1. 4.5 Promotion Aims: (AIDA) Definition: Arouse awareness
Generate interest
Inspire desire
Initiate adoption
of the product
It refers to the methods used by businesses to make customers aware of a product and adopt it.
It brings customers from a state of unawareness of the product to a state of adopting it.

2. Elements of promotion:
Above the line (pull) promotion
Below the line (push) promotion
Advertising
Sales promotion
Publicity
Sponsorship
Personal selling
Exhibitions and trade fairs
Direct mailing
Merchandising
Public relations

3. Above the line promotion
Above the line promotion refers mainly to advertising. It refers to methods over which a firm has no direct control and makes use of external agencies or media.
It allows the business to reach a wide audience and attract or ‘pull’ them into buying the product.
That’s why it is also referred as pull promotion.

4. Below the line promotion
This refers to any promotional activity which is not advertising.
It refers to methods over which the firm has direct control and do not use external agencies or media.
The business pushes the product towards targeted customers – push promotion.

5. Advertising
Informative, i.e. make consumers aware of the product specially new ones and give them some information on the product
Persuasive, i.e. convince consumers to buy a product because it is more desirable than others
Reassuring, i.e. reminding consumers that their purchases were correct and they should continue to buy the product
Advertising is a non- personal form of persuading customers to buy a product. It is mostly done above the line.
3 objectives:

6. Main types of advertising
Press
Television
Radio
Outdoor (Billboards
Internet

7. The press: newspapers and magazines
The press is the most important medium of advertising in terms of expenditure. The press consists of daily and Sunday newspapers and magazines which are mainly periodicals (weekly, monthly, etc.).
Advertising in periodical magazines is normally of a specialist nature to target a market segment , e.g. cars, musical instrument, etc.
Small businesses often use local newspapers.

8. Adv. and disadv. of using the press
Advantages:
It is permanent. The advert can be cut and kept for future reference.
More information can be provided than in TV or radio advertising
Disadvantages:
It suffers from a lack of impact when compared to TV advert

9. Television advertising
This is mainly used by big firms who can afford the high price of a
TV slot. Sound and moving pictures can bring powerful message
in a very short time to the viewer
Advantages:
It can have a very powerful impact on the viewers.
A very wide and even global audience can be targeted
Disadvantages:
It is very costly to produce a television slot and hence very
expensive for businesses to buy advertising slot.

10. Radio advertising
This refers to advertising using radio time slots. It is the fastest
growing advertising medium. There is an increasing number of
people listening to radio. The number of independent radio stations
and internet radios is constantly increasing.
Advantages:
Radio advertising can reach a very large audience and yet cheaper
than television a greater number
Listeners can do other things while exposed to the promotions
With internet technology, radio promotions can reach almost anyone
In the world
Disadvantages
There is no visual impact with the absence of moving images
There is lower attention level than with television promotion

11. Outdoor advertising (Posters, billboards, etc)
Outdoor advertising refers to the use of billboards, posters, banners
to promote a business, a product or brand name. These appear on a
variety of locations (shopping malls, road sides, vehicles, etc.) where
they are visible to large number of people. They tend to be large with
short messages as passers-by or motorist have a few seconds to look at.
A recent development is the use of electronic screens with
rotating advertisements.
Advantage
It can be seen repeatedly
There is a high rate of exposure
Disadvantage
It contain a limited amount of information
Prone to damage, vandalism and grafiti

12. Internet advertising
This refers to advertising using (firm’s) own websites , networking
websites or other electronic sites.
It is the advertising medium which is growing at the fastest rate.
More and more businesses have their own websites and are selling
on line.
Advantage
Websites can be accessed worldwide by consumers
Disadvantage
The audience is limited to internet users

13. Below the line promotion
This refers to any promotional activity which is not advertising.
It refers to methods over which the firm has direct control and do not use external agencies or media.
The business pushes the product towards targeted customers – push promotion.

14. Sales promotion
Sales promotions are incentives offered to consumers to encourage
them to buy goods and services. Examples include:
Free samples
Temporary discounts or discount vouchers
Gifts in exchange of product labels or buy one get one free
Products give rights to enter into competition with major prizes
After sale guarantee
Loyalty cards or loyalty gifts
Advantage
Sales promotion can boost up sales although temporarily
Disadvantage
The free samples, gifts, etc. reduce profits

15. Public relations
This refers to the business communicating with the public to improve
its image or products. Such exercises include:
Press conference where journalists are invited to a presentation and
are given information about the company or products.
Press release, that is, written statement of events, activities or products
which may be considered newsworthy.

16. Packaging promotion
This refers to the additional information on the product on the protective packaging.
It also refers to promoting the business name on carrier bags provided by many retailers.

17. Sponsorship
This involves providing funds for the conduct of an event, mostly
sporting events (e.g. Coca Cola for the Olympic Games in Beijing).
It also involves supporting teams or individuals athlete. Other forms
of sponsorships take place in the community, the cultural and
educational world

18. Merchandising/point of sales promotion
Merchandising is an attempt to influence consumers at the point of
concluding sales by proper display of products. The aim is to make
consumers buy what they can see at the point of sale rather than
from a sales assistant.
Supermarkets , petrol stations and banks use this method extensively.
Whilst customers are waiting in line, they are exposed to items such
confectionary, magazines, insurance, etc.
Other features of merchandising used to attract customers to
buy other things they had not intended to buy include:
giant posters,
taste the product,
soft music,
announcement, etc.

19. Publicity
Publicity is the process of promoting a business or product by
getting media coverage without directly paying for it. Although
the publicity is free, it is the result of a patronage of sports, arts
or learning. For example, giving a Ferrari to a celebrity may result
in a wide coverage of the car.
Advantage
Publicity generates favorable coverage for a product or business
Disadvantage
Publicity is the result of patronage which involves costs.

20. Direct marketing or personal selling
Direct marketing occurs when a firm’s salesmen promote a product
through personal contact. This can be done over the phone, by
sending s or by knocking at the doors. It is often used for
industrial goods (airplanes, plants and machineries), properties,
insurance, financial planning, etc.
Advantage
It enables explaining technical aspects of a product
Orders can be obtained
Disadvantage
The cost of maintaining a team of sales representatives can be
expensive

21. Fairs and exhibitions
These are mainly used where there is a need to demonstrate a
product or to discuss the technical aspects of the product with
customers.
Advantage
They give a chance to show how a product actually works
They allow customers to discuss about a product
Disadvantage
Staff have to be remove from work to be available on spot

22. Direct mail
This is a bit different from direct marketing. Here information is sent
to the customers through the post or with the option of
placing an order. it is used by mail order business,
local food outlets, bookshops, etc.
Advantage
A wide audience can be reached and it is relatively cheap
Disadvantage
Many people disregard the materials posted or block such s

23. Word of mouth
Word of mouth promotion refers to the spreading of information
about a product from one person to another through oral
communication. When the message is transferred electronically
it is known as P2P (peer to peer)
Advantages
It is the cheapest form of promotion as there is no cost to the firm .
Disadvantage
It can be damaging if the wrong information is spread

24. Promotional mix
Promotional mix refers to the range of promotional methods used
by a business. A business usually uses different methods to promote
its products. There are a number of factors the will influence the mix
and these include:
The type of the product
The type of the market
The cost
The promotional mix of competitors
The product life cycle