CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

CORPORATE
COMMUNICATION
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CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
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CORPORATE COMMUNICATION 552/02/SO
1. AIM
Equipping the management trainee with knowledge and skills to effectively communicate marketing ideas, messages and products.
2. OBJECTIVES
The student should be able to:
1.1. Promote the image of the organization.
1.2. Effectively promote the organization’s products.
1.3. Personally present products to clients/customer and potential customers nationally and internationally.
1.4. Advise on communications and promotional regulations, laws and ethical issues
1.5. Launch and administer a sales promotion
1.6. Apply information technology in promotion
1.7. Advertise products and services in the electronic media
1.8. Advertise products and services in the print media
3. CONTENT
The role of the manager in corporate communications as all embracing
(a) ADVERTISING
(b) SALES PROMOTION
(c) PERSONAL SELLING
(d) PUBLICITY
(e) PUBLIC RELATIONS
(f) DIRECT MARKETING
(g) INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
The role of the manager in corporate communication
4. ADVERTISING
a) Definition
b) Role in society
c) Advertising & the market process.
d) Behavioral aspects of advertising
e) Advertising research
f) Advertising media
g) Creating advertisements
5. SALES PROMOTION
a) Definition
b) Forms
c) Links with other elements of promotion mix i.e. advertising
6. PUBLICITY
(a) Definition
(b) Forms
(c) Links with other promotion mix elements
(d) Financial implications of publicity
7. PERSONAL SELLING
(a) The promotional elements of personal selling
(b) Types of personal selling
(c) Linkage with other promotional elements
8. DIRECT MARKETING
(a) Definition
(b) Forms of direct marketing
(c) Relationship with other elements of the promotion mix.
9. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
(a) Explain the role of IT in promotion.
(b) Examine the opportunities that IT can provide in promotion.
(c) Information technology and promotion media
10. ETHICS & LEGAL ISSUES
(a) Promotion ethics
(b) Legislation and implications in advertising, and other forms of communication.
11. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
(a) National & international marketing environment
(b) International markets
(c) Methods of entering international markets

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INTRO TO CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
• Corporate communication is the communication issued by a corporate / organization / body / institute to
all its public(s).
• Publics here can be both internal (employees, stakeholders, i.e. - share and stock holders) and external
(agencies, channel partners, media, government, industry bodies and institutes, educational institutes and
general public).
• An organization needs to talk the same message to all of its stakeholders, in order to transmit coherence,
credibility and ethic. If one of these points is broken, the whole community can make this organization
disappears, from one day to the other.
• The Corporate Communication area will help this organization to build its message, combining its vision,
mission and values and will also support the organization by communicating its message, activities and
practices to all of its stakeholders.
According to the book Essentials of Corporate Communication by Cees van Riel and Charles Fombrun
o The term Corporate Communication can be defined as the set of activities involved in managing and orchestrating
all internal and external communications aimed at creating favorable starting points with stakeholders on which
the company depends.
o Corporate communication consists of the dissemination of information by a variety of specialists and
generalists in an organization, with the common goal of enhancing the organization's ability to retain its license
to operate.
o As Jackson (1987) remarks: Note that it is corporate communication - without a final "s". Tired of being called
on to fix the company switchboard, recommend an answering machine or meet a computer salesman, I long
ago adopted this form as being more accurate and left communications to the telecommunications specialists.
It's a small point but another attempt to bring clarity out of confusion.
o Corporate communication serves as the liaison between an organization and its publics.
o Organizations can strategically communicate to their audiences through public relations and advertising. This
may involve an employee newsletter or video, crisis management with the news media, special events planning,
building product value and communicating with stockholders, clients or donors.
What corporate communication encodes and promotes
1. Strong corporate culture
2. Coherent corporate identity
3. Reasonable corporate philosophy
4. Genuine sense of corporate citizenship
5. An appropriate and professional relationship with the press, including quick, responsible ways of
communicating in a crisis
6. Understanding of communication tools and technologies
7. Sophisticated approaches to global communications
How an organization communicates with its employees, its extended audiences, the press and its customers brings
its values to life.
Corporate communications is all about managing perceptions and ensuring:
a) Effective and timely dissemination of information
b) Positive corporate image
c) Smooth and affirmative relationship with all stakeholders
Be it a corporate body, company, organization, institution, non-governmental organization, governmental
body, all of them needs to have a respectable image and reputation. In today's day and age of increasing
competition, easy access to information and the media explosion, reputation management has gained even

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more importance. Therefore, corporate communications as a role has become significant and professional in
nature.
Gone are the days when corporate communication merely meant 'wining and dining the client' - it has now
emerged as a science and art of perception management.
Key tasks of corporate communication
The responsibilities of corporate communication are therefore:
1. To flesh out the profile of the company behind the brand (corporate branding);
2. To develop initiatives that minimize discrepancies between the company's desired identity and brand
features;
3. To indicate who should perform which tasks in the field of communication;
4. To formulate and execute effective procedures in order to facilitate decision making about matters
concerning communication;
5. To mobilize internal and external support behind corporate objectives.
Tools of corporate communication
Integrated communication can be achieved in various ways. The main four practices are:
1. Application of visual identity systems (sometimes referred to as house style)
2. Use of integrated marketing communications;
3. Reliance on coordinating teams;
4. Adoption of a centralized planning system.
The communication agenda: to build reputation
• Corporate communication helps an organization to create distinctive and appealing images with its stakeholder
groups, build a strong corporate brand, and develop reputation capital. To achieve those ends, all forms of
communication must be orchestrated into a coherent whole and success criteria developed that enable
measuring the effects of the organization's communication on its reputation and value.
External communication
Media relations
This involves building and maintaining a positive relationship with the media (television, print, web, et cetera).
This includes, but is not limited to, drafting and dissemination of press releases, organizing press conferences
and meeting with media professionals and organizing events for the media as a group.
External events
Could involve vendor / supplier / distributor meets, channel partner meetings, events related to product
launches, important initiatives, et cetera.
Company/spokesperson profiling
Ensuring that the company/organization spokesperson is in the public limelight, is well-known and considered
as an authority in the respective sector/field.
• Managing content of corporate websites and/or other external touch points
• Managing corporate publications - for the external world
• Managing print media
Brand management
Development and upkeep of the corporate identity to ensure adherence to corporate brand guidelines

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To improve overall business communications so as to clearly and effectively communicate the essence of the
company.
Corporate identity/organizational identity
There are two approaches for Identity, respectively Corporate Identity and Organizational Identity.
• Corporate identity is the reality and uniqueness of an organization, which is integrally related to its external
and internal image and reputation through corporate communication (Gray and Balmer, 1998)
• Organizational Identity comprises those characteristics of an organization that its members believe are central,
distinctive and enduring. That is, organizational identity consists of those attributes that members feel are
fundamental to (central) and uniquely descriptive of (distinctive) the organization and that persist within the
organization over time (enduring). (Pratt and Foreman, 2000)
Corporate reputation
Reputations are overall assessments of organizations by their stakeholders. They are aggregate perceptions by
stakeholders of an organization’s ability to fulfil their expectations, whether these stakeholders are interested in buying
the company's products, working for the company, or investing in the company's shares.
In 2000, the US based Council of PR Firms identified seven programs that were developed by either media organizations
or market research firms, and that were being used by companies to assess or benchmark their corporate reputations. Of
these only three are conducted regularly and have broad visibility:
• America's Most Admired Companies by Fortune Magazine;
• The Brand Asset Valuator by Young Rubicam;
• RepTrak by Reputation Institute.
Corporate image
A corporate image refers to how a corporation is perceived. It is a generally accepted image of what a
company stands for. Marketing experts who use public relations and other forms of promotion to suggest a
mental picture to the public. Typically, a corporate image is designed to be appealing to the public, so that the
company can spark an interest among consumers, create share of mind, generate brand equity, and thus
facilitate product sales.
A corporation's image is not solely created by the company: Other contributors to a company's image could
include news media, journalists, labor unions, environmental organizations, and other NGOs.
Corporations are not the only form of organization that create these types of images. Governments, charitable
organizations, criminal organizations, religious organizations, political organizations, and educational
organizations all tend to have a unique image, an image that is partially deliberate and partially accidental,
partially self-created and partially exogenous.
Corporate identity
In marketing, a corporate identity is the persona of a corporation which is designed to accord with and
facilitate the attainment of business objectives. It is usually visibly manifested by way of branding and the use
of trademarks.
Corporate identity comes into being when there is a common ownership of an organisational philosophy that is
manifest in a distinct corporate culture — the corporate personality. At its most profound, the public feel that
they have ownership of the philosophy.
In general, this amounts to a corporate title, logo (logotype and/or logogram), and supporting devices
commonly assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines govern how the identity is applied and
confirm approved colour palettes, typefaces, page layouts and other such methods of maintaining visual
continuity and brand recognition across all physical manifestations of the brand. These guidelines are usually
formulated into a package of tools called corporate identity manuals.
Many companies, such as McDonald's and Electronic Arts, have their own identity that runs through all of
their products and merchandise. The trademark M logo and the yellow and red appears consistently
throughout the McDonald's packaging and advertisements. Many companies pay large amounts of money for
an identity that is extremely distinguishable, so it can appeal more to its targeted audience.

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Concept
Corporate identity is often viewed as being composed of three parts:
• Corporate design (logos, uniforms, corporate colours etc.)
• Corporate communication (advertising, public relations, information, etc.)
• Corporate behavior (internal values, norms, etc.)
Corporate identity has become a universal technique for promoting companies and improving corporate culture.
Organizational point of view
In a recent monograph on Chinese corporate identity (Routledge, 2006), Peter Peverelli, proposes a new definition of
corporate identity, based on the general organization theory proposed in his earlier work, in particular Peverelli (2000).
This definition regards identity as a result of social interaction:
• Corporate identity is the way corporate actors (actors who perceive themselves as acting on behalf of the
company) make sense of their company in ongoing social interaction with other actors in a specific context. It
includes shared perceptions of reality, ways-to-do-things, etc., and interlocked behaviour.
• In this process the corporate actors are of equal importance as those others; corporate identity pertains to the
company (the group of corporate actors) as well as to the relevant others;
• Corporate actors construct different identities in different contexts.
Visual identity
Corporate visual identity plays a significant role in the way an organization presents itself to both internal and external
stakeholders. In general terms, a corporate visual identity expresses the values and ambitions of an organization, its
business, and its characteristics. Four functions of corporate visual identity can be distinguished. Three of these are
aimed at external stakeholders.
1. First, a corporate visual identity provides an organization with visibility and recognizability. For virtually all
profit and non-profit organizations, it is of vital importance that people know that the organization exists and
remember its name and core business at the right time.
2. Second, a corporate visual identity symbolizes an organization for external stakeholders, and, hence,
contributes to its image and reputation (Schultz, Hatch and Larsen, 2000). Van den Bosch, De Jong and Elving
(2005) explored possible relationships between corporate visual identity and reputation, and concluded that
corporate visual identity plays a supportive role in corporate reputations.
3. Third, a corporate visual identity expresses the structure of an organization to its external stakeholders,
visualising its coherence as well as the relationships between divisions or units. Olins (1989) is well-known for
his corporate identity structure, which consists of three concepts: monolithic brands for companies which
have a single brand, a branded identity in which different brands are developed for parts of the organization or
for different product lines, and an endorsed identity with different brands which are (visually) connected to
each other. Although these concepts introduced by Olins are often presented as the corporate identity
structure, they merely provide an indication of the visual presentation of (parts of) the organization. It is
therefore better to describe it as a corporate visual identity structure.
4. A fourth, internal function of corporate visual identity relates to employees' identification with the organization
as a whole and/or the specific departments they work for (depending on the corporate visual strategy in this
respect). Identification appears to be crucial for employees, and corporate visual identity probably plays a
symbolic role in creating such identification.
The definition of the corporate visual identity management is:
Corporate visual identity management involves the planned maintenance, assessment and development of a
corporate visual identity as well as associated tools and support, anticipating developments both inside and
outside the organization, and engaging employees in applying it, with the objective of contributing to
employees' identification with and appreciation of the organization as well as recognition and appreciation
among external stakeholders.
Special attention is paid to corporate identity in times of organizational change. Once a new corporate identity
is implemented, attention to corporate identity related issues generally tends to decrease. However, corporate
identity needs to be managed on a structural basis, to be internalized by the employees and to harmonize with
future organizational developments.

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Efforts to manage the corporate visual identity will result in more consistency and the corporate visual identity
management mix should include structural, cultural and strategic aspects.[5] Guidelines, procedures and tools
can be summarized as the structural aspects of managing the corporate visual identity.
However, as important as the structural aspects may be, they must be complemented by two other types of
aspects. Among the cultural aspects of corporate visual identity management, socialization – i.e., formal and
informal learning processes – turned out to influence the consistency of a corporate visual identity. Managers
are important as a role model and they can clearly set an example. This implies that they need to be aware of
the impact of their behavior, which has an effect on how employees behave. If managers pay attention to the
way they convey the identity of their organization, including the use of a corporate visual identity, this will have
a positive effect on the attention employees give to the corporate visual identity.
Further, it seems to be important that the organization communicates the strategic aspects of the corporate
visual identity. Employees need to have knowledge of the corporate visual identity of their organization – not
only the general reasons for using the corporate visual identity, such as its role in enhancing the visibility and
recognizability of the organization, but also aspects of the story behind the corporate visual identity. The story
should explain why the design fits the organization and what the design – in all of its elements – is intended to
express.
Learning Objectives: Communications and the Promotional Mix
i. Define the term promotional mix.
ii. List the five elements of the promotional mix.
iii. List and explain the nine elements of the communications process.
iv. Explain the difference between explicit and implicit communications.
v. List the principal goals of promotion.
vi. Explain the relationship of the promotional mix and the marketing mix.
Learning Objectives:
Communications and the Promotional Mix
i. Define the terms advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, merchandising, public relations and publicity.
ii. List the advantages and disadvantages of each of the five promotional mix elements.
iii. Identify the factors that affect the promotional mix.
The Basic Model of Communications
Five Promotional Mix Elements
i. Advertising
ii. Personal selling (sales)
iii. Public relations and publicity
iv. Sales promotion
v. Merchandising Direct Marketing
The Difference between Explicit and Implicit Communications
i. Explicit communications: definite messages given to customers through the use of language, either oral or
written (i.e., through the five promotional mix elements)
ii. Implicit communications: promotional cues or messages conveyed through body language or by another non-verbal
means.
Three Principal Goals of Promotion
i. To inform.
ii. To persuade.
iii. To remind.
RIP acronym = Remind - Inform - Persuade

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Definitions of Individual-Promotional Mix Elements
Advertising:
Any paid form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.
Personal selling:
Oral conversations, either by telephone or face-to-face, between sales persons and prospective customers.
Sales promotion:
Approaches other than advertising, personal selling, and public relations and publicity where customers are
given a short-term inducement to make an immediate purchase.
Merchandising:
Materials used in-house to stimulate sales.
Public relations:
All the activities that a hospitality and travel organization engages in to maintain or improve its
relationship with other organizations and individuals.
Publicity:
One public relations technique that involves non-paid communication of information about an
organization’s services.
Advantages of Advertising
i. Low cost per contact.
ii. Ability to reach potential visitors where sales staff cannot.
iii. Great scope for creative versatility and dramatization of messages.
iv. Ability to create images that sales staff cannot.
v. Non-threatening nature of non-personal presentation.
vi. Prestige and impressiveness of mass-media advertising.
Disadvantages of Advertising
i. Inability to close sales.
ii. Advertising clutter.
iii. Ability for visitor to ignore advertising messages.
iv. Difficulties in getting immediate response and action.
v. Difficulties in getting quick feedback and in adjusting messages.
vi. Difficulties in measuring effectiveness.
vii. Relatively high waste factor.
Advantages of Personal Selling (Sales)
i. Ability to close sales.
ii. Ability to hold the prospect’s attention.
iii. Immediate feedback and two-way communications.
iv. Presentations can be tailored to the prospect’s needs.
v. Ability to precisely target the prospect.
vi. Ability to get immediate action.
Disadvantages of Personal Selling (Sales)
i. High cost per contact.
ii. Inability to reach some customers as effectively.
Advantages of Sales Promotions
i. Sales promotions have some of the advantages of advertising and sales.
ii. Ability to get quick feedback.
iii. Ability to add excitement to what is being offered by the destination.
iv. Flexible timing.
v. Efficiency.
Disadvantages of Sales Promotions
i. Many sales promotions only provide short-term benefits.

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ii. Ineffective in building long-term loyalty for the destination.
iii. Inability to be used in the long term without other promotional mix elements.
iv. Often misused by tourism and hospitality organizations (e.g., coupons).
Advantages of Merchandising
i. Merchandising materials can stimulate impulse purchases and higher per capita spending.
ii. Provides support for advertising campaigns.
Disadvantages of Merchandising
i. Not very effective in building long-term loyalty for the destination.
ii. May contribute to visual clutter.
iii. May not be noticed by visitors or potential visitors.
Advantages of Public Relations and Publicity
i. Relatively low cost.
ii. Effective because not seen as a commercial message.
iii. Credibility and implied endorsements (e.g., articles by travel critics).
iv. Prestige and impressiveness of mass-media coverage (e.g., feature articles).
v. Added excitement and dramatization.
vi. Maintenance of a “public” presence.
Disadvantages of Public Relations and Publicity
i. Difficulties in arranging consistent coverage of the destination.
ii. Lack of control over what gets printed or said.
Factors that Affect the Promotional Mix
i. Target markets
ii. Marketing objectives
iii. Competition and promotional practices
iv. Promotional budget available
What are corporate/ marketing communications?
o Any method by which your company communicates with anyone, either internally or externally.
o Corporate/ marketing communications is a subset of the overall subject area known as marketing. Marketing
has a marketing mix that is made of price, place, promotion, product (known as the four P's), that includes
people, processes and physical evidence, when marketing services (known as the seven P's).
o How does marketing communications fit in? Marketing communications is 'promotion' from the marketing
mix.
Corporate or Marketing communications (or marcom) are messages and related media used to communicate with a
market. Those who practice advertising, branding, direct marketing, graphic design, marketing, packaging, promotion,
publicity, public relations, sales, sales promotion and online marketing are termed marketing communicators, marketing
communication managers, or more briefly as marcom managers.
Traditionally, marketing or corporate communication practitioners focus on the creation and execution of printed
marketing collateral; however, academic and professional research developed the practice to use strategic elements of
branding and marketing in order to ensure consistency of message delivery throughout an organization. Many trends in
business can be attributed to marketing communication; for example: the transition from customer service to customer
relations, and the transition from human resources to human solutions. In branding, opportunities to contact stakeholders
are called brand touchpoints (or points of contact.) Marketing communication is concerned with the general behavior of an
organization and the perceptions of the organization that are promoted to stakeholders through these touch points.
Integrated marketing communication presents aspiration for companies to develop and optimal combination of
communication elements in order to maximize effects and minimize losses (defined as investment which did not result in
goal achievement).

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AIDA
AIDA is an acronym used in marketing that describes a common list of events that are very often undergone when a
person is selling a product or service:
A - Attention: attract the attention of the customer.
I - Interest: raise customer interest by demonstrating features, advantages, and benefits.
D - Desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will satisfy their
needs.
A - Action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing.
Nowadays some have add another letter to form AIDA(S) :
S - Satisfaction - satisfy the customer so they become a repeat customer and give referrals to a product
AIDA is the original sales training acronym, from the late 1950's, when selling was first treated as a professional
discipline, and sales training began. AIDA is even more relevant today. If you remember just one sales or selling model,
remember AIDA. Often called the 'Hierarchy of Effects', AIDA describes the basic process by which people become
motivated to act on external stimulus, including the way that successful selling happens and sales are made.
A - Attention
I - Interest
D - Desire
A - Action
The AIDA process also applies to any advertising or communication that aims to generate a response, and it provides a
reliable template for the design of all sorts of marketing material.
Simply, when we buy something we buy according to the AIDA process. So when we sell something we must sell go
through the AIDA stages. Something first gets our attention; if it's relevant to us we are interested to learn or hear
more about it. If the product or service then appears to closely match our needs and/or aspirations, and resources,
particularly if it is special, unique, or rare, we begin to desire it. If we are prompted or stimulated to overcome our
natural caution we may then become motivated or susceptible to taking action to buy.
Some AIDA pointers:
Attention
• Getting the other person's attention sets the tone: first impressions count , so smile - even on the phone
because people can hear it in your voice - be happy (but not annoyingly so) be natural, honest and professional.
• If you're not in the mood to smile do some paperwork instead. If you rarely smile then get out of selling.
• Getting attention is more difficult than it used to be, because people are less accessible, have less free time, and
lots of competing distractions, so think about when it's best to call.
• Gimmicks, tricks and crafty techniques don't work, because your prospective customers - like the rest of us -
are irritated by hundreds of them every day.
• If you are calling on the phone or meeting face-to-face you have about five seconds to attract attention, by
which time the other person has formed their first impression of you.
• Despite the time pressure, relax and enjoy it - expect mostly to be told 'no thanks' - but remember that every
'no' takes you closer to the next 'okay'.
Interest
• You now have maybe 5-15 seconds in which to create some interest.
• Something begins to look interesting if it is relevant and potentially advantageous. This implies a lot:
• The person you are approaching should have a potential need for your product or service or proposition
(which implies that you or somebody else has established a target customer profile).

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• You must approach the other person at a suitable time (ie it's convenient, and that aspects of seasonality and
other factors affecting timing have been taken into account)
• You must empathize with and understand the other person's situation and issues, and be able to express
yourself in their terms (ie talk their language).
Desire
• The sales person needs to be able to identify and agree the prospect's situation, needs, priorities and constraints
on personal and organizational levels, through empathic questioning and interpretation.
• You must build rapport and trust, and a preparedness in the prospect's mind to do business with you
personally (thus dispelling the prospect's feelings of doubt or risk about your own integrity and ability).
• You must understand your competitors' capabilities and your prospect's other options.
• You must obviously understand your product (specification, options, features, advantages, and benefits), and
particularly all relevance and implications for your prospect.
• You must be able to present, explain and convey solutions with credibility and enthusiasm.
• The key is being able to demonstrate how you, your own organization and your product will suitably, reliably
and sustainably 'match' the prospect's needs identified and agreed, within all constraints.
• Creating desire is part skill and technique, and part behaviour and style. In modern selling and business, trust
and relationship (the 'you' factor) are increasingly significant, as natural competitive development inexorably
squeezes and reduces the opportunities for clear product advantage and uniqueness.
Action
• Simply the conversion of potential into actuality, to achieve or move closer to whatever is the aim.
• Natural inertia and caution often dictate that clear opportunities are not acted upon, particularly by purchasers
of all sorts, so the sales person must suggest, or encourage agreement to move to complete the sale or move to
the next stage.
• The better the preceding three stages have been conducted, then the less emphasis is required for the action
stage; in fact on a few rare occasions in the history of the universe, a sale is so well conducted that the prospect
decides to take action without any encouragement at all.
AIDCA
• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Commitment
• Action

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The Marketing Mix
(The 4 P's of Marketing)
The major marketing management decisions can be classified in one of the following four categories:
• Product
• Price
• Place (distribution)
• Promotion
These variables are known as the marketing mix or the 4 P's of marketing. They are the variables
that marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers in the target market. The
marketing mix is portrayed in the following diagram:
The Marketing Mix
Product
Place
Target
Market
Price
Promotion
The firm attempts to generate a positive response in the target market by blending these four
marketing mix variables in an optimal manner.
Product
The product is the physical product or service offered to the consumer. In the case of physical
products, it also refers to any services or conveniences that are part of the offering.
Product decisions include aspects such as function, appearance, packaging, service, warranty, etc.
Price
Pricing decisions should take into account profit margins and the probable pricing response of
competitors. Pricing includes not only the list price, but also discounts, financing, and other options
such as leasing.

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Place
Place (or placement) decisions are those associated with channels of distribution that serve as the
means for getting the product to the target customers. The distribution system performs
transactional, logistical, and facilitating functions.
Distribution decisions include market coverage, channel member selection, logistics, and levels of
service.
Promotion
Promotion decisions are those related to communicating and selling to potential consumers. Since
these costs can be large in proportion to the product price, a break-even analysis should be
performed when making promotion decisions. It is useful to know the value of a customer in order
to determine whether additional customers are worth the cost of acquiring them.
Promotion decisions involve advertising, public relations, media types, etc.
A Summary Table of the Marketing Mix
The following table summarizes the marketing mix decisions, including a list of some of the aspects
of each of the 4Ps.
Summary of Marketing Mix Decisions
Product Price Place Promotion
Functionality
List price
Channel members
Appearance
Discounts
Channel motivation
Quality
Allowances
Market coverage
Packaging
Financing
Locations
Brand
Leasing options
Logistics
Warranty
Service levels
Service/Support
Advertising
Personal selling
Public relations
Message
Media
Budget
What is promotion?
1. Promotion is a form of corporate communication that uses various methods to reach a targeted audience with
a certain message in order to achieve specific organizational objectives. Nearly all organizations, whether for-profit
or not-for-profit, in all types of industries, must engage in some form of promotion. Such efforts may
range from multinational firms spending large sums on securing high-profile celebrities to serve as corporate
spokespersons to the owner of a one-person enterprise passing out business cards at a local businessperson’s
meeting.
2. In addition to coordinating general promotion decisions with other business areas, individual promotions must
also work together. Under the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication marketers attempt to develop
a unified promotional strategy involving the coordination of many different types of promotional techniques.
The key idea for the marketer who employs several promotional options (we’ll discuss potential options later in
this tutorial) to reach objectives for the product is to employ a consistent message across all options. For
instance, salespeople will discuss the same benefits of a product as mentioned in television advertisements. In
this way no matter how customers are exposed to a marketer’s promotional efforts they all receive the same
information.

