The Retail Promotion Mix:
Retail
Promotion Mix and Its Components
(b) Publicity:
Publicity refers to any non-paid
communication to promote an organization or its products and services in public
media.
The publicity differs from advertisement
in following senses.
(i) In case of advertisement, sponsor
bears all the expenses while in publicity, media is not paid for the
presentation.
(ii) In
advertisement, how the message will be shown, what text will be used and when
and where it will be shown, everything by and large is in the control of the
concerned company, whose products are to be shown and who is bearing the
broadcasting expenses.
Objectives of
Publicity:
1. It assists
in the launch of new goods and services at mass level.
2. It creates
interest in the goods and services category.
3. Publicity
helps in reposting a mature product.
Advantages of
Publicity:
Publicity has the
following advantages:
1. The first
advantage of publicity is that it is credible because nothing is paid for it
and the presentation is entirely based on independent assessment.
2. Publicity
appeals to mass audience at a time.
3. It costs
nothing to an organization and is widely used means of promoting a product.
4. As
publicity is done in newspapers, magazines, journals and online newspapers etc,
large number of general persons can be covered.
Strength of
Publicity:
1. Wide coverage
2. Low cost
3. More Informative
4. Free from business
Weaknesses of
Publicity:
1. No repetition
2. Not free always
3. Less / no control over message
4. Difficult to control
Methods of
Publicity:
There are
various methods that can be employed to promote the product and its company.
These media
include:
(i) Press
publicity:
It means
releasing news in the media about the company, its offerings etc.
(ii) Speech:
It implies
giving presentations through speeches about the company and its goods and
services etc.
(iii) Special
events:
Sometimes,
marketers organize some special events such as conferences, debates, seminars,
workshops, awareness camps, games, quizzes, star nights, beauty contests,
singing competitions etc.
(iv) Sponsorships:
Under this mode of publicity, company
sponsors some social activities dedicated to public welfare like sponsoring
health check-up camps, maintaining public parks, children parks, planting
trees, blood donation camps, eye check-up / operation camps etc.
(c) Advertising:
Advertising is multidimensional. It is a
form of mass communication, a powerful marketing tool, a component of the
economic system, a means of financing the mass media, a social institution, and
an art form, an instrument of business management, a field of employment and a
profession.
Advertising may be sign, a symbol, an
illustration, an ad message in a magazine or newspaper, a commercial on the
radio or on television, a circular dispatched through mail or a pamphlet etc.
Non – personal advertising would mean that it is not on a person-to-person
basis. Goods, Services, Ideas for action would mean making a consumer aware
about the product of the firm. Paid by an identified sponsor implies that the
advertiser has to pay the media for the services it seeks.
(d) Public Relations:
It is essentially an art of persuasion in
order to influence people. The process includes human behaviour and manner in
which people react to certain situations. It is defined as “the management
function which evaluates public attitude, identifies the policies and
procedures of an organization for public interest and executes a programme of
action (and communication) to earn public understanding and acceptance”.
(e) Personal Selling:
Personal Selling involves
person-to-person communication with the prospect. It is a process of developing
relationships, discovering needs, matching the appropriate products with these
needs and communicating benefits through informing, reminding, or persuading.
Personal selling is thus, considered as a process that adds value. The
salesperson attempts to understand consumer’s needs and fit the product to meet
those needs.
Retailers constantly communicate with their customers
using a variety of methods and approaches. Retail promotions involve the
management of elements of the promotional mix, which include advertising, sales
promotions, digital and direct marketing, personal selling, sponsorship and
public relations.
By these means the target audience is
made aware of the existence of a product or service and the benefits (both
economic and psychological) it confers on customers. Each element of the
promotional mix has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Advertising, for
example, has the property of being able to reach wide audiences very quickly.
Procter & Gamble used advertising to
reach the emerging market of 290 million Russian consumers. It ran a 12-minute
commercial on Russian television as its first promotional venture in order to
introduce the company and its range of products. Advertising can be a powerful
tool in a recession. While its competitors cut back on advertising expenditure
during the Great Depression of 1929, Procter & Gamble increased its spent.
The company dominated radio advertising, bringing market leadership during the
1930s and the creation of the platform that has led to its continuing success
to the present day.
Digital marketing via the internet is
increasingly important as a promotional tool. A great advantage of the internet
is its global reach – companies can now easily extend the reach of their
communications to consumers worldwide by creating a website. The internet has
also proven to be a powerful communication tool, sometimes replacing
traditional media.
Many retailers now sell through the
internet, either exclusively or in conjunction with a network of stores and/or
paper-based catalogues. The internet brings opportunities for retailers to sell
to and communicate with their customers through one highly interactive and
flexible channel.
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