1.3.2 Branding and promotion

Question 1

What role does promotion play in a business?

Answer 1

• It plays a crucial role in generating customer awareness, interest and desire for a product/service.
• A business can communicate its value proposition to potential customers.
• Can differentiate a business from its competitors.
• Can build brand loyalty which can lead to repeat purchases and referrals.

Question 2

What are the types of promotion?

Answer 2

• Advertising
• Direct marketing
• Sales promotions
• Personal selling
• Sponsorship
• Public relations (PR)
• Digital communications

Question 3

What are the advantages of advertising as a promotional strategy?

Answer 3

• It can reach large audiences and increase brand awareness.
• It can be used to create a specific brand image or message.

Question 4

What are the disadvantages of advertising as a promotional strategy?

Answer 4

• Can be expensive.
• The effectiveness of advertising can be difficult to measure.
• Many customers tune out or ignore ads.

Question 5

What are the advantages of direct marketing as a promotional strategy?

Answer 5

• Businesses can target specific audiences and personalise their message to individual customers.
• Direct marketing is measurable, which enables businesses to track their results and adjust their strategy accordingly.

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of direct marketing as a promotional strategy?

Answer 6

• Can be intrusive as customers may perceive it as spam.
• Can also be costly especially if businesses do not have an established customer database or need to purchase leads.

Question 7

What are the advantages of sales promotions as a promotional strategy?

Answer 7

• Can quickly boost sales or customer engagement.
• Can help to clear out stock or promote a new product.
• Can encourage impulse purchases.
• Can be targeted to specific segments of customers.

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of sales promotions as a promotional strategy?

Answer 8

• Can be expensive especially if the promotion requires a heavy discounting.
• Can attract deal-seeking customers who aren’t likely to be loyal to the brand.
• May reduce the sales of full-priced products.

Question 9

What are the advantages of personal selling as a promotional strategy?

Answer 9

• Allows businesses to build relationships with their customers and understand their specific needs.
• Enables businesses to provide personalised advice and guidance to customers.

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of personal selling as a promotional strategy?

Answer 10

• Can be expensive due to the cost of hiring and training sales staff.
• The impact of personal selling can be limited as it is difficult to scale to large audiences.

Question 11

What are the advantages of sponsorship as a promotional strategy?

Answer 11

• Can help to build brand awareness and credibility.
• Can create emotional connections with target audiences.
• Can support specific business objectives, such as entering new markets or reaching new customers.

Question 12

What are the disadvantages of sponsorship as a promotional strategy?

Answer 12

• Can be expensive, especially for high-profile events or properties.
• May not directly drive sales.
• May be subject to negative publicity if the sponsored entity experiences a scandal or controversy.

Question 13

What are the advantages of public relations (PR) as a promotional strategy?

Answer 13

• Can enhance a business’s reputation and credibility.
• This can lead to increased customer loyalty and sales.
• Can be cost-effective when compared to advertising or personal selling.

Question 14

What are the disadvantages of public relations (PR) as a promotional strategy?

Answer 14

• PR can be time-consuming.
• It is difficult to measure the direct impact of PR activities on the profits of a business.

Question 15

What are the advantages of digital communications as a promotional strategy?

Answer 15

• Can be highly targeted to specific customer segments.
• Can provide real-time engagement and feedback from customers.

Question 16

What are the disadvantages of digital communications as a promotional strategy?

Answer 16

• Can be easily ignored or filtered out by customers.
• May require significant investment in technology or data infrastructure.
• May be subject to data privacy regulations or security breaches.
• May not be effective for reaching older or less digitally-savvy customer segments.

Question 17

What is branding?

Answer 17

The process of creating a unique and identifiable name, design, symbol or other feature that differentiates a product or company from its competitors.

Question 18

Why is branding important to a business?

Answer 18

• It establishes recognition and identity.
• It builds trust and credibility.
• It differentiates a business from its competitors.
• It creates an emotional connection with customers which helps to generate repeat purchases.
• It supports marketing and advertising efforts.