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AIMS OF PROMOTION
1. To persuade
2. To educate
3. To inform
4. To remind
5. To reinforce
6. To reassure
7. To
complement
PROMOTION MIX ELEMENTS / STRATEGIES
1. Advertising
2. Sales promotion
3. Public relations
4. Personal selling
5. Direct marketing
6. Digital Marketing/ E-marketing
7. Publicity
Advertising – a mass media approach to promotion
• Outdoor
• Business directories
• Magazines / newspapers
• TV / cinema
• Radio
• Newsagent windows

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Sales promotion - price / money related communications
• Coupons
• Discounts
• Competitions
• Loyalty incentives
Public relations - using the press to your advantage
• Press launches
• PR events
• Press releases
Personal selling – one to one communication with a potential buyer
• Salesmen
• Experiential marketing
• Dealer or showroom sales activities
• Exhibitions
• Trade shows
Direct marketing - taking the message directly to the consumer
• Mail order catalogues
• Bulk mail
• Personalised letters
• Email
• Telemarketing
• Point of sale displays
• Packaging design
Digital marketing – new channels are emerging constantly
• Company websites
• Social media applications such as Facebook or Twitter
• Blogging
• Mobile phone promotions using technology such as bluetooth
• YouTube
• E-commerce

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Targets of Marketing Promotions/ Corporate Communication
The audience for an organization’s marketing communication efforts is not limited to just the marketer’s target market.
While the bulk of a marketer’s promotional budget may be directed at the target market, there are many other groups
that could also serve as useful target of a marketing message.
Targets of a marketing message generally fall into one of the following categories:

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• Members of the Organization’s Target Market – This category would include current customers, previous
customers and potential customers, and as noted, may receive the most promotional attention.
• Influencers of the Organization’s Target Market – There exists a large group of people and organizations
that can affect how a company’s target market is exposed to and perceives a company’s products. These
influencing groups have their own communication mechanisms that reach the target market and the marketer may
be able utilize these influencers to its benefit. Influencers include the news media (e.g., offer company stories),
special interest groups, opinion leaders (e.g., doctors directing patients), and industry trade associations.
• Participants in the Distribution Process – The distribution channel provides services to help gain access to
final customers and are also target markets since they must recognize a product’s benefits and agree to handle the
product in the same way as final customers who must agree to purchase products. Aiming promotions at
distribution partners (e.g., retailers, wholesalers, distributors) and other channel members is extremely important
and, in some industries, represents a higher portion of a marketer’s promotional budget than promotional
spending directed at the final customer.
• Other Companies – The most likely scenario in which a company will communicate with another company
occurs when the marketer is probing to see if the company would have an interest in a joint venture, such as a co-marketing
arrangement where two firms share marketing costs. Reaching out to other companies, including
companies who may be competitors for other products, could help create interest in discussing such a relationship.
• Other Organizational Stakeholders – Marketers may also be involved with communication activities directed
at other stakeholders. This group consists of those who provide services, support or, in other ways, impact the
company. For example, an industry group that sets industry standards can affect company products through the
issuance of recommended compliance standards for product development or other marketing activities.
Communicating with this group is important to insure the marketer’s views of any changes in standards are known.
Objectives of Corporate Communication/ Promotion
The most obvious objective for corporate communication activities is to convince customers to make a
decision that benefits the organization (of course the organization believes the decision will also benefit the
customer). For most for-profit marketers this means getting customers to buy an organization’s product and,
in most cases, to remain a loyal long-term customer. For other marketers, such as not-for-profits, it means
getting customers to increase donations, utilize more services, change attitudes, or change behavior (e.g., stop
smoking campaigns).
However, marketers must understand that getting customers to commit to a decision, such as a purchase
decision, is only achievable when a customer is ready to make the decision. As we saw in the AIDA above;
customers often move through several stages before a purchase decision is made. Additionally before turning
into a repeat customer, purchasers analyze their initial purchase to see whether they received a good value, and
then often repeat the purchase process again before deciding to make the same choice.
The type of customer the marketer is attempting to attract and which stage of the purchase process a customer
is in will affect the objectives of a particular marketing communication effort. And since a marketer often has
multiple simultaneous promotional campaigns, the objective of each could be different.
Types of Corporate Communication/ Promotion Objectives
The possible objectives for corporate communications may include the following:
• Build Awareness – New products and new companies are often unknown to a market, which means initial promotional
efforts must focus on establishing an identity. In this situation the marketer must focus promotion to: 1) effectively reach customers,
and 2) tell the market who they are and what they have to offer.
• Create Interest – Moving a customer from awareness of a product to making a purchase can present a significant challenge.
As we saw with our discussion of consumer and business buying behavior, customers must first recognize they have a need before they
actively start to consider a purchase. The focus on creating messages that convince customers that a need exists has been the hallmark
of marketing for a long time with promotional appeals targeted at basic human characteristics such as emotions, fears, sex, and humor.
• Provide Information – Some promotion is designed to assist customers in the search stage of the purchasing process. In
some cases, such as when a product is so novel it creates a new category of product and has few competitors, the information is simply
intended to explain what the product is and may not mention any competitors. In other situations, where the product competes in an
existing market, informational promotion may be used to help with a product positioning strategy

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• Stimulate Demand – The right promotion can drive customers to make a purchase. In the case of products that a
customer has not previously purchased or has not purchased in a long time, the promotional efforts may be directed at getting the
customer to try the product. This is often seen on the Internet where software companies allow for free demonstrations or even free
downloadable trials of their products. For products with an established customer-base, promotion can encourage customers to
increase their purchasing by providing a reason to purchase products sooner or purchase in greater quantities than they normally do.
For example, a pre-holiday newspaper advertisement may remind customers to stock up for the holiday by purchasing more than they
typically purchase during non-holiday periods.
• Reinforce the Brand – Once a purchase is made, a marketer can use promotion to help build a strong relationship that can
lead to the purchaser becoming a loyal customer. For instance, many retail stores now ask for a customer’s email address so that
follow-up emails containing additional product information or even an incentive to purchase other products from the retailer can be
sent in order to strengthen the customer-marketer relationship.
The Communication Process
With the aid of a diagram, discuss the communication process. (20 marks)

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SOURCE
• The source of the communication transaction is the originator of the message. Also known as the sender of
information, the source initiates the communication process. In speech communication, we can identify the
source to be the speaker, the one delivering the message. In daily life situations we are all sources of
information as we relate to others and speak our ideas to them. We are both a source of message, consciously
and unconsciously.
MESSAGE
• In the simplest sense, a message may be thought of as an idea, concept, emotion, desire, or feeling that a person
desires to share with another human being. A message may be in verbal or non-verbal codes. The purpose of a
message is to evoke meaning in another person. Some messages are intentional some are not.
CHANNEL
• A channel is the means by which a message moves from a person to another. The channel is the medium or
vehicle by which we are able to transmit the message to the recipient. The means we use to communicate is the
channel. The country’s president to deliver his message to his fellowmen may speak face to face with an
audience, via the broadcast media or via print. Language is the basic medium of communication available to
man.
RECEIVER
• The receiver gets the message channeled by the source of information. In a one way communication process, he
is in the other end. But in a dynamic communication process the receiver may start to share his ideas and hence
become also a source of information for the originator of the message. Listeners and audience are receivers of
information. In a classroom situation, the students spend a lot of time as receivers of information.
EFFECT
• Feedback is that integral part of the human communication process that allows the speaker to monitor the
process and to evaluate the success of an attempt to get the desired response from the receiver. Also called
“return signals,” it has a regulatory effect upon the speaker since the speaker must adjust to the feedback
responses in order to be successful. In a public communication situation, the response of acceptance of the
audience with their applause may be considered a feedback.
NOISE
• Noise may occur anywhere along the communication line, and it may be physical, physiological, or
psychological in nature. Noise is any interference in the communication process. Annoying vocal habits of the
speaker may interfere in the transmission of his verbal signals. Noise as a barrier may originate from the source
or the receiver, from the channel used in sending the message, or outside of the source and receiver’s control.
The poor listening of the audience and their unnecessary actions may also interfere in the communication
process.
CONTEXT
• Communication does not take place in a vacuum. Between communicators, the process takes place in a
particular communication situation where the identifiable elements of the process work in a dynamic
interrelation. This situation is referred to as the context - the when and where of a communication event.
Communication contexts vary depending on the need, purpose, number of communicators and the ways
exchange is taking place. Communication can be intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organizational, cultural,
public or mediated.
Knowing the elements of communication leads to a more meaningful understanding of the processes that
make it work. We communicate and we know it is important for us. To communicate effectively, we need
to have an understanding of how these elements work together in a process.
Obstacles to Effective Communication or promotion
1. Information Overload.
Too much information is as bad as too little because it reduces the audiences ability to concentrate effectively
on the most important messages. People facing information overload sometimes try to cope by ignoring some
of the messages, by delaying responses to messages they deem unimportant, by answering only parts of some
messages, by responding inaccurately to certain messages, by taking less time with each message, or by reacting
only superficially to all messages.

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To overcome information overload, realize that some information is not necessary, and make necessary
information easily available. Give information meaning rather than just passing it on, and set priorities for
dealing with the information flow. Some information isn't necessary.
2. Message Complexity.
When formulating business messages, you communicate both as an individual and as representative of an
organization. Thus you must adjust your own ideas and style so that they are acceptable to your employer. In
fact, you may be asked occasionally to write or say something that you disagree with personally. Suppose you
work as a recruiter for your firm. You've interviewed a job candidate you believe would make an excellent
employee, but others in the firm have rejected this applicant. Now you have to write a letter turning down the
candidate: You must communicate your firms message, regardless of your personal feelings, a task some
communicators find difficult.
To overcome the barriers of complex messages, keep them clear and easy to understand. Use strong
organization, guide readers by telling them what to expect, use concrete and specific language, and stick to the
point. Be sure to ask for feedback so that you can clarify and improve your message.
3. Message Competition.
Communicators are often faced with messages that compete for attention. If you're talking on the phone while
scanning a report, both messages are apt to get short shrift. Even your own messages may have to compete
with a variety of interruptions: The phone rings every five minutes, people intrude, meetings are called, and
crises arise. In short, your messages rarely have the benefit on the receivers undivided attention.
To overcome competition barriers, avoid making demands on a receiver who doesn't have the time to pay
careful attention to your message. Make written messages visually appealing and easy to understand, and try to
deliver them when your receiver has time to read them. Oral messages are most effective when you can speak
directly to your receiver (rather than to intermediaries or answering machines). Also, be sure to set aside
enough time for important messages that you receive. Business messages rarely have the benefit of the
audiences full and undivided attention.
4. Differing Status.
Employees of low status may be overly cautious when sending messages to managers and may talk only about
subjects they think the manager is interested in. Similarly, higher-status people may distort messages by refusing
to discuss anything that would tend to undermine their authority in the organization. Moreover, belonging to a
particular department or being responsible for a particular task can narrow your point of view so that it differs
from the attitudes, values, and expectations of people who belong to other departments or who are responsible
for other tasks.
To overcome status barriers, keep managers and colleagues well informed. Encourage lower-status employees
to keep you informed by being fair-minded and respectful of their opinions. When you have information that
you're afraid you boss might not like, be brave and convey it anyway. Status barriers can be overcome by a
willingness to give and receive bad news.
5. Lack of Trust, Building trust is a difficult problem.
Other organization members don't know whether you'll respond in a supportive or responsible way, so trusting
can be risky. Without trust, however, free and open communication is effectively blocked, threatening the
organization's stability. Just being clear in your communication is not enough.
To overcome trust barriers, be visible and accessible. Don't insulate yourself behind assistants or secretaries.
Share key information with colleagues and employees, communicate honestly, and include employees in
decision making. For communication to be successful, organizations must create an atmosphere of fairness and
trust.
6. Inadequate Communication Structures.
Organizational communication is effected by formal restrictions on who may communicate with whom and
who is authorized to make decisions. Designing too few formal channels blocks effective communication.
Strongly centralized organizations, especially those with a high degree of formalization, reduce communication
capacity, and they decrease the tendency to communicate horizontally thus limiting the ability to coordinate
activities and decisions. Tall organizations tend to provide too many vertical communication links, so messages
become distorted as they move through the organization's levels.

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To overcome structural barriers, offer opportunities for communicating upward, downward, and horizontally
(using such techniques as employee surveys, open-door policies, newsletters, memo, and task groups). Try to
reduce hierarchical levels, increase coordination between departments, and encourage two-way communication.
7. Incorrect Choice of Medium.
If you choose an inappropriate communication medium, your message can be distorted so that the intended
meaning is blocked. You can select the most appropriate medium by matching your choice with the nature of
the message and of the group or the individual who will receive it. Face-to-face communication is the richest
medium because it is personal, it provides immediate feedback, it transmits information from both verbal and
nonverbal cues, and it conveys the emotion behind the message. Telephones and other interactive electronic
media aren't as rich; although they allow immediate feedback, they don't provide visual nonverbal cues such as
facial expressions, eye contact and body movements. Written media can be personalized through addressed
memos, letters, and reports, but they lack the immediate feedback and the visual and vocal nonverbal cues that
contribute to the meaning of the message. The leanest media are generally impersonal written messages such as
bulletins, fliers, and standard reports. Not only do they lack the ability to transmit nonverbal cues and to give
feedback, they also eliminate any personal focus.
To overcome media barriers, choose the richest media for no routine, complex message. Use rich media to
extend and to humanize your presence throughout the organization, to communicate caring and personal
interest to employees, and to gain employee commitment to organizational goals. Use leaner media to
communicate simple, routine messages. You can send information such as statistics, facts, figures and
conclusions through a note, memo or written report
8. Closed communication climate.
Communication climate is influenced by management style, and a directive, authoritarian style blocks the free
and open exchange of information that characterizes good communication.
To overcome climate barriers, spend more time listening than issuing orders.
9. Unethical Communication.
An organization cannot create illegal or unethical messages and still be credible or successful in the long run.
Relationships within and outside the organization depend or trust and fairness.
To overcome ethics barriers, make sure your messages include all the information that ought to be there. Make
sure that information is adequate and relevant to the situation. And make sure your message is completely
truthful, not deceptive in any way.
10. Inefficient Communication.
Producing worthless messages wastes time and resources, and it contributes to the information overload
already mentioned.
Reduce the number of messages by thinking twice before sending one. Then speed up the process, first, by
preparing messages correctly the first time around and, second, by standardizing format and material when
appropriate. Be clear about the writing assignments you accept as well as the ones you assign.
11. Physical distractions.
Communication barriers are often physical: bad connections, poor acoustics, illegible copy. Although noise or
this sort seems trivial, it can completely block an otherwise effective message. Your receiver might also be
distracted by an uncomfortable chair, poor lighting, or some other irritating condition. In some cases, the
barrier may be related to the receiver's health. Hearing or visual impairment or even a headache can interfere
with reception of a message. These annoyances don't generally block communication entirely, but they may
reduce the receiver's concentration.
To overcome physical distractions, try to prepare well written documents which are clear, concise, and
comprehensive. When preparing oral presentations try to find a setting which permits audience to see and hear
the speaker clearly.
12. Potential Barrier in communication (Cultural Differences)
Cultural differences can cause many problems in an effective discussion, for example: If two people
are trying to have a discussion and both speak different languages, it would be extremely difficult to

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communicate, in different cultures hand signs represent gestures that the British take politely.
Religious issues can accelerate a normal discussion into a debate.
Possible ways of overcoming potential barriers that cultural differences create
There are some ways of resolving these, some of which are the following: learn their language, hire an
interpreter, carry a translating dictionary, Instead of trying to communicate with hand signs and
offend them, research some different signs that mean something polite and respectful, these are all
ways that can solve the problems of effective communication in cultural differences.
13. Potential Barrier in communication (Distractions)
Distractions are one of the most annoying potential barriers; sometimes they are inescapable or
unpreventable. However, some of them can be avoided, for example: mobile phones, people arriving
late, changing the subject, talking about a different topic, some of these are preventable though.
Possible ways to overcome potential barriers that distractions create
Some distractions are unpreventable, but are some are avoidable, for example: turn mobile phones
off, arrive on time or come in quietly. Some of the distractions that are inescapable are as follows:
road works outside, mobile phone, someone arriving late.
14. Potential Barrier in communication (Incorrect spelling/grammar)
Incorrect spelling is a potential barrier in communication because it can be misinterpreted as
something else and an important message might not be passed on, this can happen in any written
forms of communication, for example: email, snail- mail, memo, etc.
Possible ways to overcome potential barriers that incorrect spelling/grammar creates
There are a number of ways to overcome incorrect spelling/grammar; firstly the spellchecker is useful
for simple spelling and grammar mistakes. Next, proofreading is important as this is more accurate
than spellchecker because machines do not know what context is suitable; finally, a second opinion is
the best option to overcome this barrier, getting a friend to check the work over ensures better work.
15. Potential Barrier in communication (Terminology)
Using the wrong terminology is very poor quality communication; it can lead to misunderstanding of
an important issue, terminology that is too simple, example, thingy and stuff, is far too vaguer
terminology to understand, if someone is having a technical discussion about something they need to
use technical terminology. The wrong terminology can also result in loss of interest.
Possible ways to overcome potential barriers that incorrect terminology creates
There is no easy way to correct terminology; use same level of technical language, provide audience
with information about the topic to make communication easier, example: handouts.
16. Potential Barrier in communication (Loss of interest)
Loss of interest is the cause of poor communication, meaning a boring issue is being discussed or
incorrect terminology is being used. The subject might not be relevant to people in the audience,
talking too quietly, talking in a monotone.
Possible ways to overcome potential barriers that loss of interest causes
There are numerous ways to overcome loss of interest, for example: talking in different tones relevant
to the subject, interact with the audience, use interesting slideshows, video clips, and pictures. Loss of
interest is only caused by: a boring subject, the wrong terminology, talking in monotone, these
problems can easily be solved.
17. Poor Encoding –
This occurs when the message source fails to create the right sensory stimuli to meet the objectives of the
message. For instance, in person-to-person communication, verbally phrasing words poorly so the
intended communication is not what is actually said, is the result of poor encoding. Poor encoding is also
seen in advertisements that are difficult for the intended audience to understand, such as words or symbols
that lack meaning or, worse, have totally different meanings within a certain cultural groups. This often
occurs when marketers use the same advertising message across many different countries. Differences due
to translation or cultural understanding can result in the message receiver having a different frame of
reference for how to interpret words, symbols, sounds, etc. This may lead the message receiver to decode
the meaning of the message in a different way than was intended by the message sender.
18. Poor Decoding –
This refers to a message receiver’s error in processing the message so that the meaning given to the
received message is not what the source intended. This differs from poor encoding when it is clear,
through comparative analysis with other receivers, that a particular receiver perceived a message differently

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from others and from what the message source intended. Clearly, as we noted above, if the receiver’s
frame of reference is different (e.g., meaning of words are different) then decoding problems can occur.
More likely, when it comes to marketing promotions, decoding errors occur due to personal or
psychological factors, such as not paying attention to a full television advertisement, driving too quickly
past a billboard, or allowing one’s mind to wonder while talking to a salesperson.
19. Medium Failure –
Sometimes communication channels break down and end up sending out weak or faltering signals. Other
times the wrong medium is used to communicate the message. For instance, trying to educate doctors
about a new treatment for heart disease using television commercials that quickly flash highly detailed
information is not going to be as effective as presenting this information in a print ad where doctors can
take their time evaluating the information.
20. Communication Noise –
Noise in communication occurs when an outside force in someway affects delivery of the message. The
most obvious example is when loud sounds block the receiver’s ability to hear a message. Nearly any
distraction to the sender or the receiver can lead to communication noise. In advertising, many customers
are overwhelmed (i.e., distracted) by the large number of advertisements they encountered each day. Such
advertising clutter (i.e., noise) makes it difficult for advertisers to get their message through to desired
customers.
Factors that hinder effective communication or promotion- EXPAND
1. Media cost
2. Culture
3. Lacking knowledge of the target audience
4. Sending the wrong non verbal signals
5. Illiteracy/ literacy levels
6. Language limitations
7. Media limitations
8. Legal considerations
Keys to Effective Communication
For marketers understanding how communication works can improve the delivery of their message. From the
information just discussed, marketers should focus on the following to improve communication with their targeted
audience:
• Carefully Encode – Marketers should make sure the message they send is crafted in a way that will be interpreted by message
receivers as intended. This means having a good understanding of how their audience interprets words, symbols, sounds and other
stimuli used by marketers.
• Allow Feedback – Encouraging the message receiver to provide feedback can greatly improve communication and help determine
if a marketer’s message was decoded and interpreted properly. Feedback can be improved by providing easy-to-use options for
responding, such as phone numbers, Internet chat, and email.
• Reduce Noise – In many promotional situations the marketer has little control over interference with their message. However,
there are a few instances where the marketer can proactively lower the noise level. For instance, salespeople can be trained to reduce
noise by employing techniques that limit customer distractions, such as scheduling meetings during non-busy times or by inviting
potential customers to an environment that offers fewer distractions, such as a conference facility. Additionally, advertising can be
developed in ways that separates the marketer’s ad from others, including the use of white space in magazine ads.
• Choose Right Audience – Targeting the right message receiver will go a long way to improving a marketer’s ability to promote
their products. Messages are much more likely to be received and appropriately decoded by those who have an interest in the content
of the message.
Characteristics of Different Promotions
Before we discuss the different types of promotion options available to a marketer, it is useful to gain an understanding
of the features that set different options apart. For our discussion we isolate seven characteristics on which each
promotional option can be judged. While these characteristics are widely understood as being important in evaluating
the effectiveness of each type of promotion, they are by no means the only criteria used for evaluation. In fact, as new
promotional methods emerge the criteria for evaluating promotional methods will likely change.

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For our discussion we will look at the following characteristics of a promotional method:
1. Intended Audience: Mass vs. Targeted
2. Payment Model: Paid vs. Non-Paid
3. Interaction Type: Personal vs. Non-Personal
4. Message Flow: One-Way vs. Two-Way
5. Demand Creation: Quick vs. Lagging
6. Message Control
7. Message Credibility
8. Effective Cost of Promotion
1. Intended Audience: Mass Promotion vs. Targeted Promotion
Promotions can be categorized based on the intended coverage of a single promotional message. For instance,
a single television advertisement for a major sporting event, such as the Super Bowl, World Cup or Olympics,
could be seen by millions of viewers at the same time. Such mass promotion, intended to reach as many
people as possible, has been a mainstay of marketers’ promotional efforts for a long time.
Unfortunately, while mass promotions are delivered to a large number of people, the actual number that fall
within the marketer’s target market may be small. Because of this, many who use mass promotion techniques
find it to be an inefficient way to reach desired customers. Instead, today’s marketers are turning to newer
techniques designed to focus promotional delivery to only those with a high probability of being in the
marketer’s target market. For example, Google, Yahoo and other Internet search engines employ methods for
delivering highly targeted ads to customers as they enter search terms. The assumption made by advertisers is
that customers who enter search terms are interested in the information they have entered, especially if they are
searching by entering detailed search strings (e.g., phrases rather than a single word). Following this logic,
advertisers are much more likely to have their ads displayed to customers within their target market and, thus,
receive a higher return on their promotional investment. The movement to highly targeted promotions has
gained tremendous traction in recent years and, as new and improved targeting methods are introduced, its
importance will continue to grow.
2. Payment Model: Paid Promotion vs. Non-Paid Promotion
Most efforts to promote products require marketers to make direct payment to the medium that delivers the
message. For instance, a company must pay a magazine publisher to advertise in the magazine. However,
there are several forms of promotion that do not involve direct payment in order to distribute a promotional
message. While not necessarily “free” since there may be indirect costs involved, the ability to have a product
promoted without making direct payment to the medium can be a viable alternative to expensive promotion
options.
3. Interaction Type: Personal vs. Non-Personal
Promotions involving real people communicating with other people is considered personal promotion. While
salespeople are a common and well understood type of personal promotion, another type of promotion, called
controlled word-of-mouth promotion (a.k.a., buzz marketing), is emerging as a form of personal promotion.
Unlike salespeople who attempt to obtain an order from customers, controlled word-of-mouth promotion uses
real people to help spread information about a product but is not designed to directly elicit orders.
One key advantage personal promotions have is the ability for the message sender to adjust the message as they
gain feedback from message receivers (i.e., two-way communication). So if a customer does not understand
something in the initial message (e.g., doesn’t fully understand how the product works) the person delivering
the message can adjust the promotion to address questions or concerns. Many non-personal forms of
promotion, such as a radio advertisement, are inflexible, at least in the short-term, and cannot be easily adjusted
to address questions that arise by the audience experiencing the ad.
4. Message Flow: One-Way vs. Two-Way Communication
Promotions can be classified based on whether the message source enables the message receiver to respond
with immediate feedback. Such feedback can then be followed with further information exchange between
both parties. Most efforts at mass promotion, such as television advertising, offer only a one-way information
flow that does not allow for easy response by the message receiver. However, many targeted promotions, such
as using a sales force to promote products, allow message recipients to respond immediately to information
from the message sender.

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5. Demand Creation: Quick vs. Lagging
As we discussed earlier, the success of promotional activity may not always be measured by comparing
spending to an increase in product sales since marketers may use promotion to achieve other objectives.
However, when a marketer is looking to increase demand, certain promotional activities offer advantages in
turning exposure to promotion into a quick increase in demand. In general, these activities are most effective
when customers are offered an incentive to make the purchase either in a monetary way (e.g., save money) or in
psychological way (e.g., improves customer’s perceived group role or status level).
6. Message Control
Most promotions are controlled by the marketer who encodes the message (or hires specialists such as
advertising agencies to create the promotion) and then pays to have the message delivered. However, no
marketer can totally control how the news media, customers or others talk about a company or its products.
Reporters for magazines, newspaper and websites, as well as posters to Internet forums may discuss a
company’s products in ways that can benefit or hinder a company’s marketing efforts. This is particularly true
with non-paid promotions where a marketer is looking to obtain a free “mention” by an influential message
medium (e.g., newspaper article).
7. Message Credibility
The perceived control of the message can influence the target market’s perception of message credibility. For
example, many customers viewing a comparative advertisement in which a product is shown to be superior to a
competitor’s product may be skeptical about the claims since the company with the superior product is paying
for the advertisement. Yet, if the same comparison is mentioned in a newspaper article it may be more
favorably viewed since readers may perceive the author of the story has possessing an unbiased point-of-view.
8. Cost Effectiveness
Promotional cost is measured in several different ways though the most useful are measured in terms of cost-per-
impression (CPI), cost-per-targeted impression (CPTI), and cost-per-action (CPA). The CPI metric relates
to how many people are exposed to a promotion in relation to the cost of the promotion. A national or
international television advertisement, while expensive to create and broadcast, actually produces a very low
CPI given how many people are exposed to the ad. Yet, a low CPI can be misleading if a large percentage of
the promotion’s audience is not within the marketer’s target market, in which case the CPTI may be a better
metric for gauging promotion effectiveness. The CPTI approach looks at what percentage of an audience is
within the marketer’s customer group and, thus, legitimate targets for the promotion. Clearly, CPTI is higher
than CPI, but it offers a better indication of how much promotion is reaching targeted customers.
An even more effective way to evaluate promotional costs is through the cost-per-action metric. With CPA the
marketer evaluates how many people actually respond to a promotion. Response may be measured by
examining purchase activity, number of phone inquiries, website traffic, clicks on advertisements, and other
means within a short time after the promotional message was delivered. Unfortunately, measuring CPA is not
always easy and tying it directly to a specific promotion can also be difficult. For example, a customer who
purchases a snack product may have first learned about the snack product several weeks before from a
television advertisement. The fact that it took the customer several weeks to make the purchase does not mean
the advertisement was not effective in generating sales, though if the CPA was measured within a day or two
after the ad was broadcast this person’s action would not have been counted..
With the growing trend to more targeted promotions, especially those delivered through the Internet,
combined with the development of sophisticated customer tracking techniques, the ability to compare
promotion to actual customer activity is bound to one day be the dominant method for measuring promotional
effectiveness.

