Promotional Mix Marketing Mix: Product Price Promotion Place Public Relations & Publicity Advertising Sales Promotions Personal Selling

Promotion Goal #1: To Inform To inform potential and current customers of a new product of service or an improvement to an existing product Usually takes place during the introduction stage of the product life cycle During this stage a great deal of emphasis is placed on providing information to the customer Expectation is that the information will help consumers make more intelligent purchasing decisions Some products & services require complex and detailed promotion Examples - automobiles, electronic equipment, services Established products also use promotion to inform When a product is improved or reformulated Arm & Hammer used promotion to encourage people to put baking soda in their refrigerators, dresser drawers, toothpaste…

Goal #2: To Persuade Attempts to encourage a customer to take a specific action, such as purchasing a product Example - encouraging people to purchase a healthier brand of bread or cereal Usually occurs during the growth stage of a product life cycle At this point, customers have a general awareness of the product and how it can fulfill their needs Moves from informing customers about a product to persuading them to buy Marketer emphasizes the product’s advantages over competitors Persuasive promotions often include coupons, rebates, or free samples to provide additional incentives to buy Persuasion is used throughout product life cycle for products that are competitive and similar to other brands

Goal #3: To Remind Remind customers about existing products on the market Remind customers about how good things taste, how attractive products look, or how companies have satisfied needs and wants in the past Used in the maturity stage “Classics” theme to remind adults of what mom used to serve “Eat them again for the first time”

Elements in Promotional Mix Public Relations & Publicity Public relations – any activity designed to create a favorable attitude toward a business, its products, or its policies Publicity – a specific kind of public relations that involves placing positive and newsworthy information about a business, its products, or its policies in the media. Advantage: FREE! Advantage: Viewed to be more objective than traditional advertising because publicity is “credible”

Elements in Promotional Mix Advertising – any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor Can be found everywhere… Print: newspaper, magazines Over the air: television, radio, web Signage: billboards, events One-way communication From advertiser TO customer No two-way interaction Businesses spend $200 billion/year on various types of advertising

Elements in Promotional Mix Sales promotion – represents all marketing activities, other than personal selling, advertising, and PR, that are used to stimulate consumer purchasing and sales effectiveness Often a short-term incentive offered to encourage buying a good or service Examples? Objectives: to increase sales, to inform customers about new products, and to create a positive store or corporate image

Elements in Promotional Mix Personal selling – requires individuals to make contact with potential buyers in order to complete a sale once a customer is attracted to a business by another element in the promotional mix The MOST expensive form of promotion, but… The MOST personal because it requires direct, personal contact $$$