Question 19

What are the types of branding?

Answer 19

• Manufacturer/corporate branding
• Product branding
• Own brand product

Question 20

What is manufacturer/corporate branding?

Answer 20

It refers to the use of a company logo to promote all the products or services offered by the company.
- This type of branding is used by companies such as Nike and Apple.

Question 21

What are the advantages of manufacturer/corporate branding?

Answer 21

• Creates strong brand recognition and reputation for the company, which can increase customer loyalty and trust.
• Allows the company to leverage its existing reputation and customer base to introduce new products more easily.
• It helps build economies of scale by promoting multiple products under one brand, which can reduce marketing costs and increase profitability.

Question 22

What are the disadvantages of manufacturer/corporate branding?

Answer 22

• If a company’s reputation is damaged by a product, it can have a negative impact on all the products offered under that brand.
• If the company faces intense competition in one market, it may affect the sales of all the products offered across other markets.

Question 23

What is product branding?

Answer 23

It refers to the use of a unique name, design, or symbol to promote a specific product.
- For example, KitKat, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s Big Mac.

Question 24

What are the advantages of product branding?

Answer 24

• Creates a distinct identity for the product, which can help to differentiate it from competitors and increase brand loyalty.
• Allows the company to market different products to different segments of the market, e.g Coca-Cola and Coke-Zero.
• Can help to build customer loyalty and trust by associating the product with a specific quality and benefits.

Question 25

What are the disadvantages of product branding?

Answer 25

- The cost of creating and promoting a new brand for each product can be expensive. - Introducing new products under different brands is difficult as the business must build a new brand for each product from scratch. - Different products within the brand may have different levels of quality, which can affect customer satisfaction.

Question 26

What is own brand?

Answer 26

It refers to the use of a retailer's name to promote a specific product or service.

Question 27

What are the advantages of own brand products?

Answer 27

- It can help retailers differentiate themselves from their competitors by offering unique products. - It allows retailers to offer products at a lower cost than branded products, which can help to increase sales and profitability. - It can help to build customer loyalty by offering exclusive products that are not available elsewhere.

Question 28

What are the disadvantages of own brand products?

Answer 28

- They may have a lower perceived quality than branded products which can affect customer loyalty and trust.

Question 29

What are the benefits of branding?

Answer 29

- Strong branding can add value to a product. - It gives the business the ability to charge premium prices as customers may be more willing to pay a higher price for a product that is associated with a well-established brand. - It can reduce the price elasticity of demand for a product as customers who are loyal to a brand are more likely to continue purchasing the product even if the price increases. (Customers will be less sensitive to price changes).

Question 30

What are the ways to build a brand?

Answer 30

- By developing unique selling points (USPs) - Through advertising - Through sponsorship - Through the use of social media

Question 31

How can developing a unique selling point build a brand?

Answer 31

Brands can build their reputation by emphasising their unique qualities in their marketing efforts.

Question 32

How can advertising build a brand?

Answer 32

Brands can create compelling ads that resonate with their target audience, raise brand awareness, and communicate their value proposition. With the right advertising strategy, brands create a strong emotional connection with their audience and inspire brand loyalty.

Question 33

How can sponsorship build a brand?

Answer 33

Partnering with events, organisations, or individuals can help brands gain exposure and build their reputation by aligning themselves with positive associations or values.

Question 34

How can social media build a brand?

Answer 34

With the right social media strategy, brands can build a loyal following and create a community around their brand.

Question 35

What social trends can affect branding and promotion?

Answer 35

- Viral marketing - Social media - Emotional branding

Question 36

What is viral marketing?

Answer 36

A strategy where businesses use online platforms to promote their products by creating content at specific times, which can be easily shared and commented on.

Question 37

What is emotional branding?

Answer 37

A strategy where companies build strong emotional connections with their customers by appealing to their values, beliefs and emotions.