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Types of Promotion – Promotion Mix
Marketers have at their disposal four major methods of promotion. Taken together these comprise the promotion mix.
In this section a basic definition of each method is offered while in the next section a comparison of each method based
on the characteristics of promotion is presented.
1. Advertising – Involves non-personal, mostly paid promotions often using mass media outlets to deliver the marketer’s message.
While historically advertising has involved one-way communication with little feedback opportunity for the customer experiencing
the advertisement, the advent of computer technology and, in particular, the Internet has increased the options that allow
customers to provide quick feedback.
2. Sales Promotion – Involves the use of special short-term techniques, often in the form of incentives, to encourage customers to
respond or undertake some activity. For instance, the use of retail coupons with expiration dates requires customers to act while
the incentive is still valid.
3. Public Relations – Also referred to as publicity, this type of promotion uses third-party sources, and particularly the news media,
to offer a favorable mention of the marketer’s company or product without direct payment to the publisher of the information.
4. Personal Selling – As the name implies, this form of promotion involves personal contact between company representatives and
those who have a role in purchase decisions (e.g., make the decision, such as consumers, or have an influence on a decision, such
as members of a company buying center). Often this occurs face-to-face or via telephone, though newer technologies allow this to
occur online via video conferencing or text chat.
5. Direct marketing
6. Publicity
Promotion Summary Table
The table below compares each of the promotion mix options on the eight key promotional characteristics. The summary should be viewed only as a
general guide since promotion techniques are continually evolving and how each technique is compared on a characteristics is subject to change.
Characteristics Advertising Sales Promotion Public Relations Personal Selling
Directed Coverage mass targeted mass targeted mass targeted
Message Flow one two-way one two-way one-way two-way
Payment Model paid
limited non-paid
paid non-paid paid
Interaction Type non-personal personal
non-personal
non-personal personal
Demand Stimulation lagging quick lagging quick
Message Control good good poor very good
Message Credibility low-medium low-medium high medium-high
Cost of Promotion CPI - Low
CPTI - Varies
CPA - Varies
CPI - Mediium
CPTI - Varies
CPA - Varies
CPI - None
CPTI - None
CPA - None
CPI - High
CPTI - High
CPA - High
Factors Affecting Promotions Choice
With four promotional methods to choose from how does the marketer determine which ones to use? The selection
can be complicated by company and marketing decision issues.
Company Issues:
1. Promotional Objective – As we discussed, there are several different objectives a marketer may pursue with their
promotional strategy. Each type of promotion offers different advantages in terms of helping the marketer reach their objectives.
For instance, if the objective of a software manufacturer is to get customers to try a product, the use of sales promotion, such as
offering the software in a free downloadable form, may yield better results than promoting through Internet advertising.
2. Availability of Resources – The amount of money and other resources that can be directed to promotion affects the
marketer’s choice of promotional methods. Marketers with large promotional budgets may be able to spread spending among all
promotion options while marketers with limited funds must be more selective on the promotion techniques they use.
3. Company Philosophy – Some companies follow a philosophy that dictates where most promotional spending occurs.
For instance, some companies follow the approach that all promotion should be done through salespeople while other companies
prefer to focus attention on product development and hope word-of-mouth communication by satisfied customers helps to create
interest in their product.

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Marketing Decision Issues:
1. Target Market – As one might expect, customer characteristics dictate how promotion is determined. Characteristics such
as size, location and type of target markets affect how the marketer communicates with customers. For instance, for a small
marketer serving business markets with customers widely dispersed, it may be very expensive to utilize a sales force versus using
advertising.
2. Product – Different products require different promotional approaches. For the consumer market, products falling into the
convenience and shopping goods categories are likely to use mass market promotional approaches while higher-end specialty
goods are likely to use personalized selling. Thus, products that are complex and take customers extended time to make a purchase
decision may require personal selling rather than advertising. This is often the case with products targeted to the business market.
Additionally, Managing Products and will later see when we discuss marketing strategy, products pass through different stages in
the Product Life Cycle. As a product moves through these stages the product itself may evolve and also promotional objectives
will change. This leads to different promotional mix decisions from one stage to the next.
3. Distribution –Marketing organizations selling through channel partners can reach the final customer either directly using a
pull promotion strategy or indirectly using a push promotional strategy. The pull strategy is so named since it creates demand for a
product by promoting directly to the final customer in the hopes that their interest in the product will help “pull” more product
through the distribution channel. This approach can be used when channel partners are hesitant about stocking a product unless
they are assured of sufficient customer interest. The push strategy uses promotion to encourage channel partners to stock and
promote the product to their customers. The idea is that by offering incentives to channel members the marketer is encouraging
their partners (e.g., wholesalers, retailers) to “push” the product down the channel and into customer’s hands. Most large
consumer products companies will use both approaches while smaller firm may find one approach works better.
4. Price – The higher the price of a product the more likely a marketer will need to engage in personalized promotion compared to
lower priced products that can be marketed using mass promotion.
Other factors- EXPAND
Stage reached in the product life cycle [PLC]
The nature of the product – type of product or service
Demand mechanisms
The target market – the nature of the market.
The promotion budget – the amount of money available for promotion.
Objectives of the promotion campaign
Time scale – time available for preparing the promotion and the timescale for carrying out the
promotion.
STEPS OR DECISIONS TO FOLLOW IN DEVELOPING AN EFFECIVE PROMOTION
PROGRAM OR CAMPAIGN
1) Determine the communication/ promotion objectives
2) Identify the target audience
3) Design the message
4) Select the communication channels/ media or medium
5) Allocate the total promotional budget.
6) Decide on the promotion mix.
7) Manage and coordinate the total marketing communication
8) Evaluate measure the promotion results

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4. ADVERTISING
a) Definition
b) Role in society
c) Advertising the market process.
d) Behavioral aspects of advertising
e) Advertising research
f) Advertising media
g) Creating advertisements
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience (viewers,
readers or listeners) to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services.
Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a
commercial offering. Advertising messages are usually paid for by sponsors and
viewed via various traditional media; including mass media such as newspaper,
magazines, television commercial, radio advertisement, outdoor advertising or direct
mail; or new media such as websites and text messages.
What is the Difference between Advertising and sales Promotion?
1. Advertising and promotion are two related marketing tools, both widely used in the modern world. At first glance, it
may be difficult to understand what exactly the difference between advertising and promotion is, since they both use
many of the same techniques, and apply them for very similar ends. A few things differentiate advertising and
promotion from one another, including the scope of time involved, overall cost, impact on sales, the purpose, and
what kind of companies the technique is suitable for.
2. Both advertising and promotion are types of marketing, involved in getting information about a product out to the
buying public. Advertising is usually undertaken by mid- to large-level firms, which come up with cohesive messages
that help strengthen the brand and aim to build long term sales. Advertising includes things like buying radio or
television spots, printing up advertisements in regional or national papers, hiring guerrilla marketing teams to spread
the word about the product, or billboard or poster campaigns.
3. Advertising has at its goal not only an increase in sales in the short- to mid-term, but also a strengthening of the
brand and image of the company and products, to build long-term sales and consumer loyalty. Advertising is a costly
endeavor, and it can be months or even years before results are seen from a successful ad campaign. As a result,
measuring sales directly from advertising can be difficult, although overall trends will of course be noticeable.
Advertising is, as a result of its long-term agenda and high cost, best suited for large companies, or larger medium-sized
companies, which have the budget for comprehensive campaigns, and a higher interest in building long-term
sales.
4. Promotion, on the other hand, is a more short-term strategy. Although brand-building may occur as a result of
promotions, it is not the point. The only real purpose of a promotional campaign is to build sales in the short term,
either to move a company back into the black, to build capital reserves for expansion, or as a long-term strategy of
constant promotional pushes to reach sales goals. Promotions include things like two-for-one specials, coupons in
the local or regional paper, free samples, or special in-store events.
5. Because promotions are so easy to set up, and tend to be created for short-term gains, they are well-suited to small-or
medium-sized companies. Although ad agencies may come up with promotional campaigns as part of a larger ad
campaign, promotions are the sort of thing that even a one-person company can put together to help drive sales.
This is not to say that larger companies don’t use promotions, of course, and many rely heavily on promotions in
tandem with larger regional or national ad campaigns. Coupons, heavily discounted products, and value-added
services like technical support are all examples of promotions that might be used by national chains.
6. There is, of course, a great deal of overlap between advertising and promotion. The two disciplines feed and support
one another, and healthy ad campaigns often rely on promotions, and visa versa. For example, a company may offer
a two-for-one coupon on a product for two weeks before Christmas, with this promotion expected to bring in more
business. For months before hand, the same company would likely have an ad campaign pushing that same product,
and the campaign would continue for months after the promotion. The promotion, in this case, serves to bring a
surge of interest in at a specific time during the ad campaign, helping to make the campaign more

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What is advertising?
Advertising is a non-personal form of promotion that is delivered through selected media outlets that, under
most circumstances, require the marketer to pay for message placement.
Advertising has long been viewed as a method of mass promotion in that a single message can reach a large
number of people.
But, this mass promotion approach presents problems since many exposed to an advertising message may not
be within the marketer’s target market, and thus, may be an inefficient use of promotional funds. However,
this is changing as new advertising technologies and the emergence of new media outlets offer more options
for targeted advertising.
Advertising also has a history of being considered a one-way form of marketing communication where the
message receiver (i.e., target market) is not in position to immediately respond to the message (e.g., seek more
information). This too is changing. For example, in the next few years technologies will be readily available to
enable a television viewer to click a button to request more details on a product seen on their favorite TV
program. In fact, it is expected that over the next 10-20 years advertising will move away from a one-way
communication model and become one that is highly interactive.
Another characteristic that may change as advertising evolves is the view that advertising does not stimulate
immediate demand for the product advertised. That is, customers cannot quickly purchase a product they see
advertised. But as more media outlets allow customers to interact with the messages being delivered the ability
of advertising to quickly stimulate demand will improve.
Use of Advertising
1. Promoting Products or Organizations
• Institutional Advertising promotes organizations, images, ideas or political issues. IE Beer
company sponsors responsible drinking to promote the company image.
PHILIP MORRIS ADVERTISING
• Product Advertising promotes goods and services.
2. Stimulating Primary and Selective Demand
• First to introduce product needs to stimulate primary demand. Pioneer Advertising informs
people about the product (introduction stage of the product life cycle). Do not emphasize
the brand name.
• Can also be used to stimulate the demand for a product group, IE Beef council.
• For Selective demand, advertisers use Competitive advertising, brand uses, benefits not
available with other brands. Can use comparative advertising, 1988 Trademark Law Revision
Act, cannot misinterpret. American Express et al.
3. Offsetting Competitors Advertising
• Defensive advertising, offset to lessen the effect of competitors advertising. Used in fastfood
industry, extremely competitive consumer products markets.
4. Making salespersons more effective
• Tries to presell product to buyers by informing them of uses, features and benefits-encourage
them to contact dealers etc. Cars...bring to retail store.
5. Increasing use of product
• Consumer can consume only so much of a product, this limits absolute demand. May need
to convince the market to use the product in more than one way.
6. Reminding and reinforcing customers
• Reminder, need to keep company/product name at the forefront of consumers' minds in the
competitive marketplace. Reinforcement prevents cognitive dissonance.
7. Reducing Sales fluctuations

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• Increase sales during slow periods will help increase production efficiency, IE advertising
reduced prices of lawn mowers in the winter months (reduce inventory costs). Coupons for
Pizza only Mon-Thurs.
ROLE OF ADVERTISING
a) TO INFORM
b) TO PERSUADE
c) TO REMIND
d) TO REINFORCE
e) TO EDUCATE
f) TO REASSURE
g) TO COMPLEMENT
Expand these!
FUNCTIONS OF ADVERTISING
a) To identify products and differentiate
them from others
b) To communicate information about the
product, its features and its location of
sale
c) To induce consumers to try new
products and to suggest re-use
d) To stimulate the distribution of a product
e) To increase product usage
f) To build brand preference and loyalty
g) To invite inquiries
h) To announce the location of stock
i) To educate consumers- educational
advertising
j) To challenge competition
k) To build brand recognition
l) To announce a product or service
modification
m) To announce a new product or service
n) To announce a price change
o) To announce a new pack or package
p) To create awareness
q) To consolidate an existing reputation
r) To correct misleading claims of others
s) To increase market share or to expand
the market
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES OF ADVERTISING
Advantages of Advertising
o Low cost per contact.
o Ability to reach potential visitors where sales staff cannot.
o Great scope for creative versatility and dramatization of messages.
o Ability to create images that sales staff cannot.
o Non-threatening nature of non-personal presentation.
o Prestige and impressiveness of mass-media advertising.
Disadvantages of Advertising
o Inability to close sales.
o Advertising clutter.
o Ability for visitor to ignore advertising messages.
o Difficulties in getting immediate response and action.
o Difficulties in getting quick feedback and in adjusting messages.
o Difficulties in measuring effectiveness.
o Relatively high waste factor.
SOCIAL CRITICISM OF ADVERTISING
1. Advertising debases our language
2. Advertising makes us too materialistic
3. Advertising manipulates us into buying things we don’t need
4. Advertising is excessive
5. Advertising is offensive and can be in bad taste
6. Advertising perpetuates stereotypes
7. Advertising is deceptive

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1) Advertising debases our language
The language of advertising at times is too breezy, too informal, too casual and therefore, improper.
In some instances, advertising has destroyed the dignity of language. Grammatical rules, especially
punctuation rules, are commonly broken by advertising copywriters.
2) Advertising makes us too materialistic
Advertising encourages people to buy more than they need, all with the promise of greater status,
greater social acceptance and greater sex appeal. Some people prefer a simpler life without an elegant
house, fancy cars, and trips abroad, while others enjoy the material pleasures of modern, technological
society. Critics argue that advertising adversely affects our value system because it suggests that the
means to a happier life is acquisition of more goods.
3) Advertising manipulates us into buying things we don’t need
Advertising forces people to buy things they don’t need by playing on their emotions. Underlying this
criticism is a belief that the persuasive techniques of advertising are so powerful that consumers are
helpless to defend themselves. Sometimes adverts carry hypnotic messages. Sometimes advertising
lacks credibility.
4) Advertising is excessive
Advertisements reach us in cars, elevators, parking lots, hotel lobbies, buses, in our homes, on radio
and television, in newspapers and through the e-mail. An average American is exposed to over 500
commercial messages a day.
5) Advertising is offensive and can be in bad taste
Many find advertising offensive to their religious convictions, morality or political perspective. Others
find the use of advertising techniques that emphasize sex, violence or body functions to be in bad
taste.
6) Advertising perpetuates stereotypes
Advertising has been accused of portraying members of racial and ethnic groups in stereotypical ways
and perpetuating stereotypical sex roles. Some adverts still project women as housewives or mothers,
constantly seeking advice from men whereas men are depicted as leaders, professionals, consultants
and so on.
7) Advertising is deceptive
Advertising has been labeled as grossly deceptive. The courts have held that the following acts constitute unfair or
deceptive trade practices and therefore illegal. The acts include: false promises, incomplete description, misleading comparisons, bait
and switch offers, visual distortions, false testimonials, false comparisons, partial disclosures and small print qualifications
1. False promises – making advertising promise that cannot be kept e.g. “restores youth” or “prevents cancer”.
2. Incomplete description – stating some , but not all, of the contents of a product, such as advertising a
“mukwa” desk without mentioning that only the top is solid mukwa and that the rest is made of hard wood
with a mukwa veneer.
3. Misleading comparisons – making meaningless comparisons, e.g.” as good as a diamond” when in fact the
claim cannot be verified.
4. Bait and switch offers – advertising an item at an unusually low price to bring people into the store and then
“switching” them to a higher priced model than the one advertised by stating that the advertised product is
“out of stock” or “poorly made”.

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5. Visual distortions – making a product look larger and beautiful than really is
6. False testimonials – implying that a product has the endorsement of a celebrity or an authority, who is not
bona fide user of the product.
7. False comparisons – demonstrating one product as superior to another without giving the so called “inferior”
item a chance to prove itself or by comparing it with the least competitive product available.
8. Partial disclosures – stating what a product can do but not what it cannot do, e.g. stating that High Life [skin
lightening cream] is good for your skin without telling us that it contains hydroquinone which causes skin
damage.
9. Small print qualifications – making a statement in large print only to qualify it in smaller type elsewhere in
the advert.
Types of advertising
Virtually any medium can be used for advertising. Commercial advertising media can include wall paintings, billboards,
street furniture components, printed flyers and rack cards, radio, cinema and television adverts, web banners, mobile
telephone screens, shopping carts, web popups, skywriting, bus stop benches, human billboards, magazines, newspapers,
town criers, sides of buses, banners attached to or sides of airplanes (logojets), in-flight advertisements on seatback
tray tables or overhead storage bins, taxicab doors, roof mounts and passenger screens, musical stage shows, subway
platforms and trains, elastic bands on disposable diapers,doors of bathroom stalls,stickers on apples in supermarkets,
shopping cart handles (grabertising), the opening section of streaming audio and video, posters, and the backs of event
tickets and supermarket receipts. Any place an identified sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is
advertising.
Television advertising / Music in advertising
The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format, as is reflected
by the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super
Bowl football game in the United States is known as the most prominent advertising event on television. The
average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game has reached US$3 million (as of 2009). The
majority of television commercials feature a song or jingle that listeners soon relate to the product. Virtual
advertisements may be inserted into regular television programming through computer graphics. It is typically
inserted into otherwise blank backdrops or used to replace local billboards that are not relevant to the remote
broadcast audience.[14] More controversially, virtual billboards may be inserted into the background where none
exist in real-life. This technique is especially used in televised sporting events.[16][17] Virtual product placement is
also possible.
Infomercials
An infomercial is a long-format television commercial, typically five minutes or longer. The word infomercial
combining the words information commercial. The main objective in an infomercial is to create an
impulse purchase, so that the consumer sees the presentation and then immediately buys the product through
the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe, display, and often demonstrate
products and their features, and commonly have testimonials from consumers and industry professionals.
Radio advertising
Radio advertising is a form of advertising via the medium of radio. Radio advertisements are broadcast as
radio waves to the air from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Airtime is purchased
from a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials. While radio has the limitation of being
restricted to sound, proponents of radio advertising often cite this as an advantage. Radio is an expanding
medium that can be found not only on air, but also online. According to Arbitron, radio has approximately
241.6 million weekly listeners, or more than 93 percent of the U.S. population.

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Online advertising
Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed
purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Online ads are delivered by an ad server.
Examples of online advertising include contextual ads that appear on search engine results pages, banner ads, in
text ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail
marketing, including e-mail spam.
Product placements
Covert advertising, also known as guerrilla advertising, is when a product or brand is embedded in
entertainment and media. For example, in a film, the main character can use an item or other of a definite
brand, as in the movie Minority Report, where Tom Cruise's character John Anderton owns a phone with the
Nokia logo clearly written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo. Another example of
advertising in film is in I, Robot, where main character played by Will Smith mentions his Converse shoes several
times, calling them classics, because the film is set far in the future. I, Robot and Spaceballs also showcase
futuristic cars with the Audi and Mercedes-Benz logos clearly displayed on the front of the vehicles. Cadillac chose
to advertise in the movie The Matrix Reloaded, which as a result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars
were used. Similarly, product placement for Omega Watches, Ford, VAIO, BMW and Aston Martin cars are
featured in recent James Bond films, most notably Casino Royale. In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,
the main transport vehicle shows a large Dodge logo on the front. Blade Runner includes some of the most
obvious product placement; the whole film stops to show a Coca-Cola billboard.
Press advertising
Press advertising describes advertising in a printed medium such as a newspaper, magazine, or trade journal.
This encompasses everything from media with a very broad readership base, such as a major national
newspaper or magazine, to more narrowly targeted media such as local newspapers and trade journals on very
specialized topics. A form of press advertising is classified advertising, which allows private individuals or
companies to purchase a small, narrowly targeted ad for a low fee advertising a product or service. Another
form of press advertising is the Display Ad, which is a larger ad (can include art) that typically run in an article
section of a newspaper.
Billboard advertising
Billboards are large structures located in public places which display advertisements to passing pedestrians and
motorists. Most often, they are located on main roads with a large amount of passing motor and pedestrian
traffic; however, they can be placed in any location with large amounts of viewers, such as on mass transit
vehicles and in stations, in shopping malls or office buildings, and in stadiums.
Mobile billboard advertising
Mobile billboards are generally vehicle mounted billboards or digital screens. These can be on dedicated
vehicles built solely for carrying advertisements along routes preselected by clients, they can also be specially
equipped cargo trucks or, in some cases, large banners strewn from planes. The billboards are often lighted;
some being backlit, and others employing spotlights. Some billboard displays are static, while others change; for
example, continuously or periodically rotating among a set of advertisements. Mobile displays are used for
various situations in metropolitan areas throughout the world, including: Target advertising, One-day, and long-term
campaigns, Conventions, Sporting events, Store openings and similar promotional events, and Big
advertisements from smaller companies.
In-store advertising
In-store advertising is any advertisement placed in a retail store. It includes placement of a product in visible
locations in a store, such as at eye level, at the ends of aisles and near checkout counters (aka POP—Point Of
Purchase display), eye-catching displays promoting a specific product, and advertisements in such places as
shopping carts and in-store video displays.
Coffee cup advertising
Coffee cup advertising is any advertisement placed upon a coffee cup that is distributed out of an office, café,
or drive-through coffee shop. This form of advertising was first popularized in Australia, and has begun
growing in popularity in the United States, India, and parts of the Middle East.
Street advertising
This type of advertising first came to prominence in the UK by Street Advertising Services to create outdoor
advertising on street furniture and pavements. Working with products such as Reverse Graffiti, air dancer's and
3D pavement advertising, the media became an affordable and effective tool for getting brand messages out
into public spaces.

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Celebrity branding
This type of advertising focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money, popularity to gain recognition for
their products and promote specific stores or products. Advertisers often advertise their products, for example,
when celebrities share their favorite products or wear clothes by specific brands or designers. Celebrities are
often involved in advertising campaigns such as television or print adverts to advertise specific or general
products. The use of celebrities to endorse a brand can have its downsides, however. One mistake by a
celebrity can be detrimental to the public relations of a brand. For example, following his performance of eight
gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, swimmer Michael Phelps' contract with Kellogg's
was terminated, as Kellogg's did not want to associate with him after he was photographed smoking marijuana.
Online advertising
Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed
purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include
contextual ads that appear on search engine results pages, banner ads, in text ads, Rich Media Ads, Social
network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail
spam.
Important - Make notes on the following methods types of advertising
a) Trade advertising
b) Consumer advertising
c) Generic advertising
d) Institutional advertising
e) Corporate identity advertising
f) Recruitment advertising
g) Public relations advertising
h) Brand advertising
i) Product advertising
j) Range advertising
k) Corporate advertising
l) Retail advertising
m) Co-operative advertising
n) Direct response advertising
Advertising and Society
Advertising plays a role in society both economically and socially, and its effects on the economy can be felt
immediately and over time. Before moving to my theory on advertising, we must first delineate its purpose in
society:
1. Advertising serves to drive competition in the marketplace by stimulating consumer spending and ultimately
increasing the amount of money that businesses make. Advertising does not necessitate that business improve
its products or service due to competition, but I do believe that competition requires that the advertising
produced must match the product benefit. Example??
2. Advertising stabilizes an otherwise dynamic marketplace. As consumers remain cognizant of products
through various types of advertising, companies are not as susceptible to changes or shifts in the ebb and flow
of business. Each business is also forced to maintain its prices within a reasonable range compared to its
competitors. Consumers are not unwilling participants in this system, they consciously and freely participate,
and are fully aware, and can also distinguish between facts and false claims from the marketplace.
3. Advertising creates a want where there was no need. It stimulates purchase and consumption. However, in
contradiction to strong effects theorists, I believe that this stimulation is more fleeting and imaginative than
harmful.
4. It creates product images and perceptions for the consumer. Depending upon the advertising message and
the type of product advertised, consumers hope to satisfy their needs for self-actualization and self-esteem,
their need to belong, and other symbolic meanings gained through the experience of consumer consumption.
Advertising’s role is to connect meanings form product to consumer. More on that later... First, how does it
work?

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Advertising brief
• An advertising brief is the basis upon which the creative advertising agency produces
their strategy and communication ideas. It should identify your advertising needs,
objectives, target audiences, budget, and timetable and provide relevant background
information. As such, the quality of your brief is the key to the success of your
communication activity.
A good advertising brief will:
1) explain why you need an advertising activity;
2) define as closely as possible the objectives of your advertising activity; and
3) place your advertising into the overall framework of your communication
Document confirming understanding between a client and an advertising agency on
(1) Objectives of an advertising campaign,
(2) Identification of the targeted audience,
(3) Strategies to be adopted in reaching the audience,
(4) The timeframe of the campaign, and
(5) Its total estimated cost.
The importance of the creative brief
The creative brief is essential because it is the main method of interwieving the brand-positioning stage, with the
creative-concept stage, of the campaign. It is about ensuring that the final creative concept is rooted in branding-positioning
thinking.
The account planner is in charge at this point. The creative brief outlines to the creative team the parameters in which
they must work (from a brand-positioning perspective). But what the creative team do within these parameters is more-a-
less up to them (the only real obstruction to total freedom being any possible concerns of the client). Although the
account planner must be strict about laying down the parameters
within the creative brief, at the same time the creative brief is, also, designed to get the best out of the creative team.
Firstly, the account planner must provide useful and interesting background information to help the creative team along
the way. And, secondly, and much harder to do (and more difficult to pin down – depending very much on the
personality and the creative/intuitive skills of the account planner) the account planner must be able to add some really
creative-inspiring ingredient that sparks off ideas within the creative team – right from the beginning (ensuring first,
though, that the creative time understand, perfectly clearly, the brand-positioning goal of the ad).
So the creative brief should be:
First and foremost: very clear and succinct in the brand-positioning goal
Secondly, and importantly: provide useful and interesting background information
Thirdly (and the thing that can help to make the difference, at times, between a good and a great campaign): contain
some really creative-inspiring ingredient.
Advertising Brief Template
The Creative Brief will be set out (more-a-less the same from one advertising agency to another) like this:
1) Background (to campaign)
Here the account planner will give an overview of what is going on in the market; who the competition are; any

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useful information about the client; and so on.
Two important words here are Who and What. ‘Who is the audience?’. ‘What is our main message?’
2) Goal of Ad (Objectives of an advertising campaign)
How should the audience respond? What do you want them to do / think / feel?
3) Who is the audience? (Identification of the targeted audience)
Target audience
who are you trying to reach? The target audience is the key group of people that you are trying to communicate
your campaign message with. Defining clear target audiences enables more targeted communication, so it is
essential to carefully consider your campaign audience. Include appropriate demographic, geographic and
qualitative information such as target audience attitudes, awareness, behaviors and compliance levels.
4) What is our main message? (message creation)
Define your message
what is it that you are trying to communicate to your audience? Avoid trying to communicate multiple
messages in a single campaign. If your budget allows, split these messages into separate campaigns to avoid
sending mixed, confused messages.
5) Rational and Emotional Reasons why the audience should act or believe in a certain way in their
response to the campaign
6) Budget
providing a budget estimate can greatly assist the advertising agency to better scope the requirements of a
project in a realistic way, and perhaps offer better value. Don't assume that not providing a budget will result in
getting a better financial deal.
7) Schedule (The timeframe of the campaign)
Campaign timing
This could cover the timeframe to respond to the brief as well as your indicative timetable to implementation.
In both, plan ahead and allow the agency time to develop great work. Be realistic with the required approval
times. For major campaigns several weeks should be allowed for a response.
Steps to launch an advertising campaign
1. Defining advertising goals
We must first determine the objectives of our advertising campaign, that is, we should point out what we want to
achieve through it, and for example, our marketing objectives can be:
* Publicize a new product.
* Report on the characteristics of a product.
* Highlight the key benefits or attributes of a product.
* Positioning a slogan.
* Persuade, encourage, stimulate or motivate the purchase or use of a product or service.
* To remember the existence of a product or service.
2. Identify target audience or market
Once established our marketing objectives, we must identify our audience or target market, ie the specific groups will be
directed to our advertising campaign.

