Promotion Mix

It is the set of promotion tools that the company uses to reach the distribution channels and the target
consumers to pursue its marketing objectives for the period better and faster than competition.

Mix of promotion tools:

1. Tri media advertising – radio, television and print commercials

2. Sampling
3. Personal selling
4. Public relations and publicity
5. Trade and consumer sales promotions
6. Direct mail
7. Telemarketing

Promotion – stands for the various activities the company undertakes to communicate and promote its products to
the target market; from a buyer’s point of view, each marketing tool is designed to deliver a customer benefit.

5 Major Tools in the Marketing Communications Mix (aka Promotions Mix)

1. Advertising
2. Direct Marketing
3. Sales Promotion
4. Public Relations and Publicity
5. Personal Selling

Advertising

Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotions of ideas, goods, or services by an identified
sponsor, for a particular brand or institution or organization.

4 Functions of Advertising:

a. To make consumers aware of a product, service or company

b. To inform customers about product or service benefits
c. To influence consumers to buy
d. To maintain product visibility over time

12 Different Execution Styles of any Advertising Message:

1. Slice of Life – showing one or more personal using the product in a normal setting
2. Lifestyle – demonstrated how a product fits in with a lifestyle
3. Fantasy – creates fantasy around the product or its use
4. Mood or Image – build evocative mood or image around the product, such as sex, love and romance
5. Musical – uses background music or shows one or more persons or cartoon characters singing a song
involving the product
6. Personality Symbol – creates a character that personifies the product
7. Technical Expertise – shows the company’s expertise and experience in making the product
8. Scientific Evidence – presents a survey or scientific evidence that the product/brand is most preferred
over other brands in the market.
9. Testimonial Evidence – features a highly credible likable or expert service endorsing the product.
10. Memorable and Attention-Getting Words – developing creative phrasing for the product.
11. Appropriate Tone For the Advertisement – saying something superlatively positive/affirmative about the
product.
12. Creativity for Headlines – catchy words and phrases for the product.

Types of Advertising

1. Product Advertising – advertising that attempts to lead members of the target market to buy the
advertiser’s product, by attracting new users.
2. Institutional Advertising – promotes an organization’s image or philosophy, to improve public relations
through positive images.
3. Pioneering advertising – seeks to develop primary demand, that is, demand for a product category, say,
dairy products, beef or plastics, rather than a specific brand.
4. Competitive advertising – attempts to develop secondary demand - for a particular brand of product.
 5. Comparative advertising – a competitive advertising with a bite, pits one brand against another.
6. Advocacy advertising – institutional advertising that supports socially responsible messages, activities or
causes.
7. Reminder advertising – seeks to keep a product or organization’s name in the public eye, reinforcing its
identity.
8. Cooperative advertising – involves manufacturers and channel members or franchisers and franchises
teaming up for one advertising campaign – to reach the target market more efficiently than they could if
each acted alone.
9. Corrective advertising – to retract or clarify the original ads, when an advertising claim is misleading.
10. Brand advertising – designed to maintain awareness of a brand among consumers and to increase its
market share.
11. Corporate-patronage advertising – encourages customers to patronize the firm.
12. Corporate-image advertising – the company tries to establish an identity.
13. Corporate-issue advertising – states a company’s position on an issue of public importance.

DIRECT MARKETING

It means selling products directly to consumers using door to door sales; company-owned retail stores
and catalogs.

3 Methods employed in Direct Marketing:

1. Door to door Sales

2. Company-Owned Retail Stores
3. Catalogs

3 Forms of Direct Marketing:

1. Direct Mail – companies mail consumers letters, brochures and even product samples and ask that orders
be placed by mail or telephone.

Mail order Retailing – sellers contact buyers through catalogues, direct mail, radio, television, magazines
or newspapers.

2. Catalog Retailing – companies mail catalogs to consumers or make them available at retail stores.
3. Televised Shopping – tv channels and shows such as home shopping network that sells consumer
electronics, jewelry and other products at relatively low prices.

3 advantages of direct marketing

1. Provides consumers with shopping convenience.

2. Low operating expenses.
3. Liberal return policies.

Sales Promotion – short term incentives to encourage purchase or sales of a product or service, for consumers to
buy more and encourage repeat buys relative to competitions.

Examples of sales promotions:

1. Free merchandise – additional products at no charge to resellers that purchase a stated quantity.
2. Dealer listing – an ad that promotes a product and identifies the names and locations of participating
retailers that carry the product.
3. Premium money - additional compensation provided to resellers to encourage them to push a line of
products.
4. Point of purchase material – a promotional item such as an outside sign, window or floor display, counter
piece or self service carton used to encourage consumers to make a purchase.
5. Demonstration of a product – conducted on a temporary basis to encourage trial, use and purchase or to
actually show how the product works.
6. Premium – an item offered or at minimum cost as a bonus.
7. Money refund – a new product sales promotion in which a consumer presents proof of purchase to the
manufacturer which then reimburses the consumer the specified amount of money.
8. Free sample – encourages consumers to try a product for the first time.
9. Discount coupons – either published in leading newspapers or disseminated in public places, which
entitles the bearer to a discount in redemption centers of mass merchandise outlets.
10. Raffle promo – entitles a buyer to a raffle ticket for every worth product purchased.
 11. Buy one take one promo

Public Relations – news stories, features, and events that seem more real and believable to the target readers
than do advertisements, to dramatize a company or product. Building good relations with the company’s various
publics by satisfactorily obtaining positive/favorable publicity, building up a good corporate image and effectively
handling or heading off unfavorable or derogatory rumors, stories and events.

3 channels for gaining publicity:

1. News release
2. Press conference
3. Lobbying

8 uses of publicity:

1. To announce new products, brands and activities

2. to publicize new policies
3. to recognize employees
4. to describe research breakthroughs
5. to report financial performance
6. to maintain a certain level of positive public visibility
7. to enhance a particular image
8. to overcome a negative image

Personal Selling – involves personal interaction between two or more people, so that each person can observe the
other’s needs, wants and characteristics to promptly close, make quick decisions and adjustments.

3 advantages of personal selling:

1. Greater flexibility - sales people can tailor sales presentations to fit the needs and behavior of individual
customers.
2. It can be focused on prospective customers thus minimizing wasted effort.
3. It results in the actual sale.

4 steps in personal selling process:

1. Prospecting and evaluating - developing a list of potential customers or prospects.

2. Preparing – reviewing customer’s product needs, current use of brands, feelings about available brands,
personal characteristics.
3. Approaching the customers – using referral who has suggested that the prospect might be interested in
product.
4. Making the presentation – describe and demonstrate the product.

Relationship Selling – is a personal selling whereby salespeople and customer attain long term mutually beneficial
business and non business relationship.