets

• Directories
• Billboards
• Internet

• Display signs
• Point of purchase displays

ADVERTISING DECISIONS Markets must consider four important de-

cisions when developing an advertising program: setting advertising objectives,
setting advertising budgets, developing advertising strategies and evaluating ad-
vertising campaigns.
1. Advertising objectives - The main advertising objectives are:

(a) Information advertising – Tells the market about a new product,

suggests new uses for a product or informs the market about a price
change e.g Jik, Omo, Alvaro etc.
(b) Persuasive advertising – Involves building brand preference by per-
suading consumers to always buy your brand or to switch to your
brand e.g super loaf adverts, Nissan shift expectation ad.
(c) Reminder advertising - Involves reminding consumers that they will
need the product in the near future especially during off seasons.
- Also involves keeping consumers thinking about the product e.g
Coca-Cola adverts.

2. Setting Advertising Budget

(a) A brands advertising budget often depends on its stage in the product
life cycle.
(b) A new product typically needs large advertising budgets to build
awareness and persuade consumers to try it.
(c) A mature product needs lower budgets of advertising as a ratio to
sales.
(d) Also brands in a market with many competitors require aggressive
advertising e.g. beer, soft drinks, pharmaceuticals, insurance etc.

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 3. Developing Advertising Strategy
- There are two factors to consider in developing advertising strategy i.e.
creating advertising message and selecting advertising media.
- The advertising message must be appealing, believable and distinctive
for consumers to think about it or react to the product. Advertisers take
several approaches when developing their messages. The more common
appeals are: testimonials (messages which are presented and endorsed by
someone who is seen as an expert, trustworthy and believable to con-
sumers), humorous advertising (with jokes about the product), sex appeal
(Use of sexuality to appeal to a certain gender that constitutes a target
market) and slice of life advertising (portraying the consumer in a realistic
situation)
- A good advertising media is one that reaches more consumers, exposes
the product, the target market frequently, impacts the qualitative values
of a message on the consumer. Major media types include newspapers,
T.V, Radio, direct mail, magazines, bill boards and internet.
4. Evaluating Advertising
- Advertisements effectiveness can be evaluated by copy testing or sales
effects.
- Copy testing can be done before or after an advert is printed or broadcast.
Before an advert is placed, the advertiser can show it to consumers, ask
them how they like it and measure recall or attitude changes resulting
from it. The same can be done after an advert is run.
- One way of measuring sales effects is to compare past sales before an
advert was placed to sales level after an advert is placed.
- Other methods of measuring the effectiveness of an advert include:
(a) Measure awareness and impact using recall/recognition test
(b) Measure increase in revenue
(c) Maintenance and improvement in market share
(d) Use marketing research to measure attitude change
(e) Measure profit overtime
(f) Measure number of inquiries.

1.3.2 SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion is short term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of

a product or service.The marketer must set sales promotion objectives before
deciding on the sales promotion tool to use.
General Objectives of Sales Promotion
1. Facilitates customer trials: Free samples

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 2. Cements a long term relationship with middlemen
3. To attract brand switchers: low prices
4. To encourage sales force and middlemen to support a new product
5. To attract users to buy more

SALES PROMOTION DECISIONS The primary concerns of marketers

when making sales promotion decisions include choosing the target market ob-
jective and choosing a sales promotion tool.

1. Target Market Objective

• Consumer promotions – Used to increase short term sales or help build
long-term market share
• Trade promotions – Includes getting retailers to carry new items and more
inventories, getting them to advertise the product and to give it more shelf
space.
• Sales force or business promotions – Are used to generate business leads,
stimulate purchases, reward customers, and motivate salespeople.

2. Sales Promotion Tools Depending on the sales promotion objective

decided and the target market, the following tools can be used:
(i) Consumer promotion tools
• Samples – A small amount of product offered to consumers for trial.
• Coupons – Certificate that gives buyers a saving when they purchase a
specified product.
• Cash refunds – Offer to refund part of the purchase price of a product to
consumers who send a proof of purchase to the manufacturer.
• Price pack – Reduced price that is marked by (cents offs) the producer
directly on the label or package.
• Premium – Are goods offered either free or at a low price as an incentive
to buy a product e.g Colgate and toothbrush.
• Advertising specialties – Are useful articles imprinted with an advertiser’s
name that are given as gifts to consumers e.g pens, calendars, key holders,
shopping bags, T-shirts, caps, nail files, umbrella, tea mugs etc.
• Patronage rewards – Cash or other award for the regular use of a certain
company’s products or service.
• Point of purchase (POP) promotions – Include display and demonstrations
that take place at the point of purchase or sale.

