Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

This text version is for your personal study only. Reproduction and/or redistribution is not allowed.

Please note that this is a text-only version. A ll links and animations are not activated in this version.
It is recommended that you view the topic online for an interactive learning experience.

Table of Contents
1. Overview
2. Objectives
3. Advertising
4. Exercise
5. Direct Marketing
6. Promotions
7. Public Relations
8. Global Reach
9. Self-Assessment
10. Summary

1. Overview
The marketing mix includes many types of promotions - public relations, advertising,
personal selling, giveaways and others. Related discussion on managing advertis ing,
sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing are relevant.

Reading: Can Uncertainty Improve Promotions?

Many consumer promotions involve uncertainty (e.g., purchase incentives offering

the chance to receive one of several rewards). Despite retailers' heavy reliance on
such promotions, much academic research on uncertainty has demonstrated
examples of consumers avoiding and/or disliking uncertainty, implying that
promotions involving uncertainty may not be as effective for retailers as promotions
offering certain rewards. In an effort to reconcile the prevalence of uncertain
promotions with the existing research, Goldsmith and Amir (2010) explores the
conditions under which uncertain promotions may be effective for retailers. The
article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications for
these findings.

To read about four important forms of promotion, move your cursor over the images
shown below:

The four important forms of promotion are public relations, advertising, personal
selling and sales promotions.

The four important forms of promotion are public relations, advertising, personal
selling and sales promotions.

Public relations includes press releases and special releases and special events such
as races and sponsored seminars. Public relations can enhance growth but can also
be effective in crisis management situations.

Advertising appears in many forms such as radio, television, print, and outdoor
billboards. One major goal of advertising is brand recognition.

Although consumers are aware of sales personnel, they often are unware of this type
of promotion. Personal selling includes addressing the consumer’s obje ctions to a
product in such a way that he or she will purchase it.

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 1 of 15

Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

Sales promotions include price deals, free samples, "giveaways" such as pens, caps
and calendars that feature the organisation, end of aisle and other special in-store
displays, giving gifts to listen to a sales pitch or open an account, and stunts or
spectaculars designed to attract attention.

2. Objectives
Upon completion of this topic, you should be able to
 describe the four important forms of promotion
 describe the steps required in developing a successful advertising message
 explain the advantages and risks of online retailing
 identify appropriate modifications to an advertisement for a global market

3. Advertising
Historically, companies have placed a lot of emphasis on building long-term brand
awareness and interest through advertising. Advertising is a way of communicating
with customers through print advertisements, radio, billboards and other such
media.

More firms are also using in-store advertisements, particularly for new produc ts.
Other forms of advertisements include T -shirts and other clothing with a firm’s name
prominently displayed on it. This kind of advertising is a double victory for a firm as
some consumers willingly pay a price to wear the company’s name on the clothing .

Reading: An Analysis of Reader Engagement of Advertisements in Print and

Online News Media

The article by Cho et. al (2012) discusses a study which determined the
extent to which the development of dynamic online advertisements (ad) in
the past decade has had any effect toward making online ads more
impressionable than print ads. The study employed undergraduate population
in a school of journalism and mass communication at a large U.S. university.
It was found that frequent print newspaper readers remembered significantly
more advertisements than frequent onlinenewspaper readers.

 An Analysis of Reader Engagement of Advertisements in Print and Online

News Media

According to McCann-Erickson WorldGroup, a marketing communications

solutions provider, companies spent about US$215.2 billion on advertising and
communications in 1999. This estimate included
 TV, print (magazines and newspapers) and radio
 sports and event sponsorship
 public relations campaigns
 online advertising (Internet)
 in-store advertising

Click the link below to learn how research points to several measurable factors that
determine what makes successful advertising.

Factors of Successful Advertising

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 2 of 15

 Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

Factors of Successful Advertising

Research points to several measurable factors that determine what makes successful
advertising. These include awareness, believability, likability and comprehension.
Television has the greatest impact among the advertising forms because it delivers
sound, image and motion and offers the greatest potential for reaching the widest
number of consumers. Brands can be built overnight with effective TV ads. Such was
the case with the famous “1984” ad that introduced the Macintosh ® computer. Even
though it ran only once during the Super Bowl, it created enough of a sensation that
it created instant awareness and national interest in Macintosh computers.

