1.3.2 Branding & Promotion Flashcards
Promotion
One of the four pillars of the marketing mix. Promotion involves using a variety of methods to communicate with customers and persuade them to buy your product.
Types of promotion
- Advertising.
- Public relations.
- Direct marketing.
- Sales promotion.
- Personal selling
- Sponsorship
Advertising
TV, Radio, Brochures, leaflets.
Benefits and drawbacks of advertising
+ Can reach a large audience.
+ Used to build brand loyalty.
+ Control over message.
+ Potential to go viral.
+ Target demographics.
- Expensive.
- No guarantee will increase sales.
- May cause negative PR if not appropriate.
- Customers may interpret ad in a different way.
Public relations
Communicating with the media and other interested parties to enhance the image of the business and its products, and therefore increase sales.
Speeches, PR stunts and sponsorships (sponsor an event or individual to raise its profile)
Benefits and drawbacks of public relations
+ Cheap.
+ Builds brand awareness.
+ Should have a direct impact on sales.
- Can’t control way that message is covered by the media.
Direct marketing
Marketing activity aimed directly at the customer, such as direct mail, door-to-door leaflets or email.
Benefits and drawbacks of direct marketing
+ Cheap, quick and easy.
- May not get read.
Sales promotion
The use of short-term incentives to encourage buyers to purchase.
Competitions, vouchers, deals, money off.
Benefits and drawbacks of sales promotion
+ Interest consumer from competitors.
- Short term effects.
- Can encourage brand switching.
Personal selling
Based on face-to-face contact with customers.
Telemarketing and sales people.
Benefits and drawbacks of personal selling
+ 2 way communication; can answer customer queries.
- Expensive.
- Limited number of customers.
Key factors influencing promotional decisions and strategy
- Stage in the product lifecycle.
- Nature of the product.
- Competition.
- Marketing objectives and budget.
- Target market.
Brand types
- Product brand = Brands associated with specific products.
- Service brand = Brands that add perceived value to services.
- Umbrella brand = Brands that are assigned to more than one product.
- Corporate brand = Promoting the brand name of a corporate entity.
- Own-label = Example of corporate branding where retail outlets assign their corporate branding to a range of goods or services.
- Global brand
Benefits and drawbacks of a product brand?
+ Help to build customer loyalty and trust by associating product with a specific quality.
+ Distinct identity for product to differentiate it from competitors and increase loyalty.
- Cost of promoting a new brand for each product.
- Difficult as business needs to build a brand for each product.
Benefits and drawbacks of a own-label brand?
+ Retailers can offer products at lower costs than branded products.
+ Can build customer loyalty by offering exclusive products not available elsewhere.
- May have a lower perceived quality.
Benefits and drawbacks of a umbrella brand?
+ Allows company to leverage existing reputation and customer base to introduce new products.
+ Builds economies of scale by promoting multiple products under one brand.
- A single bad event may affect all products.
- If company faces intense competition in one market it may affect sales of all products.
Benefits of strong branding
- Adds significant value.
- Able to charge higher prices and demand is more price inelastic.
- Builds customer loyalty and aspiration.
Drawbacks of branding
- High costs associated with promotion to gain brand recognition in the first place.
- Constant promotion is needed to maintain brand.
- A single bad event may affect all products.
Ways to build a brand
- USP
- Advertising
- Sponsorship
- Social media
Benefits and drawbacks of a USP
+ Charge higher prices.
+ Differentiates brand from competition.
+ Enhances brand image.
- May not be a market for USP.
- New product, therefore sales might not meet expectation.
- Expensive to create, take time to break even.
Benefits and drawbacks of sponsorship
+ Wide reach.
+ Reaches different consumer base – fans of celebrity.
+ Can find celebrities that match values.
- Expensive.
- Negative actions from celebrity can affect PR.
Benefits and drawbacks of social media
+ Cheap/free.
+ Wide coverage.
+ Can associate brand with relevant trends.
- Ignored easily.
- Saturated market makes it difficult to stand out.
Changes in branding and promotion to reflect social trends
- Emotional branding
- Viral marketing
- Social media
Emotional branding
Refers to the practice of using the emotions of a consumer to build a brand.
Viral marketing
A strategy that encourages people to pass on messages to others about a product or service electronically.
Brand
A characteristic, name or symbol that distinguishes one product from another rival.
