Promoting a Product

The final P in our marketing mix is promotion, which people often think about when they hear the term marketing. But, as we have seen, it is only a part of the entire marketing mix. The promotion mix includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and publicity. Some of these elements are paid for, with the business having direct control over the message. Some are not. Read this section to learn more about promoting a product.

  1. (AACSB) Analysis

Companies encourage customers to buy their products by using a variety of promotion tools, including advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and publicity. Your task is to develop a promotion strategy for two products – the Volkswagen Jetta and Red Bolt soda. For each product, answer the following questions:

  • What's the purpose of the promotion?
  • What's your target market?
  • What's the best way to reach that target market?
  • What product features should you emphasize?
  • How does your product differ from competitors'?

Then describe the elements that go into your promotion mix, and explain why you chose the promotional tools that you did.