Promotion Mix

The term ‘promotional mix’ is used to refer to the combination of

different kinds of promotional tools used by a firm to advertise
and sell its products.
The main promotional tools or activities which make up
promotion mix are personal selling, advertising, publicity and
sales promotion. These are also known as elements of promotion
mix.
Philip Kotler opines, “A company’s total marketing communication
mix also called promotion mix consists of specific blends of
advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and
direct marketing tools that the company use to pursue its
advertising and marketing objectives.”
The concept of promotional mix assumes that there is a variety of
means for communicating with consumers. Promotional mix
refers to the combination of various types and amounts of various
forms of promotion used by a marketer.
The final selection of them depends upon the jobs assigned to
promotion and the environment in which they are performed.

Promotion Mix: Meaning, Definition,

Concept, Scope, Objectives, Components,
Factors, Strength and Weakness
Promotion Mix – Introduction
Communication is a must in marketing process. The manufacturer
(communicator or source) transmits the message to the target
consumer through mass communication methods —advertising,
personal selling, sales promotion and publicity—in order to create
the demand for the product. This is invariably called promotion.
Promotion influences demand by communicating pro-
product and pro-company messages to the market. A
promotion strategy involves the coordination of ail
communication efforts aimed at specific audiences—
consumers, dealers, the government shareholders and so on.
The most critical promotional question facing the marketing
manager concerns the proper mix of communication methods
—advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity.
The promotion mix is usually coordinated on a campaign
basis, making the campaign, the relevant unit of the
promotion strategy campaign may last for a short fixed
period, i.e., a few week, months or a year or if successful, it
may run over a pretty long period, several years. The most
desirable marketing effort includes a total campaign with one
unified theme. It is a coordinated effort of unifying various
promotional strategies.
The four promotion mix currents—advertising, personal setting, publicity and sales—
promotion are more or less used at every stage in the selling process, but their intensity
differs at different stages and at different periods. Publicity is generally effective at the
awareness stage. Advertising becomes less and less effective over a period of time. Personal
selling is more effective as consumer needs dictate a more personal relationship. Sales
promotion may be effective in providing added incentives for buyer’s action.

To a marketing manager, it is difficult to arrive at the best kind of promotion mix because
results of communication efforts are hard to measure and it is very difficult to understand
what a particular medium will do at a particular time for one product as opposed to another.
Most marketing managers select more than one channel to promote a product. Their choices
are affected by a number of factors.

Promotional Mix – Meaning

Promotion is an important part of the marketing mix of a business enterprise. It is the spark
plug of the marketing mix. It is a process of communication involving information,
persuasion, and influence. It includes all types of personal or impersonal communication with
customers as well as middlemen in distribution.

The purpose of promotion is to inform, persuade and influence the prospective customers.
Personal selling, advertising publicity and sales promotion are widely used to inform the
people about the availability of products and create among them the desire to buy the
products.

Non business enterprise can market its products unless it undertakes promotional activities
effectively. The prospective customers have to be informed about the product its features,
utility and availability. The need for promotional activities has increased because of stiff
competition, widening of market and rapid changes in technology and tastes of the customers.
The term ‘promotional mix’ is used to refer to the
combination of different kinds of promotional tools used by a
firm to advertise and sell its products. The main promotional
tools or activities which make up promotion mix are personal
selling, advertising, publicity and sales promotion. These are
also known as elements of promotion mix.

In the modern business world, big business firms cannot

depend upon a single promotional tool. They have to make
use of all the promotional tools in different degrees
depending upon the nature of produce, nature of competition
and kinds of customers.

The marketing manager is supposed to decide about the use

of various promotional activities and allocate budget for
them, while taking a decision about promotion mix, two
factors need adequate consideration. Firstly, a combination of
promotional activities is to be used because any promotional
tool, used alone, may not prove fully effective.

Secondly, all promotional tools are not of equal importance

and their importance change with the change in business
environment.

Promotion Mix – Definition

Gary Armstrong defines promotion mix as, “A company’s promotional mix includes
advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing. It also
includes product design, shape, package, colour, label etc., as all these communicate
something to buyer.”

Philip Kotler opines, “A company’s total marketing communication mix also called
promotion mix consists of specific blends of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion,
public relations and direct marketing tools that the company use to pursue its advertising and
marketing objectives.”

