The marketing mix: promotion

Question 1

What is promotion?

Answer 1

Promotion is the process of passing information onto consumers about the rest of the marketing mix. The information includes the info about the product, the price, and where and how the product can be bought.

Question 2

What are the aims of promotion?

Answer 2

• To inform people
• To introduce a new product to the market
• To compete with competitors’ product
• To create a brand image
• To increase sales
• To improve the business image

Question 3

What are the two main types of promotion?

Answer 3

Advertising (Above the line) vs. Sales Promotion (Below the line)

Question 4

What is advertising?

Answer 4

Advertising paid for communication with potential customers about a product to encourage them to buy it. Advertising can either be persuasive or informative.

Question 5

What is informative advertising?

Answer 5

Informative advertising is where the emphasis of advertising or sales is to give full information about the products.

Question 6

What is persuasive advertising?

Answer 6

Persuasive advertising is advertising or promotion which is trying to persuade the consumer that they really need the product and should buy it.

Question 7

What are the steps of the advertising process?

Answer 7

1. Set objectives
2. Decide on the budget
3. Create advertising campaign
4. Select the media to use
5. Evaluate effectiveness of campaign

Question 8

What is the target audience?

Answer 8

The target audience refers to people who are potential buyers of a product or service.

Question 9

What is the main types of advertising media that businesses can use?

Answer 9

• Television
• Radio
• Newspapers (national or local)
• Magazines
• Posters/billboards
• Cinema, DVD and Blu-ray discs
• Leaflets
• Internet
• Other forms of publicity

Question 10

What are the advantages of television in advertising?

Answer 10

• The advert will go out to millions of people
• The product can be shown in a very favourable way making it look attractive
• It reaches the biggest number of consumers and can reach a target audience at times when buyers are likely to watch

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of television in advertising?

Answer 11

• Very expensive form of advertising
• Young consumers often download films/music and may not watch many television programmes

Question 12

What are the advantages of radio in advertising?

Answer 12

• Cheaper than television
• Usually reaches a larger audience
• Often uses a memorable song or tune so that the advert will be remembered

Question 13

What are the disadvantages of radio in advertising?

Answer 13

• Cannot put across a visual message
• Quite expensive relative to other methods of advertising
• The advert needs to be remembered, the customer cannot look back at a hard copy at the advert
• Not as wide an audience as television

Question 14

What are the advantages of newspapers in advertising?

Answer 14

• National newspapers are often bought by particular customers and therefore the newspaper in which the advertising is placed can be selected to target a particular group of people
• A large number of people purchase and read national newspaper
• Local newspapers are relatively cheap to place adverts in and are a cost-effective way to advertise
• Adverts are permanent and can be cut out and kept
• A lot of information can be put in the advert

Question 15

What are the disadvantages of newspapers in advertising?

Answer 15

• Newspaper adverts are often only in black and white and are therefore not very eye catching
• Many young people do not purchase/read traditional newspaper

Question 16

What are the advantages of magazines in advertising?

Answer 16

• Effective way to reach the target population if there are specialist magazines which cover a particular activity
• Magazines adverts are in colour and therefore can look more attractive

Question 17

What are the disadvantages of magazines in advertising?

Answer 17

• Magazines are often only published once a month or once a week
• Advertising in magazines is relatively more expensive than newspapers

Question 18

What are the advantages or posters/billboards in advertising?

Answer 18

• They are permanent
• Relatively cheap
• They are potentially seen by everyone who passes them

Question 19

What are the disadvantages of posters/billboards in advertising?

Answer 19

• Can easily be missed as people go past them
• No detailed information can be included in the advert

Question 20

What are the advantages of Cinema, DVD, and blu-ray discs in advertising?

Answer 20

• Can give visual image of the product and show the product in a positive way
• Relatively low cost
• Can be very effective if the target audience goes to see particular films

Question 21

What are the disadvantages of Cinema, DVD, and blu-ray discs in advertising?

Answer 21

• Seen by only a limited number of people who go to watch the film or buy the DVD or Blu-ray disc

Question 22

What are the advantages of leaflets in advertising?

Answer 22

• Cheap method of advertising
• Given out in the street to a wide range of people
• Direct mail
• Sometimes contain a money-off voucher to encourage the reader to keep the advert
• The adverts are permanent and can be kept for future reference

Question 23

What are the disadvantages of leaflets in advertising?

Answer 23

• It may not be read
• Direct mail, also called “junk mail”, can be annoying and put the customers off buying the product

Question 24

What are the advantages of the internet in advertising?

Answer 24

• A large of information can be placed on a website which can be seen by a vast number of people at home and abroad
• Orders can be made via the website
• Direct mail sent via email is cheaper

Question 25

What are the disadvantages of the internet in advertising?

Answer 25

• Internet searches may not highlight the website and it could be missed
• In some countries internet access is limited
• There is a lot of competition from other websites
• Security issues may discourage the customers from buying online

Question 26

What are the forms of using other forms of publicity in advertising?

Answer 26

• Very cheap form of advertising (delivery vehicles, T-shirts and on the sides of bags from shops, etc.)

Question 27

What are the disadvantages of using other forms of publicity in advertising?

Answer 27

• May not be seen by customers in the target market

Question 28

What is sales promotion?

Answer 28

• Sales promotions are incentives such as special offers or special deals aimed at consumers to achieve short-term increases in sales (below-the-line promotion)

Question 29

What are the main sales promotions?

Answer 29

• After-sales service
• Free gifts/coupons
• Loyalty cards
• Presentations
• Competitions
• Free samples
• product placement
• BOGOF offers

Question 30

What are the advantages of sales promotion?

Answer 30

• Can promote sales during low levels of demand
• Encourages new customers to try the product
• Encourages customer to buy your product rather than the competing brand

Question 31

How do you choose the methods of promotion using the marketing budget?

Answer 31

It depends on:
- Cost
- Market type
- Product type
- Stage in the product life cycle
- Competitors promotions
- Legal factors

Question 32

Which type of promotion should be used?

Answer 32

It depends on:
- The stage of the product life cycle
- The nature of the product itself
- The cultural issues involved in international marketing
- The nature of the target market

Question 33

What are public relations/sponsorships in promotion?

Answer 33

• This refers to promoting a good image for the business and its products
• Public relations can take many forms, from sponsoring events such as football matches to publicity stunts where employees or owners of the company take part in a sponsored activity for a good cause or to raise awareness.