Think about an ad that you believe is particularly effective. How well does it
communicate a specific benefit in a way that creates awareness and purchase
interest? Conversely, can you think of a product’s advertising that you perceive as
ineffective? How could you make it stronger?
Credits and Disclaimer
M ac intosh is a regis tered trademark of A pple C omputer, I nc.

Click the link below to find out about movie placement, an increasingly popular form
of product exposure.

Product Placement

Product Placement

An increasingly popular form of product exposure is movie placement. Volvo is

reported to have paid a seven-figure fee to have its S70 sports car introduced in the
movie The Saint. Although such placement does not allow for an advertising
message, it does fall into the category of image advertising. Wise marketers
maximise the impact of such placements by tying it in with sampling in theatres or,
in the case of cars, displaying the vehicle in lobbies.

Message

The goal of every advertising message is to enter the mind of the intended receiver
and arouse the intended result. View the animation on advertising goals below.

Advertising Goal

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 3 of 15

Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

Advertising Goal

Every day, people are bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages for
products ranging from diamonds to diapers. The goal of every advertiser is to create
a message that enters the mind of the intended receiver and arouses the intended
result.

Usually that means a sale, but the message may also be designed to increase
awareness of a brand or to create a positive perception of a firm.

In any case, messages communicate benefits. Successful messages convince their

target audience that a firm or a firm’s product solves a problem, answers a question,
or satisfies a need.

What are the steps in developing a successful message?

Steps in Developing a Successful Message

1. Conduct Research

Successful messages require research, consumer insight and, above all, cre ativity.
Creative ideas provide the basis for the positioning strategy that the promotional
tactics use to direct the message to its target audience.

Although some highly successful campaigns have been based on hunch and intuition,
assessing what motivates consumers and how their needs can be met requires
research. In developing the message, some issues must be considered and analysed.

1. Develop a Positioning Strategy

The culmination of your company and consumer research is a document outlining the
key elements of the positioning strategy. Its purpose is to provide guidance and
focus for developing and presenting the message. It includes the following:
 Principal benefit: How the distinctive feature of the product meets consumer
wants/needs in a way that differentiates your product from the competitors’.
This differentiation point is the offering’s unique selling proposition.
 Principal target: The destination of your message - the intended receiver.
 Principal objective: What you want the message to accomplish.
 Positioning strategy statement: A concise summary of the preceding points. It
highlights the unique selling proposition and describes how the principal
target will most likely react to the message. It may also refer to the current
positioning of the product and/or the desired position. The statement
describes what the advertisement will say, but not how.

Try the drag-and-drop exercise below. Group the items according to their relation to
the company, the consumer and the competitor, and then click the "Check" button.

The items are grouped according to their relation to the company, the consumer and
the competitor.

Items related to the company are:

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 4 of 15

Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

 Product performance
 What can be done to prove benefit desired by consumers

Items related to the consumer are:

 What consumers perceive to be as the principal product benefit
 Who the consumers are

Items related to the competitor are:

 Performance of competitor’s product
 What competitor ads say or look like

Positioning strategy framework

Companies and advertising agencies use different methods to develop a well-crafted

positioning strategy statement. Two popular frameworks are convinc e-that-because
and the six-box strategy.

Two Positioning Strategy Frameworks

Convince-that-because

This framework is organised around three questions:

1. Who is the intended audience?
2. What is the message?
3. What is the evidence that the intended audience will believe the message?

For example, a convince-that-because statement for a video game console would

look as follows:
 Target male video game players between the ages of 12 and 28 years.
 Message is that the console provides more gaming entertainment than any
other console (product proposition).
 Reasoning is that more video games are available for this console than for all
others (product-proposition support).