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And, once determined our target audience, observe and analyze their characteristics, so that, on this basis, we design our
media messages and advertising strategies.
The reason for a particular target segment is that not all audiences have access to the same channels as advertising, or
react the same way to the same type of message.
Even if we sell the same product type, we may need different media messages and advertising strategies for each
audience.
3. Define media or advertising channels
Once we have determined and analyzed our target, we define the means or channels that will be used to send the
advertisement to the public, ie, we define the media or advertising channels we use to advertise our products or services
to our target audience.
The media and advertising channels may be formed, for example, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, Internet,
traditional and electronic mail, trade shows, campaigns, events, posters, posters, brochures, flyers, etc..
4. Write your marketing message
After defining the advertising media we use, we turn to write the message sent through the media, to our target audience.
In the message must identify the main features of our product, we highlight the characteristics they have a greater benefit
to the public, allowing the product associated with that message and that capture consumers who seek only those
characteristics, for example, we can create a message that emphasizes the quality or status that would give the possession
of our product.
The advertising message must consist of a clear, fluid and easy to understand. Should capture the attention of
consumers, and a message must be truthful, we must offer something that our products do not have or something we
cannot meet, as it happened, we would give a very bad image.
5. Launch advertising campaign
And finally, once defined our advertising goals, identified and analyzed our target, given the means or channels that use
it, and will send written advertisement, now is the time to redeem our advertising campaign.
MAJOR DECISIONS INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING IMPLEMENTING
AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
1. Identify and Analyze the Advertising Target.
2. Defining Objectives.
3. Determine the Advertising Appropriation
4. Creating an Advertising Message
5. Developing a Media Plan
6. Executing the Campaign
7. Evaluating the effectiveness of the campaign
1. Defining the advertising objectives
• What is your marketing goal?
• Your marketing goal is basically what you want. Do you want X amount of people to visit your city this year or
season? Do you want to increase sales an X amount? Is there a problem you need solved, like filling rooms
mid-week? Once you determine what it is you’re looking for, you can then determine who you want to speak to
and what you want to say to them.
Promotion Decisions, marketing promotion, which includes advertising, can be used to address
several broad objectives including: building product awareness, creating interest, providing
information, stimulating demand and reinforcing the brand. To achieve one or more of these
objectives, advertising is used to send a message containing information about some element of the
marketer’s offerings. For example:

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• Message About Product – Details about the product play a prominent role in advertising for new and existing
products. In fact, a very large percentage of product-oriented advertising includes some mention of features and benefits offered by
the marketer’s product. Advertising can be used to inform customers of changes that take place in existing products. For instance, if a
beverage company has purchased the brands of another company resulting in a brand name change, an advertising message may stress
“New Name but Same Great Taste”.
• Message About Price – Companies that regularly engage in price adjustments, such as running short term sales (i.e.,
price markdown), can use advertising to let the market know of price reductions. Alternatively, advertising can be used to encourage
customers to purchase now before a scheduled price increase takes place.
• Message About Other Promotions – Advertising often works hand-in-hand with other promotional mix items.
For instance, special sales promotions, such as contests, may be announced within an advertisement. Also, advertising can help
salespeople gain access to new accounts if the advertising precedes the salesperson’s attempt to gain an appointment with a prospective
buyer. This may be especially effective for a company entering a new market where advertising may help reduce the uncertainty a
buyer has about a new company.
• Message About Distribution – Within distribution channels, advertising can help expand channel options for a
marketer by making distributors aware of the marketer’s offerings. Also, advertising can be used to let customers know locations
where a product can be purchased.
2. Identifying the target audience
Who are you trying to reach?
The audience you want to reach is your target market. In order to determine your target market, you will need to do a
little research. You will want to know what the consumer thinks about your city, resort, or product and your
competition. It is extremely important to know who your audience is, so you can create the right message for the right
person. There are several ways to discover your audience, which is detailed in the research portion of the educational
series. It may be helpful to categorize your consumer in order to market to the correct group. Some questions to ask
yourself during the research process are:
• Location - where does your consumer live? Urban or rural environment? Out of State? In a specific city? Far
away or close by?
• Age - Is your consumer between the ages of 25-54 or 34-54? Are they younger or older?
• Marital/Family Status - Are they married? Single? Do they have kids? How many? What ages?
• Income - Does your consumer make $30,000 per year or $100,000?
• Life stage - At what stage of life are they? Are they newlyweds just beginning their life together, empty nesters
(children are grown and gone), retired?
• Travel Patterns - How many times a year do they visit and during what season?
3. Design the advertising message
What do you want to say?
Now that you’ve narrowed your target audience, you can begin the process of deciding what it is you want the consumer
to know or think about you. This is called the creative process or strategy. While there may be many ways to position
your product or service, you should always try to appeal to the needs and wants of your target consumer, which again
you will find from your research. Once you understand their needs, you can then create a message inviting them to visit
your area or resort. Some questions you may want to ask yourself during this process are:
• Why would the consumer visit/stay here? Is it a special event? A great deal? A chance to relax? Lots of
activities?
• What does the consumer need to know about you? A historical place? A new place? You have something no
one else has?
• What does the consumer want to do when they stay here? Research has shown that certain people like to do
similar activities. Can you put a package together that groups these activities?
• When might they be more likely to visit?
• It is important not to focus on too many things, because then your message gets too confusing. Pick a topic
and focus on that.

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4. Select the communication channel or medium
With an objective and a budget in place, the advertising campaign will next need to focus on developing the
message. However, before effort is placed in developing a message the marketer must first determine which
media outlets will be used to deliver their message since the choice of media outlets guides the type of message
that can be created and how frequently the message will be delivered.
An advertising message can be delivered via a large number of media outlets. These range from traditional
outlets, such as print publications, radio and television, to newly emerging outlets, such as the Internet and
mobile devices. However, each media outlet possess different characteristics and, thus, offer marketers
different advantages and disadvantages.
Factors that should be considered when deciding upon the media or medium
to use
The characteristics by which different media outlets can be assessed include the following seven
factors:
1. Creative Options – REQUIREMENTS OF THE MESSAGE
2. Creative Cost – AVAILABLE BUDGET
3. Media Market Reach - COVERAGE
4. Message Placement Cost – AVAILABLE BUDGET
5. Length of Exposure - FREQUENCY
6. Advertising Clutter
7. Response Tracking
8. Types of media available
9. Target audience
1. Creative Options
An advertisement has the potential to appeal to four senses – sight, sound, smell and touch.
(It should be noted that promotion can also appeal to the sense of taste but generally these
efforts generally fall under the category of sales promotion which we will discuss in a later
tutorial.) However, not all advertising media have the ability to deliver multi-sensory
messages. Traditional radio, for example, is limited to delivering audio messages while
roadside billboards offer only visual appeal. Additionally, some media may place limits on
when particular options can be used. For instance, some search engines or websites may
only accept graphical-style ads, such as images, if these conform to certain large dimensions
and limit small advertising to text-only ads.
2. Creative Cost
The media type chosen to deliver a marketer’s message also impacts the cost of creating the
message. For media outlets that deliver a multi-sensory experience (e.g., television and
Internet for sight and sound; print publications for sight, touch and smell) creative cost can
be significantly higher than for media targeting a single sensory experience. But creative
costs are also affected by the expectation of quality for the media that delivers the message.
In fact, media outlets may set minimal production standards for advertisements and reject
ads that do not meet these standards. Television networks, for example, may set high
production quality levels for advertisements they deliver. Achieving these standards requires
expensive equipment and high cost labor, which may not be feasible for small businesses.
Conversely, creating a simple text only Internet advertisement requires very little cost that
almost anyone is capable of creating.
3. Media Market Reach
The number of customers exposed to a single promotional effort within a target market is
considered the reach of a promotion. Some forms of advertising, such as television
advertising, offer an extensive reach, while a single roadside billboard on a lightly traveled
road offers very limited reach.
Market reach can be measured along two dimensions: 1) channels served and, 2) geographic
scope of a media outlet.

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• Channels Served - This dimension relates to whether a media outlet is effective in reaching the members within the marketer’s
channel of distribution. Channels can be classified as:
o Consumer Channel – Does the media outlet reach the final consumer market targeted by the marketer?
o Trade Channel – Does the media outlet reach a marketer’s channel partners who help distribute their product?
o Business-to-Business – Does the media outlet reach customers in the business market targeted by the marketer?
• Geographic Scope – This dimension defines the geographic breadth of the channels served and includes:
o International – Does the media outlet have multi-country distribution?
o National – Does the media outlet cover an entire country?
o Regional – Does the media outlet have distribution across multiple geographic regions such as counties, states,
provinces, territories, etc.?
o Local – Does the media outlet primarily serve a limited geographic area?
o Individual – Does the media outlet offer individual customer targeting?
4. Message Placement Cost
Creative development is one of two major spending considerations for advertising. The other cost is for media
placement; the purchase of ad time, space or location with media outlets that deliver the message. Advertising
placement costs vary widely from very small amounts for certain online advertisements to exorbitant fees for
advertising on major television programs. For example, in the United States the highest cost for advertising
placement occurs with television ads shown during the National Football League’s Super Bowl championship
game where ad rates for a single 30-second advertisement exceed (US) $2.5 million. By contrast, ads placed
through online search engines may cost less than (US) $1 dollar.
Media outlets set placement cost using several factors though the most important are determined by audience
size, audience type and an advertisement’s production characteristics:
• Audience Size – Refers to the number of people who experience the media outlet during a particular time period. For example,
for television outlets audience size is measured in terms of number of program viewers, for print publications audience is measured by
number of readers, and for websites audience is measured by number of visitors. In general, the more people experiencing a media
outlet, the more the outlet can charge for ads. However, actual measurement of the popularity of media outlets is complicated by
many factors to the point where the media outlets are rarely trusted to give accurate figures reflecting their audience. Today nearly all
media outlets rely on third-party audit organizations to measure audiences and most marketers rely on these auditors to determine
whether the cost of placement is justified given the audited audience size.
• Audience Type – As we have discussed many times in the Principles of Marketing tutorial, the key to marketing is aligning
marketing decisions to satisfy the needs of a target market. A well-defined target market is critical to successful marketing and vital to a
successful advertising campaign. When choosing a media outlet, selection is evaluated based on the outlet’s customer profile (i.e.,
viewers, readers, website visitors) and whether these match the characteristics sought by the marketer’s desired target market. The
more selectively targeted the audience, the more valuable this audience is to advertisers since with targeted advertising promotional
funds are being spent on those with the highest potential to respond to the advertiser’s message. The result is that media outlets,
whose audience shares very similar characteristics (e.g., age, education level, political views, etc.), are in a position to charge higher
advertising rates than media outlets that do not appeal to such a targeted group.
• Characteristics of the Advertisement – Media outlet also charge different rates based on creative characteristics of the message.
Characteristics that create ad rate differences include:
o Run Time (e.g., length of television or radio ads )
o Size (e.g., print ads size, billboard size)
o Print Style (e.g., black-and-white vs. color)
o Location in Media (e.g., back magazine cover vs. inside pages)
5. Length of Exposure
Some products require customers be exposed to just a little bit of information in order to build customer
interest. For example, the features and benefits of a new snack food can be explained in a short period of time
using television or radio commercials. However, complicated products need to present more information for
customers to fully understand the product. Consequently, advertisers of these products well seek media
formats that allot more time to deliver the message.
Media outlets vary in how much exposure they offer to their audience. Magazines and other publications
provide opportunities for longer exposure times since these media types can be retained by the audience (i.e.,
keep old magazines) while exposure on television and radio are generally limited to the time the ad was
broadcast.
6. Advertising Clutter
In order to increase revenue, media outlets often include a large number of ads within a certain time, space or
location. For instance, television programs may contain many ads inserted during the scheduled run-time of a
program. A large number of advertisements create an environment of advertising clutter, which makes it

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difficult for viewers to recognize and remember particular advertisements. To break through the clutter
advertisers may be required to increase the frequency of their advertising efforts (i.e., run more ads). Yet
greater advertising frequency increases advertising expense. Alternatively, advertisers may seek opportunities
that offer less clutter where an ad has a better chance of standing out from others. This can be seen with
online downloads (e.g., podcasts) of sports and news programming where a 5-10 minute story will be
presented with a single 30-60 second ad.
7. Response Tracking
Advertising, marketers are embracing new technologies that make it easier to track audience response to
advertisements. Newer media developed using Internet technology offer effective methods for tracking
audience response compared to traditional media. But Internet-media are not alone in providing response
tracking. Other advertising outlets, such as advertising by mail and television infomercial programming, also
provide useful measures of audience reaction.
How do you reach your audience?
There are numerous options to choose from when you are deciding how to advertise. What are your tactics? What
approach do you want to use? This will become your media strategy.
• Newspaper
• Direct Mail
• Brochures
• Coupons
• Handouts or Flyers
• Radio
• Magazines
• TV
• Outdoor, such as billboards
• Special promotions or packages
• Partnering with another tourism business or
tourism area
• Internet Marketing
The medium you choose will depend on what your target audience will see and where they turn to for information, as
well as your budget constraints. The educational series on creating and buying media details more about planing and
buying media, but here are some of your media choices.
1. Television
Television is a powerful medium because it communicates with both sight and sound. Network television, the most
costly purchase, can reach up to 95 percent of the homes in the United States. Spot television, on the other hand,
enables the advertiser to hand pick a specific audience in a specific area. By scheduling spots to air during certain times
of the day or programs, you can reach your target market in a cost efficient means.
The major disadvantage of both spot and network television is cost. Because of high rates, many advertisers have
reduced the length of their commercials from 30 seconds to 15 seconds. This practice, referred to as splitting :30s,
reduces costs but severely restricts the amount of information that can be conveyed.
Another problem with television is the likelihood of wasted coverage -- having people outside your product's target market
see the advertisement. Cable TV is another area to consider, since ad rates are often less expensive than the prime time
on major networks. You may not be reaching as many people, but you likely have less waste since you can pinpoint
audiences very precisely.
Television
Advantages
• Television permits you to reach large numbers of people on a national or regional level in a short period of
time
• Independent stations and cable offer new opportunities to pinpoint local audiences
• Television being an image-building and visual medium, it offers the ability to convey your message with sight,
sound and motion
Disadvantages

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• Message is temporary, and may require multiple exposure for the ad to rise above the clutter
• Ads on network affiliates are concentrated in local news broadcasts and station breaks
• Preferred ad times are often sold out far in advance
• Limited length of exposure, as most ads are only thirty seconds long or less, which limits the amount of
information you can communicate
• Relatively expensive in terms of creative, production and airtime costs
2. Radio
Radio, like television, has the ability to quickly reach a large number of consumers. The major advantage of radio lies in
its ability to efficiently target narrowly defined segments of consumers. The vast array of radio program formats lets an
advertiser gear ads to almost any target audience.
Beyond this advantage, radio is commonly used by small businesses because it is relatively inexpensive (both in terms of
airtime and production costs) and because deadlines for placing radio advertising are relatively short, providing an
advertiser with increased flexibility. The disadvantages of radio are: an advertiser is limited to an audio message so there
is no visual product or service identification, ad clutter can be high and exposure to the message is short and fleeting.
Finally, similar to television, multiple exposures may be required for message retention and consumer reaction. Also,
listeners may change stations to avoid commercials.
Radio
There are seven times as many radio stations as television stations in the United States. The major advantage of radio is
that it is a segmented medium. There are all-talk stations, rock stations, jazz stations, news stations, etc. A media buy can
be tailored to the profile of your audience. There is an immediacy to radio (visit this weekend, attend this event) and
greater flexibility to your buy.
The disadvantage of radio is that it has limited use for products that must be seen by the audience. Another problem,
not unlike TV, is the ease with which consumers can tune out a commercial by simply switching the station. Peak radio
listening time is during the drive times (6 to 10 am and 4 to 7 pm).
Radio
Advantages
• Radio is a universal medium enjoyed by people at one time or another during the day, at home, at work, and
even in the car.
• The vast array of radio program formats offers to efficiently target your advertising dollars to narrowly defined
segments of consumers most likely to respond to your offer.
• Gives your business personality through the creation of campaigns using sounds and voices
• Free creative help is often available
• Rates can generally be negotiated
• During the past ten years, radio rates have seen less inflation than those for other media
Disadvantages
• Because radio listeners are spread over many stations, you may have to advertise simultaneously on several
stations to reach your target audience
• Listeners cannot go back to your ads to go over important points
• Ads are an interruption in the entertainment. Because of this, a radio ad may require multiple exposure to break
through the listener's tune-out factor and ensure message retention
• Radio is a background medium. Most listeners are doing something else while listening, which means that your
ad has to work hard to get their attention
3. Magazine

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The marketing advantage of this medium is the great number of special-interest publications that appeal to defined
segments. For instance, if your target consists of avid runners, there is Runners World; for the outdoors and hiking
enthusiasts -- Backpacker; for vacation planners -- Midwest Living and so on. In addition to the distinct audience profiles of
magazines, good color production is an advantage that allows magazines to create strong advertising images.
While the cost of national magazines is a disadvantage, many publications publish regional and even metro editions,
which reduce the cost and wasted coverage. In addition to cost, a limitation to magazines is their infrequency. Some
magazines are only printed on a bi-monthly basis.
Magazines
Magazines provide an advertiser with the means to reach highly targeted audiences. Specific groups can be reached by
placing as ad in a magazine whose editorial content specializes in topics of interest to that target. This is true both of
consumer and business publications. Audiences can be reached by placing ads in magazines which have well-defined
geographic, demographic or lifestyle focus.
Beyond the ability to reach specific audiences, the advantage of magazines include:
Relatively long ad life and repeated ad exposure (magazines are typically looked through several times before
discard);
Excellent reproduction quality and pass-along value.
The disadvantages of magazines include:
Long lead time;
Limited flexibility in terms of ad placement and format, and
The potential for high costs in production and placement.
Magazines. Magazines are a more focused, albeit more expensive, alternative to newspaper advertising. This medium
allows you to reach highly targeted audiences.
Advantages
• Allows for better targeting of audience, as you can choose magazine publications that cater to your specific
audience or whose editorial content specializes in topics of interest to your audience.
• High reader involvement means that more attention will be paid to your advertisement
• Better quality paper permits better color reproduction and full-color ads
• The smaller page (generally 8 ½ by 11 inches) permits even small ads to stand out
Disadvantages
• Long lead times mean that you have to make plans weeks or months in advance
• The slower lead time heightens the risk of your ad getting overtaken by events
• There is limited flexibility in terms of ad placement and format.
• Space and ad layout costs are higher
4. Newspaper
Newspapers are an important local medium with excellent reach potential. Because of the daily publication of most
papers, you can place an ad that requires immediate action -- this weekend only, special event Saturday, call this 800
number now.
The disadvantage of newspapers is that they are rarely saved by the purchaser, so companies are generally limited to ads
that call for an immediate customer response. Also, companies cannot depend on newspapers for good color
reproduction.
Newspapers
Newspapers permit and advertiser to reach a large number of people within a specified geographic area. Newspaper
advertising has several advantages for the small business. An advertiser has flexibility in terms of as size and placement
within the newspaper. Exposure to the ad is not limited, so readers can take their time with your message. Short
deadlines permit quick response to changing market conditions. Disadvantages of newspaper advertising include:
• Declining readership and market penetration;

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• Ad space can be expensive;
• Clutter of competitive advertising and a relatively short lifespan (newspapers are typically read once, then
discarded), thus requiring multiple insertions.
Newspapers, Newspapers are one of the traditional mediums used by businesses, both big and small alike, to
advertise their businesses.
Advantages
• Allows you to reach a huge number of people in a given geographic area
• You have the flexibility in deciding the ad size and placement within the newspaper
• Your ad can be as large as necessary to communicate as much of a story as you care to tell
• Exposure to your ad is not limited; readers can go back to your message again and again if so desired.
• Free help in creating and producing ad copy is usually available
• Quick turn-around helps your ad reflect the changing market conditions. The ad you decide to run today can
be in your customers' hands in one to two days.
Disadvantages
• Ad space can be expensive
• Your ad has to compete against the clutter of other advertisers, including the giants ads run by supermarkets
and department stores as well as the ads of your competitors
• Poor photo reproduction limits creativity
• Newspapers are a price-oriented medium; most ads are for sales
• Expect your ad to have a short shelf life, as newspapers are usually read once and then discarded.
• You may be paying to send your message to a lot of people who will probably never be in the market to buy
from you.
• Newspapers are a highly visible medium, so your competitors can quickly react to your prices
• With the increasing popularity of the Internet, newspapers face declining readership and market penetration. A
growing number of readers now skip the print version of the newspaper (and hence the print ads) and instead
read the online version of the publication.
5. Direct Mail
Direct mail allows the greatest degree of audience selectivity. By selecting names from your own database of interested
people and past visitors or buy purchasing a qualified list from a direct mail company, you can reach an audience who is
already interested in your offering. This is an excellent reason to start your own database if you don’t already have one.
Later in this booklet, we’ll discuss the benefits, as well as how to develop and work with a database.
Another advantage of direct mail is that you can provide complete information on your destination or attraction,
compared with that in a newspaper ad or a 30-second radio spot.
One disadvantage of direct mail is rising postal costs. Another limitation is that people view direct mail as junk, and
the challenge is to get them to open a letter.
Direct Mail
Direct mail advertisers use targeted mailing lists to reach highly specialized audiences. In addition to low waste in ad
exposure, direct mail provides an advertiser with great flexibility in the message presentation. The disadvantages of direct
mail include:
Relatively high cost per contact,
Obtaining updated, accurate mailing lists, and
Difficulty in getting the audience's attention (direct mail is often considered junk mail).

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Direct Mail. Direct mail, often called direct marketing or direct response marketing, is a marketing technique in
which the seller sends marketing messages directly to the buyer. Direct mail include catalogs or other product literature
with ordering opportunities; sales letters; and sales letters with brochures.
Advantages
• Your advertising message is targeted to those most likely to buy your product or service.
• Marketing message can be personalized, thus helping increase positive response.
• Your message can be as long as is necessary to fully tell your story.
• Effectiveness of response to the campaign can be easily measured.
• You have total control over the presentation of your advertising message.
• Your ad campaign is hidden from your competitors until it's too late for them to react
• Active involvement - the act of opening the mail and reading it -- can be elicited from the target market.
Disadvantages
• Some people do not like receiving offers in their mail, and throw them immediately without even opening the
mail.
• Resources need to be allocated in the maintenance of lists, as the success of this kind of promotional campaign
depends on the quality of your mailing list.
• Long lead times are required for creative printing and mailing
• Producing direct mail materials entail the expense of using various professionals - copywriter, artists,
photographers, printers, etc.
• Can be expensive, depending on your target market, quality of your list and size of the campaign.
6. Outdoor
The most cost-effective advertising vehicle is outdoor billboards. The visibility of this medium is good reinforcement for
products, and it is a flexible alternative. An advertiser can buy space in the desired geographical market. It can be as
specific as a certain expressway location, or proximity to a store, for instance.
The disadvantage to billboards is that there is not an opportunity for a lengthy message. Also, the message is considered
fleeting since the drive-by times are so often very fast. The message has to stand out so it won’t be forgotten once the
billboard is passed.
Outdoor (Billboards)
Outdoor advertising is typically used to reinforce or remind the consumer of the advertising messages communicated
through other media. The advantages of outdoor advertising are:
The ability to completely cover a market, and
High levels of viewing frequency.
The disadvantages of outdoor advertising are related to viewing time. Because target consumers are typically moving, an
outdoor advertisement must communicate with a minimum of words. Messages must be simple, direct, and easily
understood.
Transit
This medium includes messages on the interior and exterior of buses, subway cars and taxis. There is a great deal of
selectivity with this medium, allowing you to buy space by neighborhood or bus route.
One disadvantage of this medium is that the heavy travel times, when the audiences are the largest, are not conducive to
reading advertising copy. As with billboards, concise break-through messages are critical.
7. Internet
Advertising on the Internet is the fastest-growing media vehicle. To date, there are over 56 million U.S. residents who
are Internet users. This media vehicle has the advantage of active reader involvement and attention -- users have the
capability of choosing different sites, and for that matter, viewing advertisements. Furthermore, the demographic profile

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of Internet users is desirable to advertisers -- 68 percent have household incomes of $50,000+ and 83 percent have a
college education.
There are some disadvantages to using this medium. With technology constantly changing, it is difficult to completely
control the user experience over time. Secondly, the return on investment is sometimes difficult to measure. Lastly, not
everyone is online.
8. Yellow Pages
The Yellow Pages are an advertising medium that share many of the strengths of other advertising media while at the
same time avoiding some of the limitations or disadvantages. As such, the Yellow Pages are best used to complement or
extend the effects of advertising placed in other media. Like other media, the Yellow Pages permit an advertiser to select
a well-defined geographic area, ranging from a neighborhood to an entire metropolitan area.
The advantages of the Yellow Pages are:
Once the geography is defined, an ad has permanence, i.e., the Yellow Pages are kept as a regular reference.

They support your other advertising by providing a convenient way for consumers to contact sources and
obtain information on the products or services they desire at the time they are ready to take action.
The Yellow pages are relatively low in cost in terms of both ad production and placement.

The disadvantages of the Yellow Pages include:

Lack of timeliness (ads can be changed only once per year and, as a result, there is no opportunity for price
advertising),

Potential clutter in some classifications, and
Not as much creative flexibility as other print media.
Yellow Pages. There are several forms of Yellow Pages that you can use to promote and advertise your business.
Aside from the traditional Yellow Pages supplied by phone companies, you can also check out specialized directories
targeted to specific markets (e.g. Hispanic Yellow Pages, Blacks, etc.); interactive or consumer search databases;
Audiotex or talking yellow pages; Internet directories containing national, local and regional listings; and other services
classified as Yellow Pages.
Advantages
• Wide availability, as mostly everyone uses the Yellow Pages
• Non-intrusive
• Action-oriented, as the audience is actually looking for the ads
• Ads are reasonably inexpensive
• Responses are easily tracked and measured
• Frequency
Disadvantages
• Pages can look cluttered, and your ad can easily get lost in the clutter
• Your ad is placed together with all your competitors
• Limited creativity in the ads, given the need to follow a pre-determined format
• Ads slow to reflect market changes

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9. Telemarketing. Telephone sales, or telemarketing, is an effective system for introducing a company to a
prospect and setting up appointments.
Advantages
• Provides a venue where you can easily interact with the prospect, answering any questions or concerns they
may have about your product or service.
• It's easy to prospect and find the right person to talk to.
• It's cost-effective compared to direct sales.
• Results are highly measurable.
• You can get a lot of information across if your script is properly structured.
• If outsourcing, set-up cost is minimal
• Increased efficiency since you can reach many more prospects by phone than you can with in-person sales
calls.
• Great tool to improve relationship and maintain contact with existing customers, as well as to introduce new
products to them
• Makes it easy to expand sales territory as the phone allows you to call local, national and even global prospects.
Disadvantages
• An increasing number of people have become averse to telemarketing.
• More people are using technology to screen out unwanted callers, particularly telemarketers
• Government is implementing tougher measures to curb unscrupulous telemarketers
• Lots of businesses use telemarketing.
• If hiring an outside firm to do telemarketing, there is lesser control in the process given that the people doing
the calls are not your employees
• May need to hire a professional to prepare a well-crafted and effective script
• It can be extremely expensive, particularly if the telemarketing is outsourced to an outside firm
• It is most appropriate for high-ticket retail items or professional services.
10. Specialty Advertising. This kind of advertising entails the use of imprinted, useful, or decorative
products called advertising specialties, such as key chains, computer mouse, mugs, etc. These articles are distributed for
free; recipients need not purchase or make a contribution to receive these items.
Advantages
• Flexibility of use
• High selectivity factor as these items can be distributed only to the target market.
• If done well, target audience may decide to keep the items, hence promoting long retention and constant
exposure
• Availability of wide range of inexpensive items that can be purchased at a low price.
• They can create instant awareness.
• They can generate goodwill in receiver
• The items can be used to supplement other promotional efforts and media (e.g. distributed during trade
shows).
Disadvantages
• Targeting your market is difficult.

