CROSS PROMOTIONS

Cross-promotion is a form of marketing promotion where customers of one product or service are
targeted with promotion of a related product. A typical example is cross-media marketing of a
brand; for example, Oprah Winfrey's promotion on her television show of her books, magazines and
website. Cross-promotion may involve two or more companies working together in promoting a
service or product, in a way that benefits both

For example, a mobile phone network may work together with a popular music artist and package
some of their songs as exclusive ringtones; promoting these ringtones can benefit both the network
and the artist. Some major corporations—Burger King, for example—have a long history of cross-
promotion with a range of partners (see Burger King advertising). The Disney Channel has also made
extensive use of cross- promotion. Movie tie-ins are good examples of cross- promotion. On occasion,
badly planned cross-promotions can backfire spectacularly such as 1992 Hoover free flights promotion
fiasco.

Co-marketing and co-branding are particular forms of cross-promotion.

FAILURE OF HOOVER FLIGHTS
• 27 years ago, Hoover offered two free international flights with any £100
purchase. Today, it’s remembered as the worst sales promotion in history.
• In late 1992, the UK branch of the vacuum manufacturer, Hoover, offered
an impossibly sweet promotion: If a customer bought any product worth
£100, he’d get two free round-trip flights to the United States.
• For the 84-year-old electronics brand, it was meant to be an eye-catching
way to boost dwindling sales, escape the gloom of a recession, and shrug
off increased competition.
• Instead, it led to the destruction of the company — a precipitous downfall
that saw multimillion-dollar losses and customer revolts.
Advantages of cross-promotion
•Cost of promotion is less
•Win–win situation for both parties
•Cross-promotion marketing is the easiest and often one of the most
successful marketing strategies
•Both businesses can promote themselves simultaneously
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