The Marketing Mix

Promotion In Detail

Introduction

This article expands LearnMarketing's Marketing Mix article about Promotion. We focus on personal selling, direct marketing, advertising, sales promotion, public relations, sponsorship and viral marketing.

Promotion Through Personal Selling

Personal selling is a vital part of promotion and involves selling on a one to one basis either in person, over the phone and even through a web chat. In our promotional section we talked about push and pull strategies. If the organisation is using a pull strategy to sell the product a sales force will be required to make sure that retail outlets are looked after well, that they have enough stock, are trained well so they can push the product to the consumer. With a push strategy the sales force will need to try and persuade retail outlets to carry stock of your product.

Promotion Through Direct Marketing

The aim of direct marketing is to create one to one relationships with the organisation's target market. Direct marketing can come in the form of post, e-mail, telephone calls and mail order. Direct marketing usually involves marketing to a named person rather than sending out general letters which aren't aimed at a particular person.

Promotion Through Advertising

Advertising can be defined as placing your message (promotion) in any form of paid media. Advertising has a number of objectives including:

To promote the product
To remind customers
To support marketing activities
To compete with other organisations
To persuade customers to provide you with business

Advertising will be aimed at the public as a whole or at specific parties.

The diagram above illistrates advertising communication and the group it is targeting

Above the Line Advertising

Above the line advertising is promotion through mass media such as TV, radio, newspaper and cinema. Above the line advertising is general advertising aimed at the public in general.

Below the Line Advertising

Below the line advertising is promotion aimed at the firm's target group. It includes general advertising in a location where the firm's target group are likely to be. Examples include:

Direct mail to named parties
Sponsorship at major events which will be visited and seen by the target group.
Advertising on hoardings and billboards in areas visited by the target group.
Sales staff in retail stores and at locations visited by the firm's target group.

Below the line advertising does not use mass media as this form of promotion is aimed at specific groups and parties.

Through The Line Advertising

Through the line advertising is promotion which uses above the line advertising to collate data for below the line advertising. For example a television advert which is mass media and therefore categorised as above the line advertising, may offer free advice and goodies to people who respond to the advert. The names and addresses of the respondents (people who saw the advert and decided to contact the firm) will be recorded so that their details can be used for future below the line advertising.