Archive for June, 2009
Promotional Strategy
Promotion is the communication link between sellers and buyers. Organizations use many different means of sending messages about their goods, services, and ideas. They may communicate messages directly through salespeople or indirectly through advertisements and sales promotions. Highly creative advertisements like the one in Figure 1.6 can even provide a form of demonstration. Kraft marketers advertise their three varieties of ranch dressing by creating a replica of the American flag from a combination of ready-to-dip items, including cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, blueberries, and star fruit. They offer a humorous set of preparation instrucdons that ends with “Solute and serve.”
In developing a promotional strategy marketers blend together the various elements of promotion to communicate most effectively with their target market. Many companies use an approach called integrated marketing communications (IMC) to coordinate all promotional activities so that the consumer receives a unified and consistent message. Sony PlayStation Underground, for example, has built the brand and its customer base through the use of IMC programs. The subscription-driven club for video garners who use PlayStation hardware targets consumers with a mix of direct mail, catalogs, a Web site, a computer disk magazine, television spots, package inserts, space ads, and even billboards. In just one year, PlayStation Underground members received some 47 mailings from Sony; software developers received nine; and PlayStation distributors got five mailings. Future plans include creating greater synergy between TV spots, print ads, and other marketing efforts. Sony’s database has grown from 100,000 to 1.5 million names, all of whom will receive Sony’s new catalog of branded merchandise. Says Peter Dille, Sony’s director for product marketing, “Anything that makes the PlayStation customer relationship stronger will sell more product.”