The Marketing Mix

The 4 P’s

Promotion

Learning Objectives

Identify differences between sales promotion and advertising, above-the-line and below-the-line promotion

Analyse different promotional tools and discuss their effectiveness

Prepare an appropriate promotional mix

Start with this

• Speak to the people on your table and find out what they think was the best form of promotion they have seen

• Ask them to explain why

Preying on those addicted

Manipulation of the media

Does sex sell…cigarettes?

Promotion• The use of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling,

direct mail, trade fairs, sponsorship and public relations to inform customers and persuade customers to buy

• Promotional objectives should aim to– Increase sales by raising customer awareness of a new product– Remind customers of an existing product and its distinctive qualities– Encourage increased purchases– Demonstrate the superior specification or qualities of a product

compared to those of competitors – Create or reinforce brand image– Correct misleading reports – Develop or adapt public image– Encourage retailers to stock and actively promote products to the

final consumer

Objectives of Promotion

Notify target market about product

Wants to learn more about product

Wants to own the product

Product purchased

Objectives of Promotion

AAwareness

IInterest

DDesire

AAction

Notify target market about product

Wants to learn more about product

Wants to own the product

Product purchased

What’s the Marketing objective?

Cola – be yourself

Lynx

What’s the Marketing objective?

Stroke Sign of adviceCitroen C4 Robotic dancing

The Marketing Funnel

Audience

Prospects

Leads

Customers

Loyalty

Aware (Inform)

Express Interest (Interact)

Take Action (Buy)

Return (Buy Again)

Talk (Word-of-Mouth)

Above the Line (ATL)

Below the Line (BTL)

Two ‘types’ of promotion…

Above the line• Uses independent media• Aimed at a wide audience

Below the line• Uses media that the company has some form

of control over

Above the line

• This uses advertising

• Advertising is using any paid form of non-personal presentation

• Uses media that company has little direct control over

• There is informative advertising and persuasive advertising although they go hand in hand

Above the line

• Which media to use?• Limited resources restrict options• Choosing the right media means considering a

number of factors– Cost– Profile of the target audience– Type of product and the message to be communicated – Other aspects of the marketing mix– The law and other constraints

Below the line

• Promotion that is not a directly paid for means of communication but based on short term incentives to purchase

• E.G. sales promotion techniques

Below the Line

• Uses all forms other than advertising

• Includes– Direct mail – Exhibitions– Sales promotion– Branding– Merchandising– Packaging– Sponsorship

Exhibitions don’t have to be boring

Method Explained Possible Limitations

Price promotions – these are temporary reductions in price, also know as price discounting. They are aimed at encouraging existing customers to buy more and attracting new customers to buy the product

• Increased sales gained from price reductions will affect gross profit on each item sold

• There might be a negative impact on the brand’s reputation from the discounted price

Money-off coupons – these are more versatile and better focused way of offering a price discount.

• May simply encourage customers to buy what they would have bought anyway

• Enough stock may not be held• Proportion of customers using coupon may be small

Customer loyalty schemes – such as air miles or customer loyalty cards. Focused on encouraging repeat purchases and discouraging customers from shopping with competitors. Info stored through loyalty cards provide info about consumer buying preferences

• Discount offered cuts gross profit• Admin costs• ‘loyalty’ impact is reduced as most companies now have

these

Money refunds – offered when the receipt is returned to the manufacturer

• Forms to be filled out by the customer• Delay before refund is received

BOGOF – encourages multiple purchases, which reduces demand for competitors’ products too

• Could lead to substantial reduction in gross profit • Reputation

Point-of-sale displays – maximum impact on consumer behaviour is achieved by attractive, informative and well positioned displays in stores

• Best display points are usually offered to market leaders• New products may struggle for best positions in stores

Public relations – the use of free publicity provided by newspapers, TV and other media to communicate with and achieve understanding of the public

• Not easily controllable as some free publicity may not be positive

Sponsorship – payment by a company to team owners or event organisers so that the company name becomes associated with the event

• Success of the sponsorship is largely out of the company’s control. If a team fails this may reflect badly on the sponsor

Benefits and problems for above the line promotion

Advantages

• Wide coverage• Control the message• Repetition• Used to build brand

loyalty

Disadvantages

• Expensive• Impersonal• One way communication• Lacks flexibility• Limited capacity to close the sale

Benefits and problems for below the line promotion

Advantages• Higher customer attention• Message is customised• Interactivity• Potential to develop a relationship• Adaptable• Opportunity to close a sale

Disadvantages• Labour intensive• Expensive• Can only reach a limited number of customers

Task

• Tell me your immediate thought of the – Target market

and – promotional method used

• For the following items

For example - Playstation

• Target market

– teenage boys

• Promotional method– games magazines

Task• Bowling • Toothpaste• Airline travel• Dishwasher liquid• Crisps• Dating Agency• Local farmers market

target market

and

promotional method used….

Viral Marketing – e-commerce!

• network-enhanced word of mouth

• Amazon.com encourages their customers to "send a book to a friend"

TASK

In groups of 2 – 3, using either an above the line technique or a below the line technique, create an advertisement for the cigarette brand Luck Strike

• http://workbench.cadenhead.org/news/3495/mad-men-smoke-smoke-smoke-cigarette

Promotional MixComponent What it is

Advertising Deliver messages using paid media; develop attitudes, build awareness, inform, persuade

Paid media, identified sponsor, inexpensive & inefficient

Public Relations (PR) & Publicity

Creating a positive image, or delivering “interesting” information (publicity)

Unpaid media

Direct Marketing Highly targeted messages to target audience No personal contact

Sales Promotion Stimulate sales; coupons, competitions, visual merchandising, etc.

No media, no personal contact

Personal Selling Delivering messages directly to customer; person-to-person.

Expensive & efficient

The combination of promotional techniques that a firm uses to communicate the

benefits of its products to customers

Promotional Mix

• Eight stages in deciding on a promotional mix1. Decide on the image of the product2. Develop a profile of the target market3. Decide on the messages to communicate4. Set an appropriate budget5. Decide how the messages should be communicated 6. Establish how the success of the promotional mix is to be

assessed7. Undertake the promotional plan and the mix elements of

it8. Measure its success

The Promotional Mix

Advertising

Direct Marketing

Sales Promotion

Public Relations

Promotional Goals

1. Persuade, Remind, Inform the Market about Products

2. Create a Positive Public Image

Support Each Other

Messages to Customers & Public

Personal Selling

Promotion and the product life cycleStage of the cycle Promotional options

Introduction • Informative advertising • Sales promotion offering

free samplesGrowth • Focus shifts to brand

building• Sales promotion to

encourage repeat purchase• Attempt to develop brand

loyaltyMaturity • Advertising to emphasize

specification of product• Sales promotion incentives

to encourage brand development

Decline • Minimal advertising• Sales promotion