Six-box strategy

This framework provides a more rigorous examination of each aspect of a

consumer’s thought process. Using consumer insights, the six-box strategy
demonstrates how a product satisfies consumer needs and reconciles the consumer’s
current action with the product proposition and benefits.

In other words, the desired actions and beliefs lack credibility if the product
proposition fails to establish a connection with current consumer insights.

Let’s start with a consumer wants to buy a calculator and he currently believes that
all calculators are the same. Hence his current action is to buy a calculator based
solely on price.

The premium calculator is preferred by 10 of 12 surveyed experts. It is also

supported by patented functions that have won industry awards. Therefore, the
product proposition is that it sets the quality standard for the retail calculator
market.

The consumer’s desired action is to buy the premium calculator based on his desired
belief that the premium calculator is used by experts in his field and performs better
than other calculators.

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 5 of 15

Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

Click the link below to see an example of a positioning strategy framework.

Message Example

Message Example

Ziparound Motor Scooters: Developing the Message

You are an account executive for Quatro Fromagi Advertising, and you have been
asked to work on the Ziparound account. Ziparound is a rental motor scooter
company that operates in scenic resort areas. Your agency has worked with
Ziparound for several years. Recently, Ziparound was acquired and most of its
management team left the company. The new team is unhappy with the current
promotion campaign-in particular, the message.
Your task is to develop a new message for Ziparound.

Conduct research

Messages are created only after extensive consumer, company and product research.
Analysis of these help to capture the insights into the specific buyer needs that every
successful message embodies. In your research, you highlight the following key
points:
 Product: Ziparound’s sole business is rental motor scooters. The company has
no plans for entering new markets or providing new services. Ziparound
purchases motor scooters from two sources: Motoring and Scooting. Both are
consistently rated high quality in consumer surveys.
 Distribution: The company rents motor scooters in small locations, typically in
(or near) hotels, country clubs and shopping areas. It also delivers motor
scooters to a customer’s lodging. The majority of Ziparound’s locations are in
year-round resort towns. However, approximately 20 percent of the locations
encounter cyclical rental volumes.
 Service ratings: When surveyed, customers indicate that the convenience of
delivery and the ease of finding a Ziparound location are the best advantages
of the Ziparound service. Travel-rating services annually recognise Ziparound
for providing convenient, high-quality transportation.
 Customer: Typical customers are couples between the ages of 25 and 40.
They tend to rent the motor scooters for two or three days. Men aged 16-25
are also frequent users. However, they typically rent for only one day and
tend to damage the scooters more frequently than older customers do.
 Advertising: Ziparound currently runs print and radio advertisements. The
print ads appear in local newspapers and free travel guides. The radio
segments are run infrequently. The current message is focused on the fact
that Ziparound offers only high-quality motor scooters.

Develop positioning strategy

Based on your research, you propose a new message for Ziparound, which you
present in the following positioning strategy:
 The principal benefit: Surveys show that customers value Ziparound’s
convenience of delivery. Therefore, this should be the unique selling

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 6 of 15

Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

proposition.
 The principal target: Although young men (aged 16-25) are frequent users of
the rental motor scooters, you recommend that the main target should be
couples aged 25-40. They are more likely to rent for a longer period and tend
to return the scooters in good condition.
 The principal objective: Ultimately, you want to increase Ziparound’s sales in
the target market.
 The positioning strategy statement: To develop a concise statement that
encompasses the principal benefit, target and objective, you consider two
frameworks: a convince-that-because statement and a six-box strategy.

Convince-That-Because Statement
 Convince couples between the ages of 25 and 40
 That Ziparound provides rental motor sc ooters in the most convenient
delivery manner
 Because Ziparound can deliver directly to your door

Six-Box Strategy

Even with meticulous planning, marketers must know that sometimes different
groups of consumers interpret the same message differently.

4. Exercise
Click the link below for an exercise to attempt a few multiple-choice questions to
check your understanding.

Exercise

Exercise

Alternate Text

Alternate Text

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 7 of 15

Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

Consider the advertisement seen above when answering the questions

below.