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 • Contests, sweepstakes and games, giving consumers a chance to win some-
thing e.g cash, trips, goods by luck.
(ii) Trade promotion tools
The consumer promotion tools identified above can also be used as trade
promotions. In addition, the manufacturer may offer:
• Discount off the list price. This is also called price off, off invoice or off
list. A straight discount is a straight reduction in price on purchase during
a stated period of time.
• An allowance. This is promotional money paid by manufacturers to retail-
ers in return for agreeing to feature the manufacturer’s products in some
way e.g an advertising allowance compensates retailers for advertising the
product, a display allowance compensates them for using special displays.
• Conventions and trade shows – Organized by manufacturer to promote
their products. Are often costly undertakings.
(iii) Sales Force Tool A sales contest – Organized for salespeople or dealers
to motivate them t increase their sales performance over a given period. The
winner gets a prize.

3. EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES Company sponsored activities and

programmes designed to create daily brand related interactions including the
following:
• Sports
• Company Museums
• Entertainment
• Street activities
• Festivals
• Road shows
• Factory tours

1.3.3 PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public relations means building good relations with the company’s various
publics
Publicity - This is the total effort by an organisation to create, improve and
maintain a favourable image of the company and its publics. It is pop-
ularized as Public Relations, and the title for this role and responsibility
within the organisation may the Public Relations Manager or Publicity
Manager.
Public relations department perform the following functions:
• Press relations – Creating and placing newsworthy information in the news
media to attract attention to a person, product or device.

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 • Product publicity – Publicizing specific products.
• Public affairs – Getting involved in corporate social responsibility e.g
building schools, roads, and social amenities to a local community.

• Investor relations – Maintaining relationships with shareholders and others

in the financial community.
• Lobbying – Building and maintaining relations with members of parlia-
ment and government officials to influence legislations and regulations in
favour of an organisation or industry.

Major Public Relations Tools

1. News Release – PR professional create favourable news about the company
and its products.
2. Press Conferences – Company executives field questions from the media
or the MD’s charismatic talk before a large audience.
3. Special events – Include conferences, press tours, grand openings of branches,
organizing marathons etc.

4. Corporate identity materials – e.g. logos, stationery brochures, signs,

business cards, buildings, uniforms, T-shirts, company cars and trucks.

1.3.4 DIRECT MARKETING

The use of mail, telephone, fax, email or internet to communicate directly with
or solicit response or dialogue from specific customers or prospects.
Other tools used in direct marketing include:

• Catalogue
• TV shopping Telemarketing
• Fax mail Electronic shopping
• Voice mail

1.3.5 PERSONAL SELLING

Personal selling is the face to face interaction between a company’s salesperson
and a customer or prospect. Personal selling optimizes the buyer seller dyad
often resulting in an actual purchase of the product.

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Functions and Roles
• Information gathering regarding sales needs
• Identifying sales leads

• Prospecting: finding and cultivating new customers

• Communicating: Illustrating product and service idea
• Selling: salesmanship

• Servicing: Technical after sales service

Personal selling is about looking for potential buyers (prospecting), presenting
the product and getting an order from the customer. It is therefore the climax
of the entire marketing effort. A good salesperson is one who closes a sale
successfully.

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Assignment
Identify and describe the element of the promotion mix is being referred to in
the following statements.
a) A temporary incentive to induce trial or purchase of a new product.
b) One that does not cost money but may involve considerable time and
effort by the marketer.
c) An effective promotion tool for machines, lubricant etc.
d) Press conference, publications and news in the electronic media are its
various tools.
e) A paid form of non-personal communication by an identified sponsor.
f) One that is done through popular media like radio, television, magazines,
newspapers etc.

References and Additional Reading Materials

1. Amber, Tim (2000).Marketing Metrics.Business strategy Review 11(2):
59-66.
2. Hunter, G K., William D P (2007). Making Sales Technology Effective.
Journal of Marketing 71(1):37-58
3. Kibera, F. N., Chege B. W. (1988) Fundamentals of marketing. Nairobi:
Kenya Literature Bureau
4. Kotler, P and Gary, Armstrong. (2001). Principles of Marketing, 9th ed.
New Delhi: Prentice Hall