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• This can be an inappropriate medium for some businesses.
• It is difficult to find items that are appropriate for certain businesses
• Longer lead time in developing the message and promotional product
• Possibility of saturation in some items and audiences
• Wrong choice of product or poor creative may cheapen the image of advertiser
5. Allocate the advertising budget
Before establishing an advertising budget, companies must take into consideration other market factors, such as
advertising frequency, competition and clutter, market share, product differentiation, and stage in the product life cycle.
1. Advertising Frequency Advertising frequency refers to the number of times an advertisement is repeated during a given
time period to promote a product’s name, message, and other important information. A larger advertising budget is required in
order to achieve a high advertising frequency: Estimates have been put forward that a consumer needs to come in contact with an
advertising message nine times before it will be remembered.
2. Competition and Clutter Highly competitive product markets, such as the soft-drink industry, require higher advertising
budgets just to stay even with competitors. If a company wants to be a leader in an industry, then a substantial advertising budget
must be earmarked every year. Examples abound of companies that spend millions of dollars on advertising in order to be key
players in their respective industries (e.g., Coca Cola and General Motors).
3. Market Share Desired market share is also an important factor in establishing an advertising budget. Increasing market share
normally requires a large advertising budget because a company’s competitors counterattack with their own advertising blitz.
Successfully increasing market share depends on advertisement quality, competitor responses, and product demand and quality.
4. Product Differentiation How customers perceive products is also important to the budget setting process. Product
differentiation is often necessary in competitive markets where customers have a hard time differentiating between products. For
example, product differentiation might be necessary when a new laundry detergent is advertised: Since so many brands of detergent
already exist, an aggressive advertising campaign would be required. Without this aggressive advertising, customers would not be
aware of the product’s availability and how it differs from other products on the market. The advertising budget is higher in order
to pay for the additional advertising.
5. Stage in the Product Life Cycle New product offerings require considerably more advertising to make customers
aware of their existence. As a product moves through the product life cycle, fewer and fewer advertising resources are needed
because the product has become known and has developed an established buyer base. Advertising budgets are typically highest for
a particular product during the introduction stage and gradually decline as the product matures.
BUDGETING METHODS
There are several allocation methods used in developing a budget. The most common are listed below:
• Percentage of Sales method
• Objective and Task method
• Competitive Parity method
• Market Share method
• Unit Sales method
• All Available Funds method
• Affordable method
It is important to notice that most of these methods are often combined in any number of ways, depending on the
situation. Because of this, these methods should not be seen as rigid, but rather as building blocks that can be combined,
modified, or discarded as necessary. Remember, a business must be flexibleeady to change course, goals, and philosophy
when the market and the consumer demand such a change.
1. PERCENTAGE OF SALES METHOD Due to its simplicity, the percentage of sales method is the most
commonly used by small businesses. When using this method an advertiser takes a percentage of either past or
anticipated sales and allocates that percentage of the overall budget to advertising. Critics of this method,

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though, charge that using past sales for figuring the advertising budget is too conservative and that it can stunt
growth.
However, it might be safer for a small business to use this method if the ownership feels that future returns
cannot be safely anticipated. On the other hand, an established business, with well-established profit trends,
will tend to use anticipated sales when figuring advertising expenditures. This method can be especially
effective if the business compares its sales with those of the competition (if available) when figuring its budget.
In markets with a stable, predictable sales pattern, some companies set their advertising spend consistently at a
fixed percentage of sales. This policy has the advantage of avoiding an “advertising war” which could be bad
news for profits.
However, there are some disadvantages with this approach. This approach assumes that sales are directly
related to advertising. Clearly this will not entirely be the case, since other elements of the promotional mix will
also affect sales. If the rule is applied when sales are declining, the result will be a reduction in advertising just
when greater sales promotion is required!
2. OBJECTIVE AND TASK METHOD Because of the importance of objectives in business, the task and
objective method is considered by many to make the most sense, and is therefore used by most large
businesses. The benefit of this method is that it allows the advertiser to correlate advertising expenditures to
overall marketing objectives. This correlation is important because it keeps spending focused on primary
business goals.
With this method, a business needs to first establish concrete marketing objectives, which are often articulated
in the selling proposal, and then develop complimentary advertising objectives, which are articulated in the
positioning statement. After these objectives have been established, the advertiser determines how much it
will cost to meet them. Of course, fiscal realities need to be figured into this methodology as well. Some
objectives (expansion of area market share by 15 percent within a year, for instance) may only be reachable
through advertising expenditures that are beyond the capacity of a small business. In such cases, small business
owners must scale down their objectives so that they reflect the financial situation under which they are
operating.
The task approach involves setting marketing objectives based on the “tasks” that the advertising has to
complete.
These tasks could be financial in nature (e.g. achieve a certain increase in sales, profits) or related to the
marketing activity that is generated by the campaigns. For example:
o Numbers of enquiries received quoting the source code on the advertisement
o Increase in customer recognition / awareness of the product or brand (which can be
measured)
o Number of viewers, listeners or readers reached by the campaign
3. COMPETITIVE PARITY METHOD While keeping one's own objectives in mind, it is often useful for a
business to compare its advertising spending with that of its competitors. The theory here is that if a business is
aware of how much its competitors are spending to inform, persuade, and remind (the three general aims of
advertising) the consumer of their products and services, then that business can, in order to remain
competitive, either spend more, the same, or less on its own advertising.

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However, as Alexander Hiam and Charles D. Schewe suggested in The Portable MBA in Marketing, a business
should not assume that its competitors have similar or even comparable objectives. While it is important for
small businesses to maintain an awareness of the competition's health and guiding philosophies, it is not always
advisable to follow a competitor's course.
This approach has widespread use when products are well-established with predictable sales patterns. It is
based on the assumption that there is an “industry average” spend that works well for all major players in a
market.
A major problem with this approach (in addition to the disadvantages set out for the example above) is that it
encourages businesses to ignore the effectiveness of their advertising spend – it makes them “lazy”. It could
also prevent a business with competitive advantages from increasing market share by spending more than
average.
4. MARKET SHARE METHOD Similar to competitive parity, the market share method bases its budgeting
strategy on external market trends. With this method a business equates its market share with its advertising
expenditures.
Critics of this method contend that companies that use market share numbers to arrive at an advertising budget
are ultimately predicating their advertising on an arbitrary guideline that does not adequately reflect future
goals.
5. UNIT SALES METHOD This method takes the cost of advertising an individual item and multiplies it by
the number of units the advertiser wishes to sell.
6. ALL AVAILABLE FUNDS METHOD This aggressive method involves the allocation of all available
profits to advertising purposes. This can be risky for a business of any size, for it means that no money is being
used to help the business grow in other ways (purchasing new technologies, expanding the work force, etc.).
Yet this aggressive approach is sometimes useful when a start-up business is trying to increase consumer
awareness of its products or services. However, a business using this approach needs to make sure that its
advertising strategy is an effective one, and that funds which could help the business expand are not being
wasted.
7. AFFORDABLE METHOD With this method, advertisers base their budgets on what they can afford. Of
course, arriving at a conclusion about what a small business can afford in the realm of advertising is often a
difficult task, one that needs to incorporate overall objectives and goals, competition, presence in the market,
unit sales, sales trends, operating costs, and other factors.
8. Method (4) Residual
The residual approach, which is perhaps the worst of all, is to base the advertising budget on what the business
can afford – after all other expenditure. There is no attempt to associate marketing objectives with levels of
advertising. In a good year large amounts of money could be wasted; in a bad year, the low advertising budget
could guarantee a further low year for sales.

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Other Advertising budgeting methods or approaches– EXPAND THESE
1) Unit of sales methods
2) Objective task method
3) Competitive parity method
4) Affordable method
5) Arbitrary method
6) Return on investment
7) SALT [Same As Last Time]
8) Market share method
9) All funds available method
6. Decide on the timing and scheduling
When are you going to reach your audience?
o Timing is an important aspect when placing advertising. If you place an ad too soon, people may forget about
your event. If you place an ad too late, people may already have plans or purchased another product.
o For a seasonal plan, you may want to begin running a campaign early enough to catch the planners and
continue running your ad in order to catch the last-minute trip takers. By doing this you maximize your
chances of reaching your entire audience. Remember: advertising can motivate planning and needs to do so
before the customer has already begun their planning their trip.
How do you time the advertising?
o There is no correct schedule to advertise a product, but two factors should be considered. The first is the
purchase frequency -- the more frequently the product is purchased, the less repetition is required. Second,
companies need to consider the forgetting rate, the speed at which buyers forget the brand if advertising is not
seen nor heard.
There are two basic approaches to setting advertising schedules:
o Continuous schedule - Advertising of a product runs throughout the year, when demand and seasonal factors
are unimportant.
o Flight schedule - Advertising is distributed unevenly throughout the year because of seasonal demand, heavy
periods of promotion, or introduction of a new product.
7. Evaluate and measure the advertising results
Evaluating Your Advertising
How successful is advertising? How do you know if your campaign worked? There are a few ways to go about evaluating
your campaign:
1. Do a random research sample asking people how they heard about you or your product.
2. Add different extension codes to different pieces of advertising. With each caller, ask for the special extension number, so you can
track where they got your number.
3. Note the percentage your sales, visitors, or calls increased from the previous year without advertising and then with advertising. You
should see a difference.
Five Common Approaches
Your advertisements should be post-tested to determine whether they are achieving their intended objectives. There are
five common approaches to post-testing:
1. Aided Recall - After being shown an ad, respondents are asked whether their previous exposure to it was
through reading, viewing or listening.
2. Unaided Recall - A question such as, What ads do you remember seeing yesterday? is asked of
respondents without any prompting to determine whether they saw or heard advertising messages.
3. Attitude Tests - Respondents are asked questions to measure changes in their attitudes before and after an
advertising campaign.
4. Inquiry Tests - Ads generating the most inquiries are presumed to be the most effective.
5. Sales Tests - Charting increases in sales against when the advertising was running. Could also include total
sales volume at the end of a season or year. This should also include analysis of how it compared to similar

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time periods in the prior year. You can also conduct a conversion study to determine the percentage of
inquirers who visited.
The final step in an advertising campaign is to measure the results of carrying out the campaign. In most cases
the results measured relate directly to the objectives the marketer is seeking to achieve with the campaign.
Consequently, whether a campaign is judged successful is not always tied to whether product sales have
increased since the beginning of the campaign. In some cases, such as when the objective is to build
awareness, a successful campaign may be measured in terms of how many people are now aware of the
product.
In order to evaluate an advertising campaign it is necessary for two measures to take place. First, there must be
a pre-campaign or pre-test measure that evaluates conditions prior to campaign implementation. For instance,
prior to an advertising campaign for Product X a random survey may be undertaken of customers within a
target market to see what percentage are aware of Product X. Once the campaign has run, a second, post-campaign
or post-test measure is undertaken to see if there is an increase in awareness. Such pre and post
testing can be done no matter what the objective including measuring the campaign’s impact on total
product sales
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling
advertising (and sometimes other forms of promotion) for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the
client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services. An
agency can also handle overall marketing and branding strategies and sales promotions for its clients.
Advertising Agency Functions
Professionals at advertising agencies and other advertising organizations offer a number of functions
including:
• Account Management – Within an advertising agency the account manager or account executive is tasked with handling all major
decisions related to a specific client. These responsibilities include locating and negotiating to acquire clients. Once the client has
agreed to work with the agency, the account manager works closely with the client to develop an advertising strategy. For very large
clients, such as large consumer products companies, an advertising agency may assign an account manager to work full-time with only
one client and, possibly, with only one of the client’s product lines. For smaller accounts an account manager may simultaneously
manage several different, though non-competing, accounts.
• Creative Team –The principle role of account managers is to manage the overall advertising campaign for a client, which often
includes delegating selective tasks to specialists. For large accounts one task account managers routinely delegate involves generating
ideas, designing concepts and creating the final advertisement, which generally becomes the responsibility of the agency’s creative
team. An agency’s creative team consists of specialists in graphic design, film and audio production, copywriting, computer
programming, and much more.
• Researchers – Full-service advertising agencies employ market researchers who assess a client’s market situation, including
understanding customers and competitors, and also are used to test creative ideas. For instance, in the early stages of an advertising
campaign researchers may run focus group sessions with selected members of the client’s target market in order to get their reaction to
several advertising concepts. Researchers are also used following the completion of an advertising campaign to measure whether the
campaign reached its objectives.
• Media Planners – Once an advertisement is created, it must be placed through an appropriate advertising media. Each
advertising media, of which there are thousands, has its own unique methods for accepting advertisements, such as different
advertising cost structures (i.e., what it costs marketers to place an ad), different requirements for accepting ad designs (e.g., size of ad),
different ways placements can be purchased (e.g., direct contact with media or through third-party seller), and different time schedules
(i.e., when ad will be run). Understanding the nuances of different media is the role of a media planner, who looks for the best media
match for a client and also negotiates the best deals.

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Reasons why companies may seek the services of advertising agencies.
o They have creative and artistic resources,
o They can provide access to these resources more cheaply or for short term requirements,
o They provide an independent view of your product,
o They may have better information on demographics across a broader region of the country or
internationally,
o They can normally buy advertising at rates lower than individual companies can,
o They give you someone to sue if it is screwed up.
o Objective: Ad agencies focus on their aims and try to achieve them without any delays. The agencies
know about all the techniques of producing the right ad according to the clients needs.
o Media availability: Fully developed advertising agencies can even help in arranging media for the
promotion of the ad. Agencies even help to negotiate with the media because of their business
networks.
o Meet dead lines: An advertiser might fail to meet a deadline but an ad agency will never dis satisfy
the client. All work is done today and nothing is left for tomorrow in an ad agency.
o Professional: Advertising agencies are really professional in their working and make sure that they
have well defined target audience to make the message reach the right people at right point of time.
o Other reason is the media buying power, an agency is capable of having and handing on down to a
client. Because the advertising agency represents a larger volume of purchases, they tend to be given
better placement deals.
o Another reason is the quality and extensiveness of an advertising agency's media buying lists. Media
buying can be a jungle when trying to find multiple quality placements for your advertisements,
advertising agency's tend to have a full list and are better able to advise the right media placement
within your budget.
o Any good advertising Agency is objective when identifying the proper mediums to utilize in your
campaign. For example, a typical business owner will be approached by many different sales reps
from various media outlets. A sales rep from the New York Times will be trying to sell The New
York Times, a sales rep from Comcast will be trying to sell Comcast, an account exec at an advertising
agency will be trying to find the best fit for you. They'll be trying to locate your audience.
o Advertising Agencies know advertising, you don't. When it comes to writing a script or building a
print ad, your ad rep knows the time tested strategies that work.
o An Agency will usually provide a full creative recommendation at no additional charge. When you go
direct to a media source you will usually be paying a 15% commission to your sales rep. Most media
outlets have deals for agencies that save them that 15%. They then charge you that 15% commission
that you would pay anyway while giving you a full creative package along with the media
recommendation.
Disadvantages
They take things out of your control such as delivery schedule, they can be more expensive, they can have a
conflict if they also advertise for your competition, they may not fully understand your product value or your
customers as well as you.

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CREATING ADVERTISEMENTS
Definitions copy
• The content and context of a message contained in an advertisement.
• The written part of an advertisement. Effective copy is critically important, even in visually-oriented
advertising messages
Definition copywriting
• Writing the verbal (written or spoken) elements of an advertisement.
• Is the art of writing selling messages, it is salesmanship in print.
• Copywriting is the process of writing the words that promote a person, business, opinion, or idea. It may be
used as plain text, as a radio or television advertisement, or in a variety of other media. ...
Definition copy platform
• An outline of topics to be addressed in an ad, brochure, radio spot or any other advertising medium (directed
by a client's goals and objectives).
• A plan for use by copywriters that defines the basic theme of communications and advertising to ensure
appropriate messages are conveyed.
Definition copy testing
• A method of determining the degree of understanding, impact, awareness and believability that an ad may
generate. ...
• Tests to determine consumer response to advertising copy and more broadly, to the total content - written and
visual - of advertisements.
• A specialized field of marketing research, copy testing is the study of television commercials prior to airing
them.
Definition copywriter
• Someone who writes copy for advertisements or other promotional material
• A copywriter simply writes compelling and creative text for a website. An example of this is someone who
writes product descriptions for an e-commerce website. ...
• a person employed to write advertising or publicity copy
• Copywriting is the process of writing the words that promote a person, business, opinion, or idea. It may be
used as plain text, as a radio or television advertisement, or in a variety of other media. ...
• A person responsible for writing advertising copy and generating creative concepts, often in collaboration with
an art director or creative director.
What is Copywriting
Introduction to Copywriting
An advertisement is a stimulus. It must break through consumers’ physiological screens to create the kind of attention
that leads to perception.
The final form in which advertising appears perhaps conceals as much as it reveals, unless advertising is superficial and
shallow. The creative team has the critical responsibility of not missing out on the substance and yet making the
advertising appealing and credible.
What is Copywriting?
Definition:
Copywriting is a specialized form of communicating ideas that are meant to serve the requirements of modern
marketing. It helps in establishing links between advertisers and their prospects. It may also be used to promote the
acceptance of an idea, as in the case of non-commercial advertising. It utilizes words to convey messages having
commercial, informative or persuasive value through various media and its success is indicated by the acceptance by the

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audience of the idea or claims made for goods or services. The results come from what words convey in terms of
benefits and satisfaction.
Meaning (Copywriting):
Copywriting is essentially selling with words. Copywriting is using words to convince readers they will benefit by using a
certain product or service and then motivating them to take action (buy).
Copywriting is the words used in advertisements, TV commercials, and brochures. Whenever a business promotes itself
(through a press release, a leaflet or a newsletter), it needs a copywriter. That’s why copywriting is everywhere - on big
posters, local newspaper ads, and every slogan. And when you put a postcard in a newsagent's window, to sell your old
hi-fi, you're using copywriting again.
Copywriting is probably the most creative and demanding branch of writing. You start with a blank sheet of paper. You
may have only a couple of days to meet the client’s deadline. And your work could be read by millions of people.
What Copywriting isn't!
Copywriting is different from copyright. Copyright is about owning the rights to a book, play or picture while
copywriting is writing of an advertisement for television, radio, posters, billboards, leaflets, pamphlets, etc.
Who needs copywriters
The market is vast. Every business, small and large, has to promote itself. Every company needs leaflets or direct mail
letters. And every new product needs a pack that will entice us to buy it.
These days all organizations need to communicate. That includes hospitals, local authorities and charities. So the
opportunities for the copywriter are infinite.
Because organizations constantly alter, their literature and ads need regularly changing, too. That keeps copywriters busy!
A copywriter performs a highly responsible role of fully understanding the marketing strategy and integrating it, through
creative strategy, in the copy. Copywriting skills require command over language and an intellectual and creative
mentality.
It may also be necessary, at times, to assume the role of a salesman, for instance to understand the marketing perspective
from the advertisers angle as well as from the audience point of view.
A copywriter works in the creative department along with the art director. It is the job of this department to generate
alternative advertising ideas and ultimately pick one or a few that will go forward into production. A copywriter has the
responsibility of creating the advertising while as the art director has to introduce illustration and pictoral materials.
These two people are generally under the supervision of the Creative Director and as team is responsible to make a
campaign.
Principles of Copywriting
• Use Attention Getting Headlines
BPL - Powerful performance, Incredible looks
• Keep body copy to the point
If your headline and illustration has attracted the reader, he may decide to look at the small print – the body
copy. This is where you explain the headline, confirm the facts and add extra selling points. If one can make
people read the body copy, you have a better chance of selling your product. Be positive. Some ad starts with
negative statements, which could be easily converted into positive statements.

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Indiatimes Astrospeak - A wrong move and your career might not move at all.
Include the minor details. At the bottom of the ad goes your company name, the address and telephone
number. If you leave it out you aren’t really trying to get sales. If you are selling packaged goods, you will need
to include a pack shot – a photo of your product. If you can’t use a pack shot, your logo will provide a visual
reminder for the reader. A list of stockists is important if your product has limited selective distribution. Other
options include a money – off coupon, or a coupon to be mailed back to you for more information.
Case: Enchanting Tamil Nadu
An ad. Promoting Tamil Nadu, which includes all the contact details.
• Expand Headline with Lead Paragraph
Follow up the headline immediately with the first paragraph. If you ask a question, answer it. If you propose a
thought, explain it. Don't leave them hanging too long; you may end up hanging yourself.
BioAsia
Introduces an industrial area with a saying by a newspaper regarding that land.
• Draw the Reader In
Avoid page and advertising layouts that are confusing or hard to read. Reading your message should be a
pleasure to read. Keep your copy simple, clear and concise. Talk to your reader as you would a friend or family
member. Be straight and sincere with them. Spell it out and explain points that need explaining. Don't leave
your reader second-guessing your copy.
• Focus on the Reader, not the Product
Of course your copy must contain information and facts about your product or service, but that is not your
focal point. You must focus the reader. Use their needs, wants, desires, fears, weaknesses, concerns, and even
fantasies to sell your product or service.
Case: Lakme
The ad for Lakme Deep Pore Cleansing begins with the headline “There's a lot that shows on your face”.
The body copy includes - Now, one-and-a-half minutes is all it takes to uncover the real you. Presenting the
complete Deep Pore Cleansing Regimen from Lakme. Simply because your face says it all.
Thus, not only does the ad talk about the product, it also focuses equally on the reader. Using words like “you”
would make the reader feel good, rather than an ad that boasts about the product but says nothing about how
to use it, how it could make your life better, etc.
• Use the That's Right! Principle
Get your prospect to agree with you. Tell them something they know already. Get them to say to themselves,
That's Right!
Case: JW Marriott
The print ad for JW Marriott starts with the headline -: Your mom knows exactly how you like your bed, your
toast, and your coffee….

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This headline will indeed make the target exclaim – that’s right!
• Ask Provocative Questions:
Leading into your copy or headline with thought provoking questions will grab the reader's interest and move
them to read more for the answer.
Car ads. Usually ask a question such as “Planning to buy a new car”?
• Move Quickly from Intro to the Pitch:
Don't waste your reader's time trying to warm them up. If they got that far, there's blood flowing already.
People are busy creatures. If you lose their interest, you neither sell nor profit. Get on with it!
• Be Sincere:
What's the number one fallback for sales on the web? Fear! Fear of being scammed or ripped-off. The more
sincere you are the better your chance of building a selling relationship.
Case: Air Sahara
The sincerity and genuineness of Air Sahara comes across in its ad where the body copy says – as hard as we
may try at this time of the year (winter), there are chances of flight delays due to weather conditions. Every step
is taken to help passengers get to their destinations on time. To make this process easier, we need your help
too.
• Don't Contradict Yourself:
Double-check your copy. You would be surprised to know that many copywriters unknowingly contradict
themselves leaving the reader suspicious, thus destroying your credibility with them.
• Keep Your Focus Aligned
The more focused your target group, the better your chance of meeting their needs. Don't try to sell everyone!
• Make Your Product Irresistible
Dress it up. Your product should sound like the cream of the crop. Focus on your selling point (price, quality,
etc) and make it impossible for the reader to imagine another in comparison.
The FedEx ad which shows a company employee carrying a baby in his arms.
• Use Fear as Motivation:
Fear is both a weakness and strength, but also a powerful selling tool. Fear of injury, death or missed
opportunity. If you sell a safety product you would use this fear to your advantage. If you're offering an
opportunity, the fear of missing their chance is a strong seller.
Saffola oil talks about the heart problems among the high risk Indians
• Flattery will get you everywhere
Yes, everyone likes to hear a little flattery. Keyword here is little. Don't overdo it!