Q1. How might DiYi Financial change the advertisement for markets in
different cultures?
1. Include a father figure.
2. Change the colours, as some colours have negative connotations in certain
cultures.
3. Ensure the copy is appropriately translated.
4. All of the above.

The correct answer is 4, all of the above.

Q2. Which type of media should DiYi Financial use to disseminate the ad?
1. Newspapers
2. Magazines
3. The Internet
4. Given the differences in media all over the world, it would depend on the
region

The correct answer is 4, given the differences in media all over the world, it would
depend on the region.

Q3. When planning an advertising strategy for a product, a company can do

which of the following?
1. Use the same message in every region but change the name of the product
and the copy and colours in the advertisement.
2. Use the same theme globally but adapt the copy to each local market.
3. Create several advertisements and allow head employees in each region to
select the most appropriate one.
4. Any of the above.

The correct answer is 4, any of the above.

Q4. If DiYi Financial decides to change its name in certain regions of the
world, the company is engaging in which of the following?
1. Product adaptation
2. Product invention

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 8 of 15

Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

3. Communication adaptation
4. Dual adaptation

The correct answer is 3, communication adaptation.

Q5. If DiYi Financial adopts a global standardisation policy, how will the
company’s product and advertising change?
1. The company will change its product, but not the advertising.
2. The product and advertising will be the same in all regions.
3. The company will have to design new products to compete globally.
4. The company will modify both the advertising and the product.

The correct answer is 2, the product and advertising will be the same in all regions.

5. Direct Marketing
It is often said that direct marketing enables a company to deliver the right message
to the right customer at the right time. Direct marketing usually takes the form of a
mailing or a telephone call. Credit card companies spend billions of dollars mailing
offers throughout the year based on demographic and psychographic data. They
recognise that getting a customer to buy is often a matter of connecting with him or
her at the right time.

For example, clothing retailer Lands’ End mails a variety of catalogues to households
and then studies the ensuing purchasing patterns to determine which catalogues and
offers to send in the future.

Other direct-marketing vehicles include TV infomercials and videocassettes or digital

video disks (DVDs) delivered to customers in person or through the mail.

Businesses spent US$90 billion on direct marketing in 1999, according to Advertising

Age’s Business Marketing . Their methods included
 direct mail
 telemarketing
 customer relationship management programmes
 targeting via the Internet
 affinity marketing (eg, putting a college team symbol on a credit card as a
means of selling more credit accounts)

The Internet is expected to grow as a significant means of direct marketing. It allows

companies to gather key information about customers by planting cookies on their
systems. Email is also a highly effective delivery vehicle. As discussed earlier in the
subject, concerns about consumer privacy may slow the growth of direct marketing
on the Internet but should not prevent it from becoming a significant direct
marketing vehicle in the future.

6. Promotions
The primary purpose of promotions is to deliver short -term incentives to customers
to act immediately. In most cases, promotions are not designed to build brand
equity. In fact, evidence shows that promotions may actually reduce it by shifting

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 9 of 15

 Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

the consumer’s focus from product benefit to savings on price, which any business
can offer.

According to Promo® magazine, businesses spent US$93 billion on promotions in

1999. Types of promotions include
 trade support (eg, allowances, slotting fees and dealer incentives)
 consumer promotions (eg, coupons, rebates, sweepstakes, premium offers,
refunds and bonus packs)
 in-store samples
 collateral materials (eg, point -of-purchase displays)

Trade incentives are cash discounts given to retailers to ensure shelf space for a new
brand or line extension. Trade incentives are also used in the hope that retailers will
use some of the money they saved to display, discount, or even advertise a product.

In recent years, some companies have recognised the inefficiencies of this system
and have instead entered into partnerships with retailers. These agreements allow
for an annual volume-based price-reduction program in return for specific
performance by the retailer over the course of the year, such as a certain size and
number of trade advertisements.

Consumer promotions include coupons, rebates, sweepstakes, premium offers,

refunds, bonus packs and packs with premiums and product samples. Consumer
promotions are more likely to be delivered to the consumers than trade promotions.
In addition, they offer the opportunity to deliver some type of message to
consumers.

