Promotional tools

VILNIAUS GEDIMINO TECHNIKOS UNIVERSITETAS

VERSLO VADYBOS FAKULTETAS

Tema: “Promotional tools”

Atliko: Simona Aškelovičiūtė, ĮV-2/1

Tikrino: J. Mickonis

Vilnius

2003

Promotional tools

Companies have to develop good products or services, price them

attractively, and make them accessible to their target customers. But this

is no enough: they also have to use various promotional tools to generate

sales. Promotion is one of the four P’s in the marketing mix. It is used to

inform the consumers about a product and to persuade them to buy it.

According tto a classification used in most marketing textbooks there are

four major promotional tools:

1. Advertising

2. Public relation

3. Sales promotion

4. Personal selling

Advertising

Advertising is a paid form of promoting the products and/or image of

the enterprise in a non-personal way to a mass audience. The other

definition: advertising is limited to paid, non-personal communication

through various media by organizations and individuals who are in some way

identified in the advertising message. Advertising may be in the form of :

1. A simple aadvertisement in for example the local press informing the

public where the business is situated, and what type of products or

services they offer.

2. An advertising campaign, which combines a number of methods to promote

the firm and its pproducts.

Advertisements consists of four main elements, namely:

1. Sender, the advertiser

2. Message, i.e. the advertisement

3. Medium, i.e. the method through which the advertisement is sent

4. Receiver, i.e. the consumers

Firms will often approach advertising consultants to design

advertisements and plan advertising campaigns. Advertising agencies will

employ people with the required skills to design and write advertisements.

Artists to draw illustrations or frames to represent a visual

advertisement.

Copywriters to write the text for the advertisement.

Designers responsible for the total outlay of the advertisement.

Market research analysts who are responsible for selecting the appropriate

advertising media for the advertisement to be placed in

Advantages of advertising:

1. Advertising may lead to increased sales, which leads to mass

production and therefore cheaper prices.

2. Advertising informs tthe consumer about the various products on the

market, which leads to a better choice.

3. It leads to greater competition and therefore better quality and lower

prices.

4. Lower prices of media in which advertisements appear for example

magazines, newspapers, etc.

5. Improves standard of living, because consumer goods become more

affordable.

Disadvantages of advertising:

1. Advertising is expensive and if it fails to increase sales, prices

will increase.

2. Consumers are tempted to purchase goods and services, which they do

not really need.

3. Advertising can be unethical. Accused by some of promoting sexism and

greed.

4. Pollution. Billboards can for example deface natural features.

Leaflets may be thrown away when handed out in public, which adds to

pollution.

The public benefits from advertising in the following ways:

Advertising is informative.

Advertising provides us with free TV and radio programs, because

advertisers cover most of the production costs.

TV has many advantages to national advertisers, but it is expensive.

However, there are few ways to reach as many people with such impact.

Marketers must choose which media and which programs can best be used to

reach the audience they desire.

Non-network stations and alternative forms of media are less expensive.

Public relation

Publicity is the firm’s solicitation of verbal and written public

discussion and recognition. The message can therefore be positive or

negative and is not paid for. Also known as public relations. Larger firms

often have their own public relations department, with a public relations

officer in charge. The main task of the PR department is to present a

positive image of the firm and its products to the public. Also to make

news and thereby gain free and favorable publicity. A variety of methods

are usually employed to create a favorable image wwith the public:

10. Good customer relations.

11. Sponsorship of sporting, cultural, community and charitable

events and organizations.

12. Endorsements from celebrities.

13. ...