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• Be Personable
Let them know that there is a kind, honest and real person behind the page. People would rather deal with
people, not companies, corporations or conglomerates. Add the Human Touch to your copy.
Case: Eureka Forbes
The institutional ad for Eureka Forbes which shows model Aditi Gowatrikar with her child has a human touch
to it, what with the body copy saying – “…times have changed. Yet your dreams remain the same. So open up.
Say ‘yes’ to life…”
• It's Guaranteed
A guarantee reassures the reader that you are reputable and will live up to your promises.
Case: Vim Bar
In the Vim Bar TVC, the anchor promises that if “your” detergent is better than Vim Bar, you will get a year’s
supply of your detergent free. This guarantee lends credibility to the offering and induces the viewer to act.
• Share a Secret
People want to get the inside track. If you can convince your prospect that you have an exclusive message for
them, you're one step closer to a sale.
• Use Powerful Words:
Power words are words that move a buyer by enhancing and reinforcing your presented idea. Certain words
have proven to be movers and shakers in the advertising world.
Examples of persuasive and attention-grabbing words
Easy convenient exclusive Indulge
genuine advantages comfortable dependable
immediate instant WANTED WARNING
more biggest oldest Original
• Keep It Lively:
There are many ways to keep your copy lively. Telling a (brief) story is a strong technique for getting your
message across. Separating and highlighting key information or facts is another. Using personal pronouns like
you, we and us will add a sense of warmth to your copy.
• Go with the Flow
Writing copy requires the ability to make a smooth transition from one point to another. Rather than laying
them out like a list, learn to use transitional words. Transitional words are used to go from one point to
another.
• Check Your Spelling

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Take the time and spell-check your work. Finding misspelled words in copy leaves the reader wondering how
competent your product or service could be, if you cannot take the time to be sure you spelled the words in
your web copy correctly.
• Use Photo's to Demonstrate:
Use photos to demonstrate your product or service. If used correctly a picture really is worth a thousand
words.
The VLCC ‘Before’ ‘After’ Ads.
• Use Graphics to get Attention:
Using buttons, icons and arrows can help direct the reader's attention to important details. If organized
correctly they can also help sort facts or messages into categories.
The Fila ad. shows how similar is a design of a Fila shoe and a F1 car.
• Offer Testimonials
Offer short, reputable testimonials. People want to hear what others have to say about your product or service.
Loreal - Diana Hayden – Miss World 1996 offers testimonial for Loreal Hair color.
• Create a Memorable Logo
Create a simple, but memorable logo or custom graphic that your visitor can easily relate to your product or
service
Nike swoosh, BMW, Mercedes
• Create an Unforgettable Slogan
Use a short, easy to remember slogan that a reader will walk away with on his or her lips.
Nike – Just Do It.
Visa – Go get it
Pepsi – Yeh Dil Maange More
Asian Paints – Merawalla….
• Get a response
There are many techniques for getting a prospect to respond. Spell it out for them. Tell them to respond. Tell
them why they should respond. Give them a reason they should respond now. Offer a bonus or freebie if they
respond.
This can be done by using words like – order now, order today, for a short time only, last chance, etc.
Service – ICICI Bank – Two Wheeler Loans
“Take Home Passion (Hero Honda Passion) by just paying Rs. 3999 only

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Writing strategy while using copywriting
Creativity is of paramount importance in initiating the process of writing a copy, especially in evolving the basic
approach. At the same time, creative ardour has to be combined with purposeful thinking. Such thinking should, in fact,
help in capitalizing effectively on the full creative potential.
The following phases of purposeful thinking have been envisaged
• Abstracting: Relevant data are obtained from the market situation, prospects and relevant media.
• Synthesizing: Elements are blended and combined, ideas and approaches accepted, rejected, revised.
• Hypothesizing: Ideas formulated into experimental pattern culminating in a working statement.
• Gestation: Objections and difficulties resolved. Many involve discussion with others or reference to sources
of information.
• Coalescence: Decisions are made for transference of ideation to physical expression, i.e. writing.
• Performance: Action is taken in the form of actual writing.
Major elements of copy for copywriting
Copy Elements
The major elements of copy are briefly described below. All of them may not be necessary advertisements.
The Headline
The first and possibly the most important copy element is the headline. The headline of an advertisement will normally
present a selling idea or will otherwise serve to involve the prospect in reading of the advertisement. Most
advertisements have headlines of one sort or another and their primary function is to catch the eye of the reader. A
headline may be set in big type or small. Headlines need not always contain special messages. Even a company or brand
name could be used as a headline.
The Sub head
Sometimes important facts may have to be conveyed to the reader and it may require more space than what should be
ideally used for the headline. In order to give prominence to such formation it can be put in smaller type than the
headline, known as a subhead. All advertisements do not require subheads.
Example: Mahindra Scorpio – the NFO Automotive 2003 Total Customer Satisfaction Study. Yet another high for
Scorpio.
The Body Copy
The body copy refers to the text in the advertisement which contains details regarding the functions of the
product/service and its benefits. Ogilvy recommends plunging in the subject matter straightaway without beating about
the bush.
The body copy can be short or long depending on how much information the company is willing to tell the reader.
Captions
Captions are the small units of type used with illustrations, coupons and special offers. These are generally less important
than the main selling points of the advertisement in the body copy and are usually set in type sizes smaller than the text.
Health Total – exciting new year offer last 6 days
The Blurb
A blurb or a balloon is a display arrangement where the words appear to be coming from the mouth of one of the
characters illustrated in the advertisement. At times the complete body copy can be composed of blurbs, as in the case of
comic strips.
DIT – speech bubble having the text “ Sunoji, today is the last date for payment of Advance Tax…… Sunti ho”
Boxes and Panels

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Boxes or panels are, in fact, captions placed in special display positions so as to get greater attention. A box is a caption
that has been lined on all sides and singled out from the rest of the copy. A panel is a solid rectangle in the centre of
which the caption is placed either in white or centered in the white space. Boxes and panels are generally used in
advertisements containing features such as coupons, special offers and consumer contests.
Slogans, Logo Types and Signatures
A slogan may refer, for instance, to the age of the advertiser’s firm, meant for inclusion in every advertisement. A
symbol of the company name, seal or trademark is called logotype and is a typical feature of most advertisements. It is
also referred to as signature, indicating identification of the company or the brand. A logotype is an important aid in
quick recognition of an advertisement and in creating familiarity for the audience.
Add a strapline
A ‘strapline’ or ‘tag line’ usually appears underneath the logo. The strapline summarizes the product’s benefits in a
memorable way. Put the same strapline at the bottom of the ad, on point-of-sale material and on brochures, and you
link all the different promotional elements together.
Writing a strapline is like writing a headline. You sit down and produce fifteen or more short lines (each two to five
words long). Occasionally, a strapline becomes a national saying, but people usually forget which brand it was attached
to.
Straplines often make good headlines because they summarize a major benefit in a pithy way. Similarly, discarded
headlines often make good straplines, though they may have to be shortened.
BPL – Believe in the Best
ADVERTISING APPEALS
Appetite
Taste
Health
Fear
Humor
Security
Cleanliness
Sex attraction
Romance
Social achievement
Ambition
Personal comfort
Protection of others
Social approval of
others
Guilt
Durability
Safety
Economy in use
Dependability in use
Rest/sleep
Different Types of Advertising Appeals
o Advertising appeals aim to influence the way consumers view themselves and how buying certain products
can prove to be beneficial for them. The message conveyed through advertising appeals influences the
purchasing decisions of consumers. Keep on reading to know the various different types of advertising
appeals that can be seen in the media today.
o The most basic of human needs is the need for food, clothing and shelter. Special need for these
necessities cannot be created with advertising. However there are certain other products that provide
comfort in life and advertising aims to generate demand for these products. Advertising uses appeals as a
way of persuading people to buy certain products. Advertising appeals are designed in a way so as to create
a positive image of the individuals who use certain products. Advertising agencies and companies use
different types of advertising appeals to influence the purchasing decisions of people.
o The most important types of advertising appeals include emotional and rational appeals. Emotional
appeals are often effective for the youth while rational appeals work well for products directed towards the
older generation. Here are just some of the various different kinds of advertising appeals seen in the media
today:
Emotional Appeal

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An emotional appeal is related to an individual’s psychological and social needs for purchasing certain
products and services. Many consumers are emotionally motivated or driven to make certain purchases.
Advertisers aim to cash in on the emotional appeal and this works particularly well where there is not
much difference between multiple product brands and its offerings. Emotional appeal includes personal
and social aspects.
Personal Appeal
Some personal emotions that can drive individuals to purchase products include safety, fear, love, humor,
joy, happiness, sentiment, stimulation, pride, self esteem, pleasure, comfort, ambition, nostalgia etc.
Social Appeal
Social factors cause people to make purchases and include such aspects as recognition, respect,
involvement, affiliation, rejection, acceptance, status and approval.
Fear Appeal
Fear is also an important factor that can have incredible influence on individuals. Fear is often used to
good effect in advertising and marketing campaigns of beauty and health products including insurance.
Advertising experts indicate that using moderate levels of fear in advertising can prove to be effective.
Humor Appeal
Humor is an element that is used in around 30% of the advertisements. Humor can be an excellent tool to
catch the viewer’s attention and help in achieving instant recall which can work well for the sale of the
product. Humor can be used effectively when it is related to some benefit that the customer can derive
without which the joke might overpower the message.
Sex Appeal
Sex and nudity have always sold well. Sexuality, sexual suggestiveness, over sexuality or sensuality raises
curiosity of the audience and can result in strong feelings about the advertisement. It can also result in the
product appearing interesting. However use of sex in types of advertising appeals can have a boomerang
effect if it is not used carefully. It can interfere with the actual message of the advertisement and purpose
of the product and can also cause low brand recall. If this is used then it should be an integral part of the
product and should not seem vulgar. The shift should be towards sensuality.
Music Appeal
Music can be used as types of advertising appeals as it has a certain intrinsic value and can help in
increasing the persuasiveness of the advertisement. It can also help capture attention and increase
customer recall.
Scarcity Appeal
Scarcity appeals are based on limited supplies or limited time period for purchase of products and are
often used while employing promotional tools including sweepstakes, contests etc.
Rational Appeal
Rational appeals as the name suggests aims to focus on the individual’s functional, utilitarian or practical
needs for particular products and services. Such appeals emphasize the characteristics and features of the
product and the service and how it would be beneficial to own or use the particular brand. Print media is
particularly well suited for rational appeals and is often used with good success. It is also suited for
business to business advertisers and for products that are complex and that need high degree of attention
and involvement.
Masculine Feminine Appeal
Used in cosmetic or beauty products and also clothing. This type of appeal aims at creating the impression
of the perfect person. The message is that the product will infuse the perfection or the stated qualities in
you.
Brand Appeal
This appeal is directed towards people who are brand conscious and wish to choose particular products to
make a brand statement.
Snob Appeal
This appeal is directed towards creating feeling of desire or envy for products that are termed top of the
line or that have considerable qualities of luxury, elegance associated with them.
Adventure Appeal
This appeal is directed towards giving the impression that purchasing a product will change the individual’s
life radically and fill it with fun, adventure and action.

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Less than Perfect Appeal
Advertisements often try to influence people to make certain purchases by pointing out their inadequacies
or making them feel less perfect and more dissatisfied with their present condition. These types of
advertising appeals are used in cosmetic and health industries.
Romance Appeal
These advertisements display the attraction between the sexes. The appeal is used to signify that buying
certain products will have a positive impact on the opposite sex and improve your romantic or love life.
Frangrances, automobiles and other products use these types of advertising appeals.
Emotional Words/Sensitivity Appeal
These advertisements are used to drive at and influence the sensitivities of consumers.
Youth Appeal
Advertisements that reflect youth giving aspects or ingredients of products use these types of appeals.
Cosmetic products in particular make use of these appeals.
Endorsement
Celebrities and well known personalities often endorse certain products and their pitching can help drive
the sales.
Play on Words
Advertisements also make effective use of catch phrases to convey the message. Such appeals help in
brand recognition and recall and can be quite popular with the youth in particular.
Statistics
Advertisements also use statistics and figures to display aspects of the product and its popularity in
particular.
Plain Appeal
These advertisements use every day aspects of life and appeal to ordinary people regarding the use of a
product or service.
Bandwagon Appeal
This type of advertising appeal is meant to signify that since everybody is doing something you should be a
part of the crowd as well. It appeals towards the popularity aspect or coolness aspect of a person using a
particular product or service.
OBJECTIVES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD COPY
1. ATTENTION
Gaining attention is the first objective of copywriting. The headline must be enticing. Devices like illustration, layout, color
and size of the advert in print media as well as visual sounds or visual techniques in electronic media can also be used to
gain attention.
2. INTEREST
Some ads use cartoon, or other interior visuals, subheads, story line copy or charts and tables to stimulate interest.
3. CREDIBILITY
If an ad features statistics, there must be a high degree of honesty. Statistical manipulation is a creative failure. Through
testimonials, credibility is usually achieved mainly by featuring credible personalities.
4. DESIRE
To heighten desire, we need to inform the reader or viewer of the benefits of the product or service.
5. ACTION
We want to motivate the reader to take some action, to do some action, to do something or at least to agree with us.
GUIDELINES FOR MAKING AN EFFECTIVE COPY
i. Make it easy for your reader. Write short sentences. Use easy familiar words.
ii. Don’t waste words. Say what you have to say – nothing more, nothing less.
iii. Stick to the present tense, active voice. Avoid the past tense and passive voice; exceptions should be
deliberate, for special effect.
iv. Don’t hesitate to use personal pronouns. Use “you” and “your”.
v. Clichés are crutches. Learn how to get along without them
vi. Don’t over punctuate. It kills copy flow.
vii. Don’t brag or boast.

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viii. Be single minded. Chase one rabbit at a time.
ix. Write with flair. Drum up excitement.
COMMON TYPES OF HEADLINES
1. Benefit headlines
2. Provocative headlines
3. News/ information headlines
4. Question headlines
5. Command headline i.e. “buy your
furniture at Pelham’s
6. Declarative headline i.e. “the
world’s toughest tyre”
7. Challenging headline i.e. “why put
up with other prices”
8. Testimonial headline i.e. “I always
use blue surf says Brenda”
9. Bargaining headline i.e. “two fro
the price of one”,” now only 99c”
10. Gimmick headline
Types of Headlines Which Sell
1. The News Headline:
o If your product or service offers something newsworthy, announce it in your headline. You would normally use
this to introduce a new product or the improvement of an existing product.Here are some words you can use
in your News Headlines.New, Announcing, Introducing, Finally, Just released, Now, At last.Examples: “At
last! A Tooth Paste Kids Will Love”
o “New Diet Burns Off More Fat Than If You Ran 98 Miles a Week”
o “Announcing . . . The New Bald Cure Guaranteed To Make Even Trevor Crook Look Like He’s Got A Full
Crop Of Hair!”
2. The Guarantee Headline:
o These state a desirable benefit and guarantee results or other benefits. If you offer a powerful guarantee . . . let
your prospects know by stating it in the headline.
o Examples:
o “Makes Money In 90 days Or It’s FREE Under my 100%, Unconditional Money Back Guarantee”
o “Hands Which Feel As Smooth As Silk In 24 Hours . . . Or Double Your Money Back!”
3. The How To Headline:
o With over 7,000 book titles starting with ‘How To’ you can’t go wrong with this one. If you ever get stuck, try
adding ‘how to’ in front of your headline as these type of headlines promise your prospect a source of
information, advice and solutions to their problems.
o Example:
o “How To Win Friends And Influence People”
o “How To Avoid Snake-Oil Selling Scumbags On The Internet”
4. The Benefit Headline:
o Benefits sell . . . features DO NOT! To write a successful benefit Headline, you must know your market so
well, you can offer them a powerful, compelling benefit driven headline which they can’t easily get somewhere
else. You must do your homework though in order to know what benefit will motivate your prospect/s to take
action.
o Examples:
o “Dries Up Your Hay Fever In 15 Minutes”
o “Stops Diahorrea in 30 Minutes”
o “It Cleans Your Breath While It Cleans Your Teeth”
5. The Question Headline:
o Be careful when using this one. You must know your market backwards otherwise you can blow your whole
advertising campaign. The best types of questions to ask are questions which get your prospect involved.
o Examples:
o “Do You Make These Mistakes In Marriage?”
o “Do You Make These Mistakes In English?

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o “Can You Smash Through 6 Bricks Like Dr. Stan ‘Breakthrough’
Harris?
6. The Reason Why Headline:
o These give your prospect specific reasons why they should read your ad, sales letter or website. These are very
effective because they contain facts and specific numbers.
o Examples:
o “27 Reasons Why You Should Attend Trevor Crook’s Persuasive Writing Sells Online Course”
o “37 Fun And Easy Ways To Earn $500 In Your Sleep”
7. The Testimonial Headline:
o This is just what it says. It uses a customer testimonial for a headline. This gets your customers to sell for you
by talking about the benefits they received.
o Examples:
o “How I Make $557.63 Per Week In My Sleep”
o “I Had Never Purchased A Share In My Life. I Opened A Share Account With $14,000.00 After Attending
The Trading Edge Workshop . . . In Six Months My Account is OVER $21,000!”
8. The Command Headline:
o This tells your customers what to do. Your command should encourage action by offering your prospect a
benefit which will help them. The most effective command headlines start out with action verbs.
o Examples:
o “Stop Baldness Today Before Your Head Looks Like A Bowling Ball”
o “Stop Wasting Time On Advertising Guesswork”
o “Stop Being An Advertising Victim”
FUNCTIONS OF A HEADLINE IN AN ADVERT
1. It must attract attention to the advert. The entire message is lost if no one reads the headline.
2. It must select the reader through the generation of interest.
3. Should lead the reader directly into the body copy.
4. Must present the complete selling idea. It should tell the whole story.
5. It should promise the customers a benefit.
6. It should present product news of interest to the consumer.
7. It must imply “newness to increase readership, e.g. through the words: Not, Amazing, Suddenly,
Announcing, Introducing, Improved, Revolutionary, Just arrived, etc
What is advertising message execution?
Advertising Execution: —
Creative execution refers to the manner in which an advertising appeal is carried out or presented. A
particular advertising appeal can be executed in a variety of ways and a particular means of execution
can be applied to a variety of advertising appeals.
Message execution styles or techniques include:
1. Straight-sell or factual message—this type of execution relies on a straightforward presentation of
information about the product or service such as specific attributes or benefits.
2. Scientific/technical evidence—a variation of the straight sell where scientific or technical evidence or
information is presented in the ad to support a claim.
3. Demonstration—this type of execution is designed to illustrate the key advantages or benefits of a

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product or service by showing it in actual use or in some contrived or staged situation.
4. Comparison—this type of execution involves a direct or indirect comparison of a brand against the
competition.
5. Testimonials—many advertisers present their advertising messages in the form of a testimonial whereby a
person speak on behalf of the product or service based on his or her personal use of and/or experiences with
it.
6. Slice of life—this type of execution is often based on a problem/solution type of format. The ad attempts
to portray a real-life situation involving a problem, conflict or situation consumers may face in their daily
lives. The ad then focuses on showing how the advertiser's product or service can resolve the problem. Slice-of-
life executions are also becoming very common in business-to-business advertising as companies use this
approach to demonstrate how their products and services can be used to solve business problems.
7. Animation—this technique used animated characters or scenes drawn by artists or on computer.
Animation is often used as an execution technique for advertising targeted at children. Some advertisers have
also been Roger Rabbit style ads that mix animation with real people. For example, Exhibit 9-18 shows an
image from a Star-Kist tuna commercial featuring Charlie the Tuna that mixes animation with real people.
8. Personality symbol—this type of execution involves the use of a central character or personality symbol
to deliver the advertising message and with which the product or service can be identified. The personality
symbol can take the form of a person who is used as a spokesperson, animated characters or even animals.
The text discusses how AFLAC has made effective use of this execution style by developing commercials that
have made a duck a popular personality symbol for the company.
9. Fantasy—this type of appeal is often used for image advertising by showing an imaginary situation or
illusion involving a consumer and the product or service. Cosmetic companies often use fantasy executions
although the technique has also been used in advertising for other products such as automobiles and beer.
10. Dramatization—this execution technique creates a suspenseful situation or scenario in the form of a
short story. Dramatizations often use the problem/solution approach as they show how the advertised brand
can help resolve a problem.
11. Humor—humor can be used as the basis for an advertising appeal. However, humor can also be used as a
way of executing the message and presenting other types of advertising appeals.
12. Combinations—many of these execution techniques can be combined in presenting an advertising
message. For example, slice-of-life ads are often used to demonstrate a product or make brand comparisons.
THINGS TO AVOID WHEN WRITING A COPY
1. Obfuscation – be simple, clear and understandable. Use short sentences
2. Clichés/Triteness – overused terms are boring. They give an out- of – date image.
3. Abstract/ Vagueness – simplify terms and concepts
4. Me-Me-Me- the advert must appeal to the readers’ self interest and not the advertisers’. Use the
‘YOU’ attitude. Articulate the consumer’s wishes and preferences.
5. Defamation – avoid portraying real people in bad light.

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WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES SIMILARITIES BETWEEN find out?
1. Advertising Sales promotion [20]
2. Advertising Public relations [20]
3. Advertising Publicity [20]
4. Advertising Direct mail [20]
5. Advertising Personal selling [20]

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5. SALES PROMOTION
What is Sales Promotion?
Sales promotion describes promotional methods using special short-term techniques to persuade members of a
target market to respond or undertake certain activity. As a reward, marketers offer something of value to
those responding generally in the form of lower cost of ownership for a purchased product (e.g., lower
purchase price, money back) or the inclusion of additional value-added material (e.g., something more for the
same price).
Sales promotions are often confused with advertising. For instance, a television advertisement mentioning a
contest awarding winners with a free trip to a Caribbean island may give the contest the appearance of
advertising. While the delivery of the marketer’s message through television media is certainly labeled as
advertising, what is contained in the message, namely the contest, is considered a sales promotion.
The factors that distinguish between the two promotional approaches are:
Whether the promotion involves a short-term value proposition (e.g., the contest is only offered for a limited period
of time), and
The customer must perform some activity in order to be eligible to receive the value proposition (e.g., customer must
enter contest).
The inclusion of a timing constraint and an activity requirement are hallmarks of sales promotion.
Sales promotions are used by a wide range of organizations in both the consumer and business markets, though
the frequency and spending levels are much greater for consumer products marketers. One estimate by the
Promotion Marketing Association suggests that in the US alone spending on sales promotion exceeds that of
advertising.
Factors that led to rapid growth of sales promotion.
1. The growing power of retailers
2. Declining brand loyalty
3. Increased promotional sensitivity
4. Brand proliferation
5. Fragmentation of the consumer market
6. Short term focus
7. Increased accountability
8. Competition
9. Clutter
10. Product managers face greater pressures to increase their current sales, and sales promotion
is viewed as an effective sales tool.
Objectives of Sales Promotion
Sales promotion is a tool used to achieve most of the five major promotional objectives.
• Building Product Awareness – Several sales promotion techniques are highly effective in exposing customers to products for the
first time and can serve as key promotional components in the early stages of new product introduction. Additionally, as part of the
effort to build product awareness, several sales promotion techniques possess the added advantage of capturing customer information
at the time of exposure to the promotion. In this way sales promotion can act as an effective customer information gathering tool (i.e.,
sales lead generation), which can then be used as part of follow-up marketing efforts.
• Creating Interest – Marketers find that sales promotions are very effective in creating interest in a product. In fact, creating
interest is often considered the most important use of sales promotion. In the retail industry an appealing sales promotions can
significantly increase customer traffic to retail outlets. Internet marketers can use similar approaches to bolster the number of website
visitors. Another important way to create interest is to move customers to experience a product. Several sales promotion techniques
offer the opportunity for customers to try products for free or at low cost.
• Providing Information – Generally sales promotion techniques are designed to move customers to some action and are rarely
simply informational in nature. However, some sales promotions do offer customers access to product information. For instance, a

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promotion may allow customers to try a fee-based online service for free for several days. This free access may include receiving
product information via email.
• Stimulating Demand – Next to building initial product awareness, the most important use of sales promotion is to build demand
by convincing customers to make a purchase. Special promotions, especially those that lower the cost of ownership to the customer
(e.g., price reduction), can be employed to stimulate sales.
• Reinforcing the Brand – Once customers have made a purchase sales promotion can be used to both encourage additional
purchasing and also as a reward for purchase loyalty (see loyalty programs below). Many companies, including airlines and retail stores,
reward good or “preferred” customers with special promotions, such as email “special deals” and surprise price reductions at the cash
register.
ROLES OF SALES PROMOTION IN MARKETING
1. To neutralize competitive promotion
2. To increase sales volumes
3. To encourage repurchase
4. To increase traffic in the shop
5. To stimulate trial of new products
6. To improve product availability
7. To stimulate impulse purchase
ADVANTAGES DISADVATAGES OF SALES PROMOTION
1. Good short term tactical tool
2. Can stimulate quick increases in sales by targeting
promotional incentives on particular products.
3. Increase in sales by providing extra incentives to
purchase
4. Maintain brand and company loyalty
5. Act as a reminder function e.g. calendars, t-shirts
6. Impulse purchases increased by displays
7. Contests generate excitement especially with high
pay off
8. Consumers may just wait for the incentives
9. Too much sales promotion may damage brand image
10. May diminish the image of the firm may be viewed as
decline in product quality
11. Reduces profit margins, customers may stock up during the
promotion
12. If used over the long term, customers may get used to the
effect
SALES PROMOTION STRATEGIES
There are three types of sales promotions strategies: Push, Pull, or a combination of the two.
A push strategy involves convincing trade intermediary channel members to push the product
through the distribution channels to the ultimate consumer via promotions and personal selling efforts. The
company promotes the product through a reseller who in turn promotes it to yet another reseller or the final
consumer. Trade-promotion objectives are to persuade retailers or wholesalers to carry a brand, give a brand
shelf space, promote a brand in advertising, and/or push a brand to final consumers. Typical tactics employed
in push strategy are: allowances, buy-back guarantees, free trials, contests, specialty advertising items, discounts,
displays, and premiums.
A pull strategy attempts to get consumers to pull the product from the manufacturer through the
marketing channel. The company focuses its marketing communications efforts on consumers in the hope that
it stimulates interest and demand for the product at the end-user level. This strategy is often employed if
distributors are reluctant to carry a product because it gets as many consumers as possible to go to retail outlets
and request the product, thus pulling it through the channel. Consumer-promotion objectives are to entice
consumers to try a new product, lure customers away from competitors’ products, get consumers to load up
on a mature product, hold reward loyal customers, and build consumer relationships. Typical tactics
employed in pull strategy are: samples, coupons, cash refunds and rebates, premiums, advertising specialties,
loyalty programs/patronage rewards, contests, sweepstakes, games, and point-of-purchase (POP) displays.

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FORMS/ METHODS OF SALES PROMOTIONS
/TYPES OF SALES PROMOTION
Explain the following forms or types of sales
promotions.
a) Consumer oriented sales promotion (Consumer
Market-Directed).
• Consumer sales promotions encompass a variety of short-term promotional techniques
designed to induce customers to respond in some way. The most popular consumer sales
promotions are directly associated with product purchasing. These promotions are intended
to enhance the value of a product purchase by either reducing the overall cost of the product
(i.e., get same product but for less money) or by adding more benefit to the regular purchase
price (i.e., get more for the money).
• While tying a promotion to an immediate purchase is a major use of consumer sales
promotion, it is not the only one. As we noted above, promotion techniques can be used to
achieve other objectives such as building brand loyalty or creating product awareness.
Consequently, a marketer’s promotional toolbox contains a large variety of consumer
promotions.
• Broad objectives of any sales promotion program are to induce trial and purchase of the
product. As we consider several promotions programs of different organizations, we can
conclude that their objectives are any of all of the following:
Objectives for consumer sales promotions
1. Generate consumer interest, which should lead to trial.
2. Generate inquiries from the target customer group.
3. Build traffic for a brand at the retail outlet; which should help generate additional sales of
product;
4. Motivate customers to repeat their choice.
5. Increase the rate of purchase.
Next we list the 11 types of consumer sales promotions:
1. Coupons
2. Rebates
3. Promotional Pricing
4. Trade-In
5. Loyalty Programs
6. Sampling and Free Trials
7. Free Product
8. Premiums
9. Contests and Sweepstakes
10. Demonstrations
11. Personal Appearances

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b) Trade oriented sales promotion (Trade Market-
Directed).
• Certain promotions can help push a product through the channel by encouraging channel
members to purchase and also promote the product to their customers. For instance, a trade
promotion aimed at retailers may encourage retailers to instruct their employees to promote a
marketer’s brand over competitors’ offerings. With thousands of products competing for limited
shelf space, spending on trade promotion is nearly equal that spent on consumer promotions.
• Sales promotions can also be directed at members of the trade – wholesalers, distributors, and
retailers. It is intended to stimulate demand in the short run and help push the product through
the distribution channel more immediately. Effective trade promotions can generate enthusiasm
for a product and contribute to the loyalty distributors show for the brand. With the massive
proliferation of new brands and brand extensions, manufacturers need to stimulate enthusiasm
and loyalty among members of the trade and also need a way to get the attention of the buyers
suffering from information overload.
Objectives for promotions in the trade market
When marketers devise incentives for the trade market, they are executing a push strategy – i.e.
sales promotions directed at the trade help push a product into the distribution channel until it
ultimately reaches the consumer.
1. Obtain initial distribution
Because of the proliferation of brands in the consumer market, there is fierce competition
for shelf space. Sales promotion incentives can help a firm gain initial distribution and shelf
placement. Like consumers, members of the trade need a “ reason to choose” one brand
over the other when it comes to allocating shelf space. A well conceived promotion
incentive might sway them.
2. Increase order size
Sales promotions techniques encourage wholesalers and retailers to order in large quantities,
thus shifting the inventory burden to the channel and giving them benefits of economies of
scale.
3. Increased store traffic
Retailers can increase store traffic through sales promotions or events. A promotion that
generates a lot of interest within a target audience can drive consumers to retail outlets.
• Many sales promotions aimed at building relationships with channel partners follow similar
designs as those directed to consumers including promotional pricing, contests and free product.
In addition to these, several other promotional approaches are specifically designed to appeal to
trade partners. These approaches include:
1. Point-of-Purchase Displays
2. Advertising Support Programs
3. Short Term Allowances
4. Sales Incentives or Push Money
5. Promotional Products
6. Trade Shows
c) Sales force sales promotions
• Sales promotion directed towards the sales people is referred to as sales force promotions.
• These schemes are intended to motivate sales people to put in more efforts to increase sales,
increase distribution, promote new or seasonal products, sell more deals to resellers, book more
orders develop prospects lists and build up morale and enthusiasm.