Coupons are the most widely used form of promotion, but their effectiveness, as
measured in redemptions, has been declining over the past 20 years. Coupons are
delivered via Sunday newspaper supplements, magazines, direct mail, the Internet,
product packages and in stores either through shelf dispensers or by in-store
demonstrators. Clic k the link below to to learn that one of the newest forms of
promotion, which capitalises on the power of the Web, is known as viral marketing.

Viral Marketing

Viral Marketing

One of the newest forms of promotion, which capitalises on the power of the Web, is
known as viral marketing. This consists of providing people with an incentive to pass
along a message to others, usually via e-mail. Procter & Gamble was an early
adopter of the practice when it offered customers a free travel-size hairspray bottle
and entry into a sweepstakes in return for referring 10 friends to the web site for its
new Physique ® shampoo. The initiative signed up more than 600,000 consumers
before the start of traditional marketing efforts. In one of the most remarkable uses
of the method, Hotmail.com attached a message to the bottom of all e -mails sent on
its server, saying, “GET YOUR FREE E-MAIL AT HOTMAIL.COM.” It was passed along
to more than 10 million users in 18 months without any advertising money spent.
Credits and Disclaimer
P hys ique is a registered trademark of P roc ter & G amble C ompany.

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 10 of 15

Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

7. Public Relations
The goal of public relations is to position a firm as a reliable and responsible partner
who is part of the surrounding community. Companies often sponsor seminars and
other events to demonstrate their commitment to these values. Sponsorship can
take various forms, from giving away balloons at a parade to underwriting marathon
races in large cities.

Public relations are extremely important when a firm is facing a crisis. For example,
from 1999 to 2002, WorldCom suffered one of the largest public company accounting
fraud in history. It collapsed in scandal and bankruptcy in 2002. Following public
outrage over the alleged accounting malpractices at the firm, the new CEO of
WorldCom (now known as MCI), Michael D. Capellas, appeared on US television to
provide information about the re-organisation of the firm and the future of its
employees. The CEO felt that only a live press conference could calm shareholders,
customers and employees concerned about the future of the firm.

8. Global Reach

Global reach has taken on a new meaning in the last decade. It is the subject of
commercials, countless articles and websites. The Internet gives any website or e -
mail account global reach. This is a major change, especially for small and medium-
sized businesses. Arranging supply chains, soliciting customer input and even sales
can be conducted electronically on a global scale.

It is easy to find examples of global reach. Just read today’s newspapers.

 The Times ®: The oldest daily English newspaper in the world.
 The Daily Pioneer of New Delhi: Today’s newspaper from the capital of India.
 The Sydney Morning Herald: The major newspaper of Sydney, Australia.

As wonderful as all of this technology is, global reach can cause problems for
marketers. One difficulty is the spillover between markets that used to be
comfortably separate. Companies are finding it much harder to keep product markets
(which are still primarily regional) separate when information markets (especially the
Internet) are global.

For example, the new US practice of directing drug information to consumers is

affecting the worldwide pharmaceutical industry. Although a drug may be illegal in
many countries, information about it leaks across borders. Customers are more likely
to hear about such products and ask for them.

Virtual Value

Marketers have always been concerned with information, whether it is presented in

advertising, brochures or sales calls. The Internet allows companies to tailor
information to a specific individual. But what makes information valuable? A virtual
value activities framework developed by Harvard professors, Jeffrey Rayport and
John Sviokla, aims to answer this question.

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 11 of 15

Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

In their framework, Rayport and Sviokla identify five key strategies for creating value
in an information economy
1. Gathering: Value is created by bringing together information from a variety of
sources.
2. Organising: Value is created by arranging and grouping information in ways
that are meaningful to users.
3. Selecting: Value is created by choosing the most important and useful
information.
4. Synthesising: Value is created by combining various pieces of information into
a more meaningful whole.
5. Distributing: Value is created by making information accessible to us ers.