Promotion Mix – Scope of Promotion Mix in Different Areas

Promotion basically deals with outer world and therefore comprise
of more and more communication strategies and tools for attracting
customers.
Scope of promotion mix can be stressed with the help of
following key points:
1. Advertising:
Advertising involves turning attention of third parties towards
product for the sole purpose of sale.
Hence it can be stated that anything and everything that turns the
attention to an article or service or an idea might be called as an
advertisement.
American marketing association defines advertising as, “any paid
form of non-personal presentation of ideas, goods or services by an
identified sponsor. Advertising is a prime part of promotion mix.
2. Personal Selling:
Art of personal selling is defined by D.D.Couch as, “science of
creating in the mind of your prospect a desire that only possession
of your product will satisfy”.
It is evident that salesmanship is both science and art. As a part of
art requires patience, practice and use of correct methods, devices
and skills.
As a scientific process it requires mastery over certain fundamentals
that pre requisites for success in selling.
3. Sales Promotion:
American marketing association defines sales promotion as, “Those
marketing activities other than personal selling, advertising and
publicity that stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer
effectiveness such as display shows and exhibitions, demonstrations
and various non-recurrent selling efforts not in the ordinary
routine.”
4. Public Relations and Publicity:
“Public relations is a deliberate and continuous effort to establish
and maintain favorable relations between the organization and its
public .Customers, employees, stockholders, government and
society.” Public relations must be healthy for future prospect of any
organization. Costs involved in publications and media
management is comparatively lower than advertisement and other
promotional elements.
5. Other Selling Tools:
Other selling tools includes any other selling and promotions
activity other than advertising, personal salesmanship, sales
promotion. It mainly includes mouth publicity etc. Many corporate
giants have taken keen interest in viral marketing via internet which
is similar to Mouth Publicity. Thus word of mouth has been
facilitated by the internet. One more form not directly connected to
any other form is sponsorship to events, other brands, organized
activities, sporting tournaments etc.
Indian Premier League was officially sponsored by DLF. Individual
teams participating in IPL were sponsored or co-sponsored by
different companies by participating in the Bidding process.
Every event now is either sponsored or co-sponsored and properly
advertised for popularity of that sponsoring company.

Promotion Mix – Concept

The concept of promotional mix assumes that there is a variety of
means for communicating with consumers. The term promotional
mix refers to the combination of various types and amounts of
various forms of promotion used by a marketer. The final selection
of them depends upon the jobs assigned to promotion and the
environment in which they are performed.
The concept further assumes that there are different types of
promotion and each are has its advantages and disadvantages over
other forms. All types of promotions are not suited to all types of
business. Certain promotion types are better suited for some tasks
than others. All promotional types are compatible and
interchangeable.
The determination of the various elements in the promotional mix
depends upon a number of factors that influence the manager
decisions.
These factors can be summed up as:
(1) The amount of money available for promotion purpose;
(2) The nature of market i.e., whether local, regional, national or
international;
(3) The nature of the product viz., consumer or industrial, durable
or non-durable or perishable;
(4) The stage in the product life cycle i.e. introduction, growth,
maturity or decline.
Advertising, personal selling and sales promotion are generally
employed on the basis of the promotional strategies and the nature
of the market. Generally, speaking a promotion manager employees
a combination of different forms of promotion because anyone
cannot satisfy the need of the company. A good combination of
advertising, personal selling and other promotion methods may
increase the sales enormously at a most reasonable low price.
Dependence on anyone form of promotion element is seldom
effective.

Promotion Mix – 5 Possible Objectives

Promotion can be used for number of reasons for ex: Promotional
activity can increase sales, raise awareness or concerns about
particular issues develop a brand image or alter public opinion.
The possible objectives for promotion mix may include the
following:
Objective # 1. 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
effectively reach customer and tell the market who they are and
what they have to offer.
Objective # 2. Create Interest:
Moving a customer from awareness of a product to making a
purchase can present a significant challenge. Consumer buying
behaviour depends on the type of customer so the customer 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, humor, sex etc.
Objective # 3. Provide Information:
Some promotions are 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 positing strategy.
Objective # 4. 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 customer base products, 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.
Objective # 5. Reinforce the Brand:
Once a purchase is made a marketer can use promotion to 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.

Promotion Mix – Top 5 Components (With Some

Other Tools)
Promotion strategies are concerned with the planning,
implementation, and control of persuasive communication
with customers. These strategies may be designed around
advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, or any
combination of functions of these. One of the major strategic
issues associated with the development of effective promotion
strategy is the availability of financial resources for a specific
product/market.