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Some of these activities are meant to prepare the sales people to do their jobs well and include
sales meetings and manuals, training programmes, sales presentations, film and slide shows etc.
Prize distribution to winners is the more tangible aspect of any such programme.
Objectives of sales force promotion schemes are:
• Increase sales volume
• Introduce a new product
• Reducing selling costs
• Offset competitive promotions
• Improve working habits
• Develop new prospect lists etc.
d) Business sales promotions (Business-to-Business Market-
Directed).
The use of sales promotion is not limited to consumer products marketing. In business-to-business
markets sales promotions are also used as a means of moving customers to action. However, the
promotional choices available to the B-to-B marketer are not as extensive as those found in the
consumer or trade markets. For example, most B-to-B marketers do not use coupons as a vehicle for
sales promotion with the exception of companies that sell to both consumer and business customers
(e.g., products sold through office supply retailers). Rather, the techniques more likely to be utilized
include:
1. Price-reductions
2. Free product
3. Trade-in
4. Promotional products
5. Trade shows
A. CONSUMER SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUES
Detail:
Consumer sales promotions encompass a variety of short-term promotional techniques designed to
induce customers to respond in some way. The most popular consumer sales promotions are directly associated with
product purchasing. These promotions are intended to enhance the value of a product purchase by either reducing the
overall cost of the product (i.e., get same product but for less money) or by adding more benefit to the regular purchase
price (i.e., get more for the money).
While tying a promotion to an immediate purchase is a major use of consumer sales promotion, it is not the only one.
As we noted above, promotion techniques can be used to achieve other objectives such as building brand loyalty or
creating product awareness. Consequently, a marketer’s promotional toolbox contains a large variety of consumer
promotions.
11 types of consumer sales promotions:
1. Coupons
2. Rebates
4. Trade-In
5. Loyalty Programs
7. Free Product

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8. Premiums
10. Demonstrations
1. Coupons
Coupons are another, very versatile, way of offering a discount. Consider the following examples of
the use of coupons:
On a pack to encourage repeat purchase
- In coupon books sent out in newspapers allowing customers to redeem the coupon at a retailer
- A cut-out coupon as part of an advert
- On the back of till receipts
The key objective with a coupon promotion is to maximize the redemption rate – this is the
proportion of customers actually using the coupon.
One problem with coupons is that they may simply encourage customers to buy what they would
have bought anyway. Another problem occurs when retailers do not hold sufficient stocks of the
promoted product – causing customer disappointment.
Use of coupon promotions is, therefore, often best for new products or perhaps to encourage sales of
existing products that are slowing down.
2. Rebates
Rebates, like coupons, offer value to purchasers typically by lowering the customer’s final cost for acquiring the
product. While rebates share some similarities with coupons, they differ in several keys aspects. First, rebates
are generally handed or offered (e.g., accessible on the Internet) to customers after a purchase is made and
cannot be used to obtain immediate savings in the way coupons are used. (So called “instant rebates”, where
customers receive price reductions at the time of purchase, have elements of both coupons and rebates, but for
our purposes we will classify these as coupons due to the timing of the reward to the customer.)
Second, rebates often request the purchaser to submit personal data in order to obtain the rebate. For instance,
customer identification, including name, address and contact information, is generally required to obtain a
rebate. Also, the marketer may ask those seeking a rebate to provide additional data such as indicating the
reason for making the purchase.
Third, unlike coupons that always offer value when used in a purchase (assuming it is accepted by the retailer),
receiving a rebate only guarantees value if the customer takes actions. Marketers know that not all customers
will respond to a rebate. Some will misplace or forget to submit the rebate while others may submit after a
required deadline. Marketers factor in the non-redemption rate as they attempt to calculate the cost of the
rebate promotion.
Finally, rebates tend to be used as a value enhancement in higher priced products compared to coupons. For
instance, rebates are a popular promotion for automobiles and computer software where large amounts of
money may be returned to the customer.
One of the most powerful sales promotion techniques is the short-term price reduction or, as known in some
areas, “on sale” pricing. Lowering a product’s selling price can have an immediate impact on demand, though
marketers must exercise caution since the frequent use of this technique can lead customers to anticipate the
reduction and, consequently, withhold purchase until the price reduction occurs again.
As we will see in a later tutorial, promotional pricing is also considered within the framework of the Price
marketing mix component. More on of this technique will be provided in that discussion.
4. Trade-In
Trade-in promotions allow consumers to obtain lower prices by exchanging something the customer possess,
such as an older product that the new purchase will replace. While the idea of gaining price breaks for trading
in another product is most frequently seen with automobile sales, such promotions are used in other industries,
such as computers and golf equipment, where the customer’s exchanged product can be resold by the marketer
in order to extract value.
5. Loyalty Programs
Promotions that offer customers a reward, such as price discounts and free products, for frequent purchasing
or other activity are called loyalty programs. These promotions have been around for many years but grew
rapidly in popularity when introduced in the airline industry as part of frequent-filer programs. Loyalty

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programs are also found in numerous other industries, including grocery, pizza purchasing and online book
purchases, where they may also be known as club card programs since members often must use a verification
card as evidence of enrollment in the program.
Many loyalty programs have become ingrained as part of the value offered by a marketer. That is, a retailer or
marketing organization may offer loyalty programs as general business practice. Under this condition loyalty
program does not qualify as a sales promotion since it does not fit the requirement of offering a short-term
value (i.e., it is always offered). However, within a general business practice loyalty program a sales promotion
can be offered, such as special short-term offer that lowers the number of points needed to acquire a free
product.
Enticing members of a target market to try a product is often easy when the trial comes at little or no cost to
the customer. The use of samples and free trials may be the oldest of all sales promotion techniques dating
back to when society advanced from a culture of self-subsistence to a culture of trade.
Sampling and free trials give customers the opportunity to experience products, often in small quantities or for
a short duration, without purchasing the product. Today, these methods are used in almost all industries and
are especially useful for getting customers to try a product for the first time.
7. Free Product
Some promotional methods offer free products but with the condition that a purchase be made. The free
product may be in the form of additional quantities of the same purchased product (e.g., buy one, get one free)
or specialty packages (e.g., value pack) that offer more quantity for the same price as regular packaging.
8. Premiums
Another form of sales promotion involving free merchandise is premium or “give-away” items. Premiums
differ from samples and free product in that these often do not consist of the actual product, though there is
often some connection. For example, a cellphone manufacturer may offer access to free downloadable
ringtones for those purchasing a cellphone.
Consumers are often attracted to promotions where the potential value obtained is very high. In these
promotions only a few lucky consumers receive the value offered in the promotion. Two types of promotions
that offer high value are contests and sweepstakes.
Contests are special promotions awarding value to winners based on skills they demonstrate compared to
others. For instance, a baking company may offer free vacations to winners of a baking contest. Contest
award winners are often determined by a panel of judges.
Sweepstakes or drawings are not skill based but rather based on luck. Winners are determined by random
selection. In some cases the chances of winning may be higher for those who make a purchase if entry into the
sweepstake occurs automatically when a purchase is made. But in most cases, anyone is free to enter without
the requirement to make a purchase.
A sub-set of both contests and sweepstakes are games, which come in a variety of formats such as scratch-off
cards and collection of game pieces. Unlike contests and sweepstakes, which may not require purchase, to
participate in a game customers may be required to make a purchase. In the United States and other countries,
where eligibility is based on purchase, games may be subjected to rigid legal controls and may actually fall under
that category of lotteries, which are tightly controlled.
11. Demonstrations
Many products benefit from customers being shown how products are used through a demonstration.
Whether the demonstration is experienced in-person or via video form, such as over the Internet, this
promotional technique can produce highly effective results. Unfortunately, demonstrations are very expensive
to produce. Costs involved in demonstrations include paying for the expense of the demonstrator, which can
be high if the demonstrator is well-known (e.g., nationally known chef), and also paying for the space where the
demonstration is given.
An in-person appearance by someone of interest to the target market, such as an author, sports figure or
celebrity, is another form of sales promotion capable of generating customer traffic to a physical location.
However, as with demonstrations, personal appearance promotion can be expensive since the marketer
normally must pay a fee for the person to appear.

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B. TRADE SALES PROMOTION TECHNIQUES
Certain promotions can help “push” a product through the channel by encouraging channel members to
purchase and also promote the product to their customers. For instance, a trade promotion aimed at retailers
may encourage retailers to instruct their employees to promote a marketer’s brand over competitors’ offerings.
With thousands of products competing for limited shelf space, spending on trade promotion is nearly equal
that spent on consumer promotions.
Many sales promotions aimed at building relationships with channel partners follow similar designs as those
directed to consumers including promotional pricing, contests and free product. In addition to these, several
other promotional approaches are specifically designed to appeal to trade partners. These approaches
include:
3. Short Term Allowances
6. Trade Shows
Below is a discussion of each approach.
• Trade allowances: short term incentive offered to induce a retailer to stock up on a product.
• Dealer loader: An incentive given to induce a retailer to purchase and display a product.
• Trade contest: A contest to reward retailers that sell the most product.
• Point-of-purchase displays: Extra sales tools given to retailers to boost sales.
• Training programs: dealer employees are trained in selling the product.
• Push money: also known as spiffs. An extra commission paid to retail employees to push products.
Point of purchase (POP) displays are specially designed materials intended for placement in retail stores. These
displays allow products to be prominently presented, often in high traffic areas, and thereby increase the
probability the product will standout. POP displays come in many styles, though the most popular are ones
allowing a product to stand alone, such as in the middle of a store aisle or sit at the end of an aisle (i.e., end-cap)
where it will be exposed to heavy customer traffic.
For channel partners, POP displays can result in significant sales increases compared to sales levels in a normal
shelf position. Also, many marketers will lower the per-unit cost of products in the POP display as an
incentive for retailers to agree to include the display in their stores.
In addition to offering promotional support in the form of physical displays, marketers can attract channel
members’ interest by offering financial assistance in the form of advertising money. These funds are often
directed to retailers who then include the company’s products in their advertising. In certain cases the marketer
will offer to pay the entire cost of advertising, but more often, the marketer offers partial support known as co-op
advertising funds.
3. Short Term Trade Allowances
This promotion offers channel partners price breaks for agreeing to stock the product. In most cases the
allowance is not only given as encouragement to purchase the product but also as an inducement to promote
the product in other ways such as by offering attractive shelf space or store location, highlighting the product in
company-produced advertising or website display, or by agreeing to have the retailer’s sales personnel “talk-up”
the product to customers.
Allowances can be in the form price reductions (a.k.a. off-invoice promotion) and buy-back guarantees if the
product does not sell in certain period of time.
Since sales promotions are intended to stimulate activity that leads to meeting promotional objectives, it makes
sense that these can also apply to those in the organization who also affect sales. Thus, sales promotions are
commonplace among an organization’s sales force and customer service staff where they are used as incentives

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to help sell more of the marketer’s product. Sometimes called push money, these promotions typically offer
employees cash or prizes, such as trips, for those that meet sales requirements.
Among the most widely used methods of sales promotions is the promotional product; products labeled with
the brand or company name that serve as reminders of the actual product. For instance, companies often hand
out free calendars, coffee cups and pens that contain the product logo.
6. Trade Shows
One final type of trade promotion is the industry trade show (a.k.a. exhibitions, conventions). Trade shows are
organized events that bring both industry buyers and sellers together in one central location. Spending on trade
shows is one of the highest of all sales promotions. In fact, the Promotion Marketing Association estimates
that over (US) $20 billion is spent annually by marketers to participate in trade shows.
Marketers are attracted to trade shows since these offer the opportunity to reach a large number of potential
buyers in one convenient setting. At these events most sellers attempt to capture the attention of buyers by
setting up a display area to present their product offerings and meet with potential customers. These displays
can range from a single table covering a small area to erecting specially built display booths that dominate the
trade show floor.
offer employees cash or prizes, such as trips, for those that meet sales requirements.
MAJOR DECISIONS IN SALES PROMOTION
How sales promotion campaigns are developed implemented.
(a) DETERMINE OR SET THE SALES PROMOTION OBJECTIVES.
Some of the objectives include:
Consumer oriented
• Obtaining trial repurchase
• To increase short term sales
• To help build long-term market share
• To entice consumers to try a new product
• To lure consumers away from
competitor’s products
• To get consumers to “load up” on a
mature product or hold reward loyal
customers.
• Increasing consumption of an established
brand
• Defending current customers
• Enhancing advertising marketing
efforts.
Trade oriented
• Obtain distribution support for new
products
• Getting retailers to carry new items and
more inventory.
• Getting them to advertise the product
and give it more shelf space.
• Maintain trade support for established
brands
• Encourage retailers to display and
promote established brands
• Build retail inventories
(b) IDENTIFY THE TARGET MARKET/AUDIENCE.
• The marketer also must set conditions for participation, the group he wishes to receive his
messages.
• Incentives might be offered to everyone or to select groups.
(c) SELECTING THE SALES PROMOTION TOOLS OR TECHNIQUES
• The marketer must decide on how to promote distribute the promotion program itself.
• Coupons, Samples, Premium, price off deals, rebates/ refund, bonus packs, contests
sweepstakes, discount, games, allowances ETC.
• A $500 off coupon could be given out in a package, at the store, by mail, or in an
advertisement.
• Each distribution method involves a different level of reach cost.
• Increasingly marketers are blending several media into a total campaign concept.

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(d) ALLOCATE THE SALES PROMOTION BUDGET.
o This affects the size of the incentive. A certain minimum incentive is necessary if the promotion is to
succeed; a larger incentive will produce more sales response but also expensive hence requires a bigger
budget.
(e) DECIDE ON THE ROLL OUT TIMETABLE OF THE PROGRAM.
The length of the promotion is also important. If the sales promotion period is too short,
many prospects (who may not be buying during that time) will miss it.
If the promotion runs too long, the deal will lose some of its “act now” force.
(f) EVALUATE / MEASURE THE SALES PROMOTION RESULTS.
The most common method is to compare sales before, during and after a promotion.
Suppose a company has a 6% market share before the promotion, which jumps to 10%
during the promotion, falls to 5% right after, and rises to 7% later on. The promotion seems
to attracted new triers and more buying from current customers.
After the promotion sales fell as consumers used up their inventories.
The long run rise to 7% means that the promotion gained some new users.Surveys can
provide information on how many consumers recall the promotion, what they thought of it,
how many took advantage of it, and how it affected their buying.
************READ; PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING BY PHILIP KOTLER 3RD EDITION Page 527-535
OR ANY OTHER EDITION, TOPIC: ADVERTISING, SALES PROMOTION PUBLICITY

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6. PUBLICITY/ Public relations
(a) Definition
(b) Forms
(c) Links with other promotion mix elements
(d) Financial implications of publicity
Publicity involves” securing editorial space” as divorced from paid space, in all media read, viewed, or heard
by a company’s customers or prospects, for the specific purpose of assisting in the meeting of sales goals.
Advantages of publicity
1. Lower cost than advertising or personal selling
No media space or time costs no sales people to support
2. Increased readership
Presented as editorial material or news, so it gets greater readership, many consumers are conditioned to ignore advertising or at least
pay a scant attention
3. More information
Because it is presented as editorial material, publicity can contain greater material or detail than the usual advert.
4. Timeliness
A company can put out a news release very quickly when some unexpected event occurs
5. High credibility
News stories and features seem more authentic and credible than adverts do
6. Dramatization
Publicity, like advertising, has a potential for dramatizing a company or product.
7. Cost: Publicity is usually free.
i. If it isn't totally free, it is cost effective.
8. Perception of your business by the customer. We tend to remember stories about a business long after we've
forgotten their ads.
9. Credibility: Anyone can buy an ad in the paper. Publicity must be earned. There is the perception that the media doing the
story has verified that you are as advertised before they do the story.
DISADVANTAGES OF PUBLICITY include:
o Marketers HAVE NO CONTROL over how, when, or if the media will use the story.
o Media DOES NOT HAVE TO PUBLISH IT.
o The story can be ALTERED so it’s not positive.
o There IS such a thing as BAD publicity.
o Stories are NOT LIKELY TO BE REPEATED; advertising can be repeated as often as needed
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include
people (for example, politicians and performing artists), goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art
or entertainment.
From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion. The other elements of the promotional
mix are advertising, sales promotion, and personal selling. Promotion is one component of marketing.
Between the client and selected target audiences, publicity is the management of product- or brand-related
communications between the firm and the general public. It is primarily an informative activity (as opposed to
a persuasive one), but its ultimate goal is to promote the client's products, services, or brands. A publicity plan
is a planned program aimed at obtaining favorable media coverage for an organization's products - or for the
organization itself, to enhance its reputation and relationships with stakeholders.
A basic tool of the publicist is the press release, but other techniques include telephone press conferences, in-studio
media tours, multi-component video news releases (VNR’s), newswire stories, and internet releases. For
these releases to be used by the media, they must be of interest to the public ( or at least to the market segment
that the media outlet is targeted to). The releases are often customized to match the media vehicle that they are
being sent to. Getting noticed by the press is all about saying the right thing at the right time. A publicist is
continuously asking what about you or your company will pique the reader's curiosity and make a good story?
The most successful publicity releases are related to topics of current interest. These are referred to as news

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pegs. An example is if three people die of water poisoning, an alert publicist would release stories about the
technology embodied in a water purification product.
MAJOR DICISIONS IN PUBLICITY
How PUBLICITY campaigns are developed implemented?
1. Establish the publicity objectives
2. Choosing the publicity message vehicles
3. Implementing the publicity plan
4. Evaluating the publicity results
For detail: visit PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING BY PHILIP KOTLER 3RD EDITION Page 538-539 OR
ANY OTHER EDITION, TOPIC: ADVERTISING, SALES PROMOTION PUBLICITY
But the publicist cannot wait around for the news to present opportunities. They must also try to create their own news.
Examples of this include:
1) Contests
2) Art exhibitions
3) Event sponsorship
4) Arrange a speech or talk
5) Make an analysis or prediction
6) Conduct a poll or survey
7) Issue a report
8) Take a stand on a controversial subject
9) Arrange for a testimonial
10) Announce an appointment
11) Celebrate an anniversary
12) Invent then present an award
13) Stage a debate
14) Organize a tour of your business or projects
15) Issue a commendation
The advantages of publicity are low cost, and credibility (particularly if the publicity is aired in
between news stories like on evening TV news casts). New technologies such as weblogs, web
cameras, web affiliates, and convergence (phone-camera posting of pictures and videos to
websites) are changing the cost-structure. The disadvantages are lack of control over how your
releases will be used, and frustration over the low percentage of releases that are taken up by the
media.
Publicity draws on several key themes including birth, love, and death. These are of particular
interest because they are themes in human lives which feature heavily throughout life. In
television serials several couples have emerged during crucial ratings and important publicity
times, as a way to make constant headlines. Also known as a publicity stunt, the pairings may or
may not be truthful.
Public Relations
• Public Relations is a planned and sustained activity to help an institution create a social climate
favorable for its growth. It is based on the fundamental belief that the survival of any enterprise,
public or private depends today on the sensitive response to changes in public opinion.
DEFINITION
The International Public Relations Association defines Public Relations as “Public Relations is the art and
social science of analyzing trends, predicting their consequences, counseling organisation leaders and

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implementing planned programmes of action which will serve both the organization’s and the public
interest.”
Public relation is a two way process. On the one hand it seeks to interpret an organization to society while on
the other it keeps the organization informed about the expectation of the society. Fundamentally public
relation is a means by which an organization improves its operating environment.
Who needs public relations
The diverse institutions and individuals requiring professional Public Relations go beyond the more traditionally defined
corporate world. Who are they? And Who are they.
College or University
A public relations expert needs to defuse those crisis situations where student bodies could be in revolt over demands,
where there is a change in educational policy, where something could be wrong with the examination papers or simply
when, in interaction with State and Central Governments, grants have to be sought or when a college organizes
intercollegiate festivals.
Newspaper
Some of the better newspapers have Public Relations Staff quite separate from the advertising department or the
marketing people.Times Of India is having lots of articles on the National Readership Survey, because they topped the
list.
Non-Profit Body
From the point of view of the organisation, whether it is Rotary, UNICEF, the Red Cross, or any number of charitable
and cultural and social service organizations, a Public Relations cell is an integral part of the institution. It has to interact
with a number of bodies for its very existence, for the support of its causes, for mis-understandings that can crop-up as;
at every stage it is public money at stake.
Individual
An aspirant to a political post needs it, so does a person standing for president-ship of a chamber of commerce. So does
an actor, a producer or a gallery owner, or a non-resident who is seeking to make a mark in the Indian business
circle.Shripad Nadkarni of Coke needed PR as his image was shattered when Sushmita Sen lay allegations on him of
sexual harassment. He got the support from his company Miss sen was shown thumbs down.
Corporate Bodies
Corporate organizations constitute bulk of recognized Public relations activity involving numerous publics.
Employee Interaction
The most important “public” of Public Relations activity in a corporation is the employee. He is vital in a more crucial
way than people imagine. The employee could be viewed as a decision-maker, someone who cannot merely be a target
for communication but who would also be dictating the direction in which the company moves.
Which means that the Public Relations Practitioners cannot be mere purveyors of information, but have to ensure an
involvement and participation of and direction from employees. Employee aspirations have soared as a result of which a
PR expert has to remember some basic tenets. He has to ensure the least amount of secrecy and holding back of
information. He has to cater to many strata of employees, he has to convey the company’s plans, ideas, projects and
vision, and also ensuring better communications during a crisis. Effective Public Relations begins at home!
Like notice saying that there would be no Christmas holiday this year due to increased work load, so the employees can

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plan their schedules in advance.
Shareholder Interface
A shareholder relation is a key aspect of corporate Public Relations. Shareholders, particularly those who have stayed
with a company for many years because they value their investment in it, deserve more than just the statutory annual
report, interim report or ‘not well’ shareholders visits to the company which turn out to be a mere picnic. A well-treated
shareholder can do a lot for the company’s image in terms of his feedback to his peer group. For, armed with his
detailed knowledge of the company’s financial status, twinned with the kind of “treatment” the company the metes out
to him in terms of goodies like shareholders meets and gifts and information, he can be a better ambassador of the
company than the organisation could ever imagine. Also now there are new investor associations, which are
championing the rights of shareholders. This is an issue companies need to be aware of so that their interaction can
extend beyond shareholders to these associations.
Dhirubhai Ambani considered that corporate duty towards society is not to donate money but to maximize share
holder’s wealth.
Media Monitoring
The area, which occupies considerable amounts of time for any Public Relations department is the relationship with the
media. To many people, this is probably the only function of a public relations person. To the Chief executive, this is the
area, which is likely to create the greatest problems. To the public relations expert, this is what brings in the best
opportunities to communicate the product-policy-plan conundrum of the company through well-mustered plans. To the
journalist or the television producer, it is sometimes a reactive situation of reviving unsolicited plugs, but also one, which
could provide material for analysis, projection of industrial progress and background for potentially explosive stories.The
Cola –Pesticide and the Cadbury - worms controversy.
Government Goodwill
When public relations was in its infancy, the strongest focus, and perhaps the need of the day, was lobbying with the
powers that be. Today, the needs of the company to interact with the policy makers, not just through their government
liaison departments, but also through their public relations managers who are expected to be able to study the complete
picture and present not just a case for license but a total image package.
Suppliers
They need to be informed of the strategies being pursued by the focus organization, if they are to be able to provide
continuity a quality service.
Financial Groups
In addition to the shareholders, there are those individuals or organizations who are either potential investors or those
who advice investors. These represent the wider financial community. Financial analysts need to be supplied with
information in order that they be up to date with the activities performance outcomes of organizations, but also need
to be adviced of developments within the various markets that the organization operates.If a company has a bagged a big
contract overseas, then it can be boasted of.
Community
The local community is often the target of PR activities because of its proximity the influence that the locals may have
on an organization. By attempting to keep it informed by trying to develop a goodwill mutual understanding, the
local community can be encouraged to identify more strongly with the focus organization.
When Colgate started their business they were not well received. Due to the general attitude of the people, it was
considered as non-indian an outsider. So it came up with a community service programme. It was a programme for
the youth involved dental health sports at metro mini-metro cities. It named it as Colgate Palmolive young India
programme It was highly successful.

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Local Authorities
The power influence held by local authorities cannot be underestimated. Eg: their willingness to grant licenses to a
project reflect the attitudes relationship between the 2 parties.
Customers
This group is often the target for PR activities, because although members of the public may not be current customers,
the potential they represent is important. The attit udes preferences towards the organization its products may be
unfavourable. By creating awareness trust, it is possible to create goodwill interest, which may transform into purchase
activity or favourable word-of-mouth communication.
During the dengue fever and malaria scare, Odomos, the mosquito repellent cream company, distributed free tubes of
Odomos, in an effort to show that they care about their consumers.
International Public Relations
International PR counseling services essentially involve assistance to the top management in matters involving people-to-
people activities in more than 1 country. Basically, the discipline techniques used are the same as in domestic PR,
but the job is quite different complex due to social, cultural language difficulties that exist.
PR in crisis management
Crisis can strike any organization any time. They can be bad, they are usually visible a focus of everyone’s attention.
In all crises generally a lot is at stake. Image, reputation money- at the individual , organizational individual level.
Public Relations in Crisis
They are mostly inexplicable because of external factors- like rumors negative competitive propaganda. The way to
handle this kind of crisis is to establish direct contact with your publics explain the facts. Silence or the “no comment”
response is in a way confessing of ignorance, acceptance or guilt.
Wrong public perceptions
Cadbury’s large press campaigns, informing the consumer that the worms found, were actually in very few samples. They
also started “project Vishvas” where they distributed coolers and mini refrigerators to retailers to enable better
preservation of the product.
Product failure
Here one is referring to damage caused by the failure of products in use- such as injuries, pollution, loss of reputation
esteem so on. Here honesty is the best policy. You need to be open transparent. You need to act fast to rectify the
situation communicate fast. Your company its reputation is more important than its product.
Cash crunch
For daily operations a company needs cash flow. A problem of cash flow can affect one’s performance. This is a
problem which PR cannot solve directly. It is a top management problem to be handled by the CEO the team. PR
can play a supportive role in communicating the management policies of cost cutting austerity.
Industrial relations
Labour problems, agitations strikes are common. Dealing with it is an ongoing continuous process.