Virtual value activities vary by customer segments. Different types of customers

value different things about information. For firms to add value to information, they
must understand not only what information their customers value, but also how and
where they can enhance it.

Firms must provide the information customers need when they want it. The Internet
can accomplish this. Instead of leafing through catalogues or newspapers,
consumers can find the information they need through their computers. For instance,
they learn about special airline fares from their favourite airlines (and contrast them
with the competitors’ prices). Consumers can also receive emails about upcoming
sales days before a paper flyer announcing the sales reach their mailboxes.

In addition, information can be personalised in such a way that the customers need
to do very little to actually buy the product or service other than to simply click a
button to register their purchase. Finally, this type of information can be easily
eliminated when its value is gone.

Today, the Internet is replete with commercial websites that deploy virtual value
activities. Rayport and Sviokla’s five strategies figure into the business rationale for
everything from information brokerages like E*Trade Financial® to navigation hubs
like Yahoo!®, to business-to-business electronic marketplaces like Commerx®
PlasticsNet to on-line syndicators like LinkShare ®.

Whatever the differences between these companies, they all share a common way of
doing business by creating value through the exploitation of network capabilities.

Some see the Internet as the death of “the middlemen” or intermediaries who used
to be an essential component, connecting consumers with providers of various
products and services. Indeed, who needs music stores, travel agents and
stockbrokers when many websites let customers purchase compact disks (CDs),
airline tickets and securities online?

Although it may be true that some offline intermediaries are dying out, new breeds
are just emerging online. They are known as "infomediaries." Like their offline
counterparts, infomediaries connect buyers and sellers. They create virtual
marketplaces where community and commerce can happen.

Click the link below to happen to learn about how Amazon.com® is creating value.

Amazon Expands Its Offerings

Amazon Expands Its Offerings

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 12 of 15

 Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

The best websites are very focused. Recently, critics have begun to question
Amazon®, the world’s largest eCommerce brand, for diluting its positioning by
expanding beyond books and music to software and home improvement products,
among other items. As Harvard Professor Susan M. Fournier cautions, if people do
not accept Amazon.com® as “the place to buy anything ”, then all of its efforts will
have been for nothing.

Of course, if one views Amazon’s ® positioning in its broader sense, as a place where
savvy customers go for an outstanding shopping experience, then broadening its
product offerings is not inconsistent.
Credits and Disclaimer
A mazon is a regis tered s ervice mark of A mazon.c om, I nc.
A mazon.c om is a regis tered s ervice mark of A mazon.com, I nc.

Click the link below to learn more about virtual value activities.

What Can Web Measurements Reveal?

What Can Web Measurements Reveal?

By themselves, “eyeballs” and “stickiness” tell little. The number of visitors to a

website should not be equated with success in building a loyal customer base. How
many people who visit a site actually make a purchase, either now or in the future?
Did the fact that a person spent ten minutes on your site mean he or she was lost,
found it hard to understand or loved it?
The best approach for any business is to define what information it really wants, and
then go after it. It should start with purchase information, key customer
demographics and traditional measures tracked by separate research, such as brand
awareness and recall. Analysing hits on a website will eventually prove useful w hen
more sophisticated technologies are available.

Specialisation

With the Internet’s expanded reach and ability to connect suppliers, it is no surprise
that specialisation and alliances are crucial online. Not only is the market large, but
also technology permits instantaneous sharing of information. This reinforces
sharing, because companies can split roles and exchange money based on referrals
and accessed content.

One of the major impacts of this sharing and specialisation is the need for increased
attention to co-branding. While the Internet allows alliances to be formed so simply,
some marketers are aligning their brands with inappropriate partners. To avoid this,
firms should not choose partners merely for their performance capabilities, but for
the consistency of their customer and brand appeal.

For example, all major airlines now link easily to hotels and rental cars, in effect
becoming online travel agencies. All of a customer’s holiday needs can be addressed
with a few clicks of the mouse. In addition, customers can plan and book their
holidays at any time of the day or night, from anywhere. Click the link below to find

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 13 of 15

 Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

out about how one company made a successful alliance to exploit the new trends on
the Internet.