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Mergers Acquisitions
This can lead to a crisis when there is a resistance to the takeover or acuistion from the present management or
employees. Usually takeovers are accompanied by change of policies ways of functioning this results in conflicts.
Good overall performance, good financial practices communication at all levels are the important wayts to avoid
such crisis.
Press relations in emergencies/crisis
Some of the big questions that an on the spot spokesman should be ready to handle:
•What happened?
•What caused it?
•When did it happen?
•Where did it happen?
•How much damage has occurred?
•Were anybody killed or hurt?
Managing crisis situations
To handle a crisis we need to adopt a focused concerted effort comprising:
•Planning
•Strategy
•An action plan
Planning
In planning, the key lies in defining the problem clearly. Once the problem its cause has been understood the next
step should be to fix clear-cut objectives that need to be met can be achieved by communications with the target
publics. 1 must arrive at the final message, or theme, (what to say) define the primary audience (to whom). A company
must be able to communicate effectively to every sector of the community in the event of a crisis.
Strategy
Whatever strategy be adopted there are some proven guidelines which need to be followed. One looks at all aspects of
your operations to identify those that might become targets of opponents or snowball into bigger issues. Have the
information organized ready at all likely places where it might be needed- in writing if possible.
Be open honest in your response to the employees, media, all your target groups. Giving out the information when
it is most required is most essential.
Have experts identified readily available to impart information whenever wherever needed. If possible have
communication kits prepared made available to be sent to people at the crisis scene as quickly as possible.
Train your people for the toughest conditions they might encounter in a crisis- like facing hostile media, being
interviewed, tackling baited questions in a television interview so on.
Action
Whatever strategy prepared should be implemented by keeping two things in mind, in viz: choosing the right media
getting proper coverage

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Advantages of Public Relations - PR
There are many advantages of Public Relations which help business in many ways. They are.
Credibility
Because PR communications are not perceived in the same light as advertising – that is, the public does not realize the
organization either directly or indirectly paid for them – they tend to have more credibility. The fact that the media are
not being compensated for providing the information may lead receivers to consider the news more truthful and
credible. For example, an article in newspapers or magazines discussing the virtues of aspirin may be perceived very
much as more credible than an ad for a particular brand of aspirin.
Cost
In both absolute and relative terms, the cost of PR is very low, especially when the possible effects are considered.
While a firm can employ AD agencies and spend millions of dollars on AD, for smaller companies, this form of
communication may be the most affordable alternative available.
Avoidance of Clutter
Because they are typically perceived, as news items, PR messages are not subject to the clutter of ads. A story regarding a
new product, introduction of break through is treated as a news item and is likely to receive attention.
Talks about the Aamir Khan movie, The Rising
Lead Generation
Information about the technological innovations, medical break-throughs and the like results almost immediately in a
multitude of inquiries. These inquiries may give the firm some quality sales lead.
Ability to reach specific groups
Because some products appeal to only small market segments, it is not feasible to engage in advertising and / or
promotions to reach them. If the firm does not have the financial capabilities, to engage in promotional expenditures,
the best way to communicate to these groups is through PR.
Language barriers in different parts of india
Image Building
Effective PR helps to develop positive image for the organization. A strong image is insurance against later mis-fortunes.
Disadvantages of Public Relations
Perhaps, the major disadvantage of PR is the potential for not completing communication process
While PR ( public Relations ) messages can break through the clutter of commercials, the receiver may not make the
connection to the source.
Public Relations may also mis-fire through mis management and a lack of co-ordination with the marketing department.
When the marketing and PR department operate independently, there is a danger of inconsistency in communication,
redundancies in efforts and so on.
The key to effective PR is to establish a good program, worthy of public interest and manage it properly. To determine if
this program is working, the firm must measure the effectiveness of the Public Relations effort.

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PR Process - Public Relations
Establishing an public relations program on behalf of a business or industry, or a professional group, involves a series of
steps that, although subject to some variation in differing situations, generally will include.
Public relations activity has seven steps:
1. Analysis of the situation
2. Definition of problem areas
3. Identification of pertinent publics
4. Establishment of specific objectives
5. Planning of program
6. Implementation of program
7. Periodic evaluations of progress
ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION
Analysis of the situation calls for broad study of all aspects of the business that affect the publics. The starting point will
be the people in the business or industry (particularly those who are active in the company, such as board members,
appropriate committee chairman and members, and so on) who appear to have awareness of the public relations
situation. The public relations person will begin by interviewing such people; from them he or she will go to people
outside the business but in a position to observe it more closely than the average layman (these may include editors of
trade publications, officials of chambers of commerce and better business bureaus, government officials concerned with
the regulations of the business or profession.
Public Relations Tools - PR
PRINT MEDIA
Most of the efforts chapters make in public relations are through forms of print media, primarily newspapers. These are
usually the most visible outlets on college campuses, especially school newspapers, and in the local community.
PRESS RELEASE
The press release is the most common material provided to media outlets. These documents provide a brief, yet
thorough, description of an upcoming activity, whether it is rush or a service project.
PHOTOGRAPHS
There are usually two types of photographs in publicity portrait shots, where people pose for the camera and smile, and
candids, where the subjects are doing something.
CASES HISTORIES/ STUDIES
Case studies which show a good image of the company are shared with the media/ investors, community etc. Books on
Making of Asoka, Making of Lagaan, Amitabh Bacchan- A book by Jaya Bachchan EDITORIALS No money, high
credibility, however no control over message.
ADVERTORIALS Advertisement + Editorial.
Control over message, pay lesser than an advertisement. It is a strategic tool, but should not be used too often.
INTERVIEWS/FEATURES Meeting journalists.
Here there is lot of room for different interpretations. More often than not, press releases will not be printed verbatim.
Even though your media contact will likely rewrite them, possibly including additional quotes or information they
research on their own your press releases should be written well enough. However, there are also times that a press
release will encourage a reporter to do more, such as conduct a full interview with chapter members or write a feature
article on an upcoming project. While doing sponsorships one should try to brand it with the event simultaneously.
BROCHURE
A booklet published by the organization which contains the organisations background, its ethics, vision, mission, its past,
present and future projects, its USP, etc.Eg: brochure given to new employees to give them a gist of the organisation.

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POSTER AND CALENDAR
Any poster or calendar used to achieve a public relations objective.
WRITTEN SPEECH
The typewritten or printed text of a speech given to achieve a public relations objective.
INTERNAL NEWSLETTERS AND PUBLICATIONS
ICICI has their internal Newsletters, in which information about the company, its profits, employees etc. is given.
EVENT AND PRESS SUPPOR
Special events are acts of news development. The ingredients are time, place, people, activities, drama, showmanship;
one special event may have many subsidiary events, such as luncheons, banquets, contests, speeches, and many others as
part of the build up.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Submitting these articles does not require a media contact. This also gives an opportunity for any member to submit a
letter on their chapter for printing in a local or campus newspaper.
ANALYSTS BRIEF
One tells about the company, what the company is doing. It is done to influence the stock buyers, analysts, employees
and media.
CORPORATE ADVERTISING
If you believe the image of the company is good i.e. that trustworthy, reliable one, then you can use that as a PR tool.
E.X.Aditya Birla Group, Om Kotak Mahindra ad.
CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
Om Kotak doing many seminars. It contacts associations and tells them to give numbers of their members so that they
can talk to them. The members are contacted through telephones and asked to attend seminar on General Insurance. In
the seminar they talk on General Insurance for 20 minutes and then the next 10 minutes they talk about the company
products.Pharma Companies when they do any research say for example, diabetic research, they would launch the
product and before or after the launch they would call doctors for a conference to discuss about the research
INTERNET:
This one medium has helped transform the whole business of marketing and public relations. In a way, it gives any
organization the ability to promote themselves without having to rely solely on other media outlets. Websites and e-mail
are the two most common methods to use the Internet for PR purposes.
WEBSITE
A chapter website should not only be designed to serve as a resource for members, but it should also present a positive
message to nonmembers just browsing through. Brief descriptions of chapter history, past projects and activities, and
long-standing relationships with other organizations may give an outsider a positive impression of the fraternity. Like the
newsletter, information for members shouldn't just inform, it should also encourage involvement and develop
enthusiasm.
E-MAIL
Today, this has become the most common method used for communication between fraternity members. It can also be
used to promote a chapter to fellow students and others, but it should be used carefully.
AUDIO AND VISUAL:
This division includes any audio or audio/visual presentation or program which serves a :Public Relations objective.
Audio presentation. Any sound-only program, including telephone hot lines and other recorded messages, radio
programs, public service announcements and audio news releases.Audio/Visual Presentation. Any internal or external
audio-visual presentation using still illustrations, with or without sound, using one or more projectors. Film Or Video.
Any film or video which presents information to an organization's internal audiences.

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NEWS AND PUBLICITY:
News is something that interests many people today. From the point of view of THE TIMES OF INDIA, that means
the national readers of THE TIMES OF INDIA and the metropolis readers of THE BOMBAY TIMES, etc. From the
point of view of THE INDIAN EXPRESS, it means all the people interested in hardcore content and no masala.Every
medium has a news standard of its own, and that is the criterion the publicist goes by in attempting to address publicity
to the public through that medium;
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Special events are acts or news development. The ingredients are time, place, people, activities, drama, and
showmanship. One special event may have many subsidiary events, such as luncheons, banquets, contests, speeches, and
many others, as part of the build-up. The special event is the coup de maitre of publicity, propaganda, and public
relations.
COPRORATE ADVERTISING
• Advertising designed to promote the company first and the products or services second.
• This is the sort of advertising meant to build reputation in the market place
• Promotes the company not individual products. This is so because the company name is not always the brand or product
name e.g. UNILEVER has products like surf.
• Corporate advertising is employed for improving customer relation, launch a company on the stock exchange or to attract
investors
• Also used when research shows that people are unaware of the company’s name and what it does.
WHAT GOOD CORPORATE ADVERTISING CAN ACHIEVE
1. It can build awareness of the company. The invisibility and remoteness of most companies is the main
handicap.
2. Corporate advertising can make a good impression on the financial community, thus enabling you to raise
capital at lower cost and make more acquisitions.
3. It can motivate your present employees and attract better recruits. Good public relations begin at home. If your
employees understand your policies and feel proud of your company, they will be your best ambassadors.
4. Corporate advertising can influence public opinions on specific issues.
FOUR TYPES OF CORPORATE ADVERTISING
1. Public relations advertising
Often used when a company wishes to communicate directly with one of its important
publics to express its feelings or enhance its point of view to that particular audience. Other
public relations adverts might be used for improving the company’s relations with labor,
government, customers or suppliers. Similarly when companies sponsor programmes on
public television, arts events or charitable activities, they frequently place public relations
adverts in other media to promote the programmes and their sponsorship. These ads are
designed to enhance the company’s general community citizenship and to create public
goodwill.
2. Institutional advertising
This is used specifically to enhance a company’s image and awareness. It reports a company’s
accomplishments, positions the company competitiveness in the market, to reflect a change in
corporate personality, to show up stock prices, to improve employee morale or to avoid a
communications problem with agents, dealers or customers.
3. Corporate identity advertising

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Companies take pride in their logos and corporate signatures. The graphic designs that identify
corporate names and products are considered valuable assets of the company and great effort is
expended to protect their individuality and ownership
4. Recruitment advertising
Although most corporate recruitment advertising is found in the classified sections of
newspapers and business publications, some national corporate magazine adverts are used for
recruitment purposes
PUBLIC RELATIONS ACTIVITIES
Publicity and press Agentry
Public affairs and lobbying
Community involvement
Promotional and special events
Publications
Research
Fundraising and membership drives
Public speaking
Differences between Advertising and Public Relations
ADVERTISING PUBLIC RELATIONS
• Space or time in the mass media must be paid for. • Coverage in mass media, if any, is not paid for.
• You determine the message. • Interpretation of the message is in the hands of the
media.
• You control timing. • Timing is in the hands of the media.
• One-way communication - using the mass media
does not allow feedback.
• Two-way communication - the company should be
listening as well as talking and the various PR venues
often provide immediate feedback.
• Message sponsor is identified. • Message sponsor is not overtly identified.
• The intention of most messages is to inform,
persuade, or remind about a product - usually with
the intention of making a sale.
• The intention of public relations efforts is often to
create good will, to keep the company and/or
product in front of the public, or to humanize a
company so the public relates to its people or
reputation rather than viewing the company as a
non-personal entity.
• The public may view the message negatively,
recognizing advertising as an attempt to persuade
or manipulate them.
• The public often sees public relations messages that
have been covered by the media as more neutral or
believable.
• Very powerful at creating image. • Can also create image, but can sometimes stray from
how it was originally intended.
• Writing style is usually persuasive, can be very
creative, often taking a conversational tone - may
even be grammatically incorrect.
• Writing style relies heavily on journalism talents -
any persuasion is artfully inserted in the fact-based
content
Advertising Public relations
Persuasive, praise the organization its products Educational factual
Does not handle complaints Handles complaints
Aim is to increase sales Aim is to create goodwill mutual understanding
Gains from public relations activities Does not gain from advertising activities
Less impact on customers at higher coast Has much impact on customers at a lower cost
than advertising
Direct form of promoting products services Indirect form of promoting products services

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7. PERSONAL SELLING
Advertising vs. Personal selling
What is Personal Selling?
• Personal selling occurs where an individual salesperson sells a product, service or solution to a client. Salespeople match
the benefits of their offering to the specific needs of a client. Today, personal selling involves the development of
longstanding client relationships.
• Personal selling is a promotional method in which one party (e.g., salesperson) uses skills and techniques for building
personal relationships with another party (e.g., those involved in a purchase decision) that results in both parties
obtaining value. In most cases the value for the salesperson is realized through the financial rewards of the sale while
the customer’s value is realized from the benefits obtained by consuming the product. However, getting a customer to
purchase a product is not always the objective of personal selling. For instance, selling may be used for the purpose of
simply delivering information.
• Because selling involves personal contact, this promotional method often occurs through face-to-face meetings or via a
telephone conversation, though newer technologies allow contact to take place over the Internet including using video
conferencing or text messaging (e.g., online chat).

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Difference between salesmanship and advertisement

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Advantages of Personal Selling
• One key advantage personal selling has over other promotional methods is that it is a two-way form of communication.
In selling situations the message sender (e.g., salesperson) can adjust the message as they gain feedback from message
receivers (e.g., customer). So if a customer does not understand the initial message (e.g., doesn’t fully understand how
the product works) the salesperson can make adjustments to address questions or concerns. Many non-personal forms
of promotion, such as a radio advertisement, are inflexible, at least in the short-term, and cannot be easily adjusted to
address audience questions.
• The interactive nature of personal selling also makes it the most effective promotional method for building relationships
with customers, particularly in the business-to-business market. This is especially important for companies that either sell
expensive products or sell lower cost but high volume products (i.e., buyer must purchase in large quantities) that rely
heavily on customers making repeat purchases. Because such purchases may take a considerable amount of time to
complete and may involve the input of many people at the purchasing company (i.e., buying center), sales success often
requires the marketer develop and maintain strong relationships with members of the purchasing company.
• Finally, personal selling is the most practical promotional option for reaching customers who are not easily reached
through other methods. The best example is in selling to the business market where, compared to the consumer market,
advertising, public relations and sales promotions are often not well received.
Disadvantages of Personal Selling
Possibly the biggest disadvantage of selling is the degree to which this promotional method is misunderstood. Most people have
had some bad experiences with salespeople who they perceived were overly aggressive or even downright annoying. While there
are certainly many salespeople who fall into this category, the truth is salespeople are most successful when they focus their
efforts on satisfying customers over the long term and not focusing own their own selfish interests.
A second disadvantage of personal selling is the high cost in maintaining this type of promotional effort. Costs incurred in
personal selling include:
• High cost-per-action (CPA) – As noted in the Promotion Decisions tutorial, CPA can be an important measure of the
success of promotion spending. Since personal selling involves person-to-person contact, the money spent to support a
sales staff (i.e., sales force) can be steep. For instance, in some industries it costs well over (US) $300 each time a
salesperson contacts a potential customer. This cost is incurred whether a sale is made or not! These costs include
compensation (e.g., salary, commission, bonus), providing sales support materials, allowances for entertainment
spending, office supplies, telecommunication and much more. With such high cost for maintaining a sales force, selling
is often not a practical option for selling products that do not generate a large amount of revenue.
• Training Costs – Most forms of personal selling require the sales staff be extensively trained on product knowledge,
industry information and selling skills. For companies that require their salespeople attend formal training programs, the
cost of training can be quite high and include such expenses as travel, hotel, meals, and training equipment while also
paying the trainees’ salaries while they attend.
A third disadvantage is that personal selling is not for everyone. Job turnover in sales is often much higher than other marketing
positions. For companies that assign salespeople to handle certain customer groups (e.g., geographic territory), turnover may leave
a company without representation in a customer group for an extended period of time while the company recruits and trains a
replacement.
Objectives of Personal Selling
Personal selling is used to meet the five objectives of promotion in the following ways:
• Building Product Awareness – A common task of salespeople, especially when selling in business markets, is to educate
customers on new product offerings. In fact, salespeople serve a major role at industry trades shows (see the Sales

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Promotion tutorial) where they discuss products with show attendees. But building awareness using personal selling is
also important in consumer markets. As we will discuss, the advent of controlled word-of-mouth marketing is leading to
personal selling becoming a useful mechanism for introducing consumers to new products.
• Creating Interest – The fact that personal selling involves person-to-person communication makes it a natural method
for getting customers to experience a product for the first time. In fact, creating interest goes hand-in-hand with building
product awareness as sales professionals can often accomplish both objectives during the first encounter with a potential
customer.
• Providing Information – When salespeople engage customers a large part of the conversation focuses on product
information. Marketing organizations provide their sales staff with large amounts of sales support including brochures,
research reports, computer programs and many other forms of informational material.
• Stimulating Demand – By far, the most important objective of personal selling is to convince customers to make a
purchase. In The Selling Process tutorial we will see how salespeople accomplish this when we offer detailed coverage of
the selling process used to gain customer orders.
• Reinforcing the Brand – Most personal selling is intended to build long-term relationships with customers. A strong
relationship can only be built over time and requires regular communication with a customer. Meeting with customers
on a regular basis allows salespeople to repeatedly discuss their company’s products and by doing so helps strengthen
customers’ knowledge of what the company has to offer.
IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL SELLING
Serve as communication link with the public
Seek out and acquire new customers
Build good long-term relationship with customers
Liaise with buyers to provide after sales support
Resolve problems and complaints that may arise
Essential elements of personal selling

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THE ROLE OF PERSONAL SELLING IN THE MARKETING SYSTEM
Personal selling forms an integral part of the marketing process and cannot be separated from the following important
elements of marketing
1. Market research
o Salespeople as a result of their regular face to face contact with customers, they make an important
contribution towards market research. They are often aware of the needs and problems of customers than most
other people in the company. When salespeople feed useful information back to management, management
can take better marketing decisions with less risk.
2. Product planning
o During product planning management often relies on salespeople to advise them on the reaction of customers
to existing and new products. Often salespeople are able to spot the success or failure of new, innovative
product ideas.
3. Price fixing
o Before management determines the price of a product, they need to know what maximum price is customers are
prepared to pay, and what competitors charge for the same product. Here the salesperson can also be a valuable
source of information.
4. Grading and industry standards
o Products are often graded or classified according to industry standards or government regulations. It is part of the
salesperson’s job to inform customers about this, and especially to tell customers to what extent they are protected
by such specifications.
5. Advertising
o Because salespeople understand the needs of customers, they know which of the product benefits the business
should advertise. Their knowledge of the target market enables them to make suggestions regarding where and how
advertising should be done.
6. Transport and distribution
o The salesperson should make sure that goods are delivered on time and in perfect condition, and should promptly
attend to any complaints customers may have. Transport and distribution bridges the gap between producer and the
consumer.
VARIOUS SITUATIONS IN WHICH PERSONAL SELLING CAN DOMINATE THE PROMOTION
MIX - expand
1. Industrial marketing.
2. Target market concentrated.
3. Fewer buyers or customers.
4. Product demonstration
required, e.g. how to operate a
TV set
5. Prospecting
6. Specific target market
7. Product explanation required.
8. Relationship marketing
follow up services required.
9. Highly technical complex
products, e.g. a computer
10. Personal attention needed.
11. 2 way communications
needed.
12. Potential customers decrease.
13. Complexity of product
increases.
14. Value of product grows.
15. The market is concentrated
geographically
16. Product value is not readily
apparent
17. The product has high unit
value.
18. Is technically, or requires
much explanation
19. The product must be tailored
to a customer
20. The sale involves a trade-in
21. The product is at the
introductory stage of its life
cycle
22. The firm has a small budget
for advertising
QUALITIES OR CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL SALESPERSON - expand
1) Knowledgeableness
2) Analytical skills
3) Self discipline
4) Creative / initiative
5) Communication skills
6) Judgment
7) Empathy
8) Personal drive, ego drive, self
esteem
9) Persuasiveness
10) Adaptability
11) Ambitious
12) Business sense
13) Confidence
14) Dependable
15) Trustworthy
16) Hardworking
17) Industrious

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Skills attributes required by salespeople to be successful in
corporate communications.

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What are the main roles of the sales force?
Kotler describes six main activities of a sales force:
(1) Prospecting - trying to find new customers
(2) Communicating - with existing and potential customers about the product range
(3) Selling- contact with the customer, answering questions and trying to close the sale
(4) Servicing - providing support and service to the customer in the period up to delivery and also post-sale
(5) Information gathering - obtaining information about the market to feedback into the marketing planning process
(6) Allocating - in times of product shortage, the sales force may have the power to decide how available stocks are allocated
DUTIES OF A SALES PERSON
1) Prospecting – looking for customers
2) Presentation demonstration of products
3) Qualifying prospects
4) Handling objections
5) Handling customer complaints
6) Providing after sales services
7) Providing marketing intelligence
8) Determining customer needs

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9) Selling the company’s product lines
10) Delivering orders
11) Monitoring competitor actions
12) Maintaining customer records in a database
13) Planning controlling sale activities
14) Manning exhibitions at trade shows
15) Writing orders
16) Maintenance of adequate stocks of his company’s
goods by distributors and users
TYPES OR FORMS OF PERSONAL SELLING – expand (important)
1) Commercial selling
2) Technical selling
3) Direct selling
4) Consultative selling
5) Trade selling
6) Missionary selling
7) New business selling
ROLE OF PERSONAL SELLING
1) To introduce new products to consumers
2) To persuade or convince the customer
3) To find out the customer needs and wants
4) A communication channel between the business and its
customers
5) Creating relationship between buyer and seller
6) To promote products and services
7) The creation of demand for new products and services.
8) To increase sales
9) Creating a positive image for the organization.
The 7 stages of the personal selling process are:
1. Prospecting and qualifying
2. Planning the sales call (preapproach)
3. Approaching the prospect
4. Making the sales presentation and demonstration
5. Negotiating sales resistance or buyer objections
6. Confirming and closing the sale
7. Following up and servicing the account
Steps in personal Selling process
Personal Selling consists of the following steps.
1. Prospecting : It refers to locating or searching out prospective buyers who have the need for the product
and the ability to buy it. Potential customers may be spotted through observation, enquiry and analysis of records
of existing customers. Social contacts, business associations and dealers can be helpful in the identification of
potential buyers.
2. Pre-sale preparation: The 2nd step in personal selling is the selection, training and motivation of
salespersons. The salespersons must be fully familiar with the product, the firm, the market and the selling
techniques. They should be well-informed about the competitor's products and the degree of competition. They
should also be acquainted with the motives and behavior of prospective buyers.
3. Approaching : Before calling on the prospects, the salesperson should fully learn their number, needs,
habits, spending capacity, motives, etc. Such knowledge helps in selecting the right sales appeal. After such
learning, the salesperson should approach the customer in a polite and dignified way. He should introduce himself

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and his product to the customer. He should greet the customer with a smile and make him feel at home. He
should introduce himself and his product to the customer. In case he is busy with some other customer, he should
assure the new customer that he would be attended very soon. The salesperson has to be very careful in his
approach as the first impression is the last impression.
4. Presentation and Demonstration: For this purpose, the salesperson has to present the product and
describe its features in brief. The presentation should be matched with the attitude of the prospect so that the
salesman can continuously hold his attention and create interest in the product. In order to maintain customer's
interest and to arouse his desire, the sales-person must display and demonstrate the product. He has to explain
the utility and distinctive qualities of the product so that the prospect realizes the need for the product to satisfy his
wants. He should not be in a hurry to impress the customer and should avoid controversy. He may suggest uses
of the product and may create an impulsive urge to possess the article by appealing to human instincts.
5. Handling objections: A sale cannot be achieved simply by creating interest and desire. Every customer
wants to make the best bargain for the money he is spending. Presentation and demonstration of the product are
likely to create doubts and questions in his mind. The salesman should clear all doubts and objections without
entering into a controversy and without losing his temper. Testimonials, money-back guarantee, tact and patience
are popular means of winning over s hesitant buyers. The salesman should convince the customer that he is
making the best use of his money by purchasing the product. For this purpose, the salesman should prove the
superiority of his product over the competitive products. He should not lose patience if the customer puts too
many queries and takes time in arriving at any decision. If the customer does not buy even after meeting
rejections, the salesman should let him go without showing temper. He must believe in the universal rule that the
customer is always right.
6. Closing the sale: This is the climax or critical point in the personal selling process. Completing the sale
seems to be an easy task but inappropriate handling of the customer can result in loss of sale. The salesman
should not force the deal but let the customer feel that he has made the final decision. He should guide the
customer in making the choice without imposing his own view. Some adjustment in price or other concession may
sometimes be necessary for a successful closing. The salesman should show the same interest in the customer
which he exhibited during approach stage. Sales should be closed in a cordial manner so that the customer feels
inclined to visit the shop again. In closing the sale, the article should be packed properly and handed over to the
customer with speed and accuracy. Once the customer has purchased the article, the salesman should show and
suggest an allied product. For instance, he may suggest socks, ties, handkerchiefs, vests, etc., to a customer
purchasing a shirt. This is known as additional sales and requires great skill and tact.
7. Post-sale follow-up : It refers to the activities undertaken to ensure that the customer is satisfied with the
article and the firm. These activities include installation of the products, checking and ensuring its smooth
performance, maintenance and after-sale service. It helps to secure repeat sales identify additional prospects and
to evaluate salesman's effectiveness.
SOURCES OF PROSPECTS OR METHODS OF PROSPECTING - EXPAND
1. Existing customers
2. Inquiries
3. Company sources
4. The press, newspaper
leads
5. Telephone prospecting
6. Friends, social contacts
7. Trade directories
8. Cold canvassing or cold
calling
9. Internet
10. personal acquaintances
11. referrals
12. Competitors
13. Trade shows
14. Sellers of unrelated
products
Source: SALES MANAGEMENT IN ACTION A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR LEARNERS AND PRACTITIONERS
By Gerhard Visser page 113-115

9999
TYPES OF BUYERS - EXPAND
1. FRIENDLY BUYER
2. TIMID BUYER
3. STUBBORN BUYER
4. BUSY BUYER
5. TALKERTIVE BUYER
6. POMPUS BUYER
7. OLD AND EXPERIENCED
BUYER
APPROACH TECHNIQUES – WAYS TO APPROACH A CUSTOMER - expand
1. Introductory approach
2. Referral approach
3. Product/ sample approach
4. Customer benefit approach
5. Question approach
6. Shock approach
7. Major benefit approach
8. Curious approach
9. Complimentary approach
10. Dramatic approach
OBJECTION
A statement that indicates unwillingness to buy a product.
A word used to refer to a reason given by a prospect who does not want to buy your product.
The salesman interprets an objection as the prospect’s way of saying “I need to know more before I buy”
Need for more information is often accompanied by fear
The prospect is afraid of making the wrong decision
TYPES OF OBJECTIONS
1. Money objection
2. Price objection
3. No need objection
4. The salesman objection
5. The company objection
6. Product objection
7. Hidden or smoke screen objection
METHODS OF HANDLING OBJECTIONS - expand
Ignoring the objection (pass up method)
Rephrasing the objection into a question
Boomerang
Compensation method
Third party principle
Ask questions ask about use
Contradict it
METHODS OF CLOSING THE SALE OR CLOSING TECHNIQUES - expand
Assumptive close
Summary close
Ask for the order
Trial close
Special offer/ inducement close
Getting the prospect to say “yes”
Close after an objection
By Gerhard Visser page 128 - 132

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

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