W.W. Grainger and Orderzone.com

W.W. Grainger and Orderzone.com

W.W. Grainger, an industrial-supply company with more than 200,000 products, has
taken Internet use a step further by co-sponsoring the development of
Orderzone.com®. The order-entry site cuts purchasing time down from as long as 10
days to as little as 10 minutes. Grainger also has its own website, which has
improved customer service by making it a true 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week
company, thereby strengthening its ties with the trade. Overall, 20 percent of visits
take place after hours.
Ref erences
Brauns tein, M ., N . L evine, and E .H . L evine. Deep Branding on the I nternet: Applying Heat and Pres s ure Online to Ens ure
a Las ting Brand. Ros eville, C alif.: P rima P ublishing, 2 0 00.

Credits and Disclaimer

O rderzone.com is a registered s ervice mark of W.W. G rainger, I nc .

9. Self-Assessment
Now, try the self-assessment questions to test your understanding of the topic. Click
the following link to open the Self-Assessment in a new window.
Self-Assessment

Self-Assessment

Alternate Text

Alternate Text

Q1. What are the four key elements found in the development of the
positioning strategy document?
1. Principal target
2. Positioning strategy statement
3. Estimated rate of return on marketing expenditure
4. Principal objective
5. Principal benefit

The correct answers are:

1. Principal target
2. Positioning strategy statement
4. Principal objective
5. Principal benefit

Q2. When the promotional strategy is to position a company as having

commitments to certain values or causes, which one of the following will be
the most suitable form of promotion?

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 14 of 15

 Subject Marketing Management

Topic Promotion

1. Sales promotion
2. Public relations
3. Direct selling
4. Advertising

The correct answer is:

2. Public relations

Q3. Which one of the following is not a key strategy for creating virtual
value in an information economy.
1. Value is created by arranging and grouping information in ways that are
meaningful to users.
2. Value is created by separating various pieces of information as unique
individual parts.
3. Value is created by making information accessible to users.
4. Value is created by bringing together information from a variety of sources.
5. Value is created by choosing the most important and useful information.

The correct answer is:

2. Value is created by separating various pieces of information as unique individual

parts.

10. Summary
This topic covered the following main points:

There are many forms of promotional activities:

 Advertising can be in the form of TV and print advertisements, sports and
event sponsorships, public relations campaigns, online advertising and in-
store advertising.
 Direct marketing can be in the form of mails, telephone calls or DVDs.
 Promotions deliver short-term incentives to customers to act immediately.
These include trade support, consumer promotions, in-store samples and
collateral materials.
 Public relations position the firm as a reliable and responsible partner by
sponsoring events to demonstrat e their commitment to these values.
Ref erences
G ilder, G . "M etc alfe’s L aw and L egac y." Forbes ASAP ( September 1 3, 1 993 ).
H ans on, W. Principles of I nternet Marketing. C inc innati, O hio: South-Western C ollege Publishing, 2 0 00.
Rayport, J .F. and J .J . Sv iokla. "M anaging in the M arketspace." Harvard Bus ines s Review (N ovember-December 1 994):
1 4 1 -2.
Rayport, J .F. and J .J . Sviokla. "E xploiting the V irtual Value C hain." Harvard Bus ines s Review (N ovember-December
1 9 9 5): 7 5- 85.

Credits and Disclaimer

P romo is a regis tered trademark and a regis tered s ervice mark of C owles Business M edia, I nc.
T he T imes is a registered trademark of T imes N ews papers L imited.
E * T rade Financial is a regis tered trademark of E * Trade G roup, I nc .
Y ahoo! Commerx is a regis tered s ervice mark of C ommerx, I nc .is a registered s ervice mark of Y ahoo! I nc.
C ommerx is a regis tered s ervice mark of C ommerx, I nc .
L inkShare is a regis tered s ervice mark of L inkShare C orporation.
A mazon.c om is a regis tered s ervice mark of A mazon.com, I nc.

C opyright © 2015, GlobalNxt University. All rights re served. 15 of 15