The fourth tool that will be discussed is "Promotion".
Dibb et al., (2016) define promotion to be "The aspect of the marketing mix that relates to marketing communications used to inform one or more groups of people about an organisation and its products and to maintain an ongoing relationship."
Promotion is a very important element of the marketing mix as it can
boost brand recognition and sales. Promotion is comprised of various elements
such as:
- Sales Organisation
- Public Relations (PR)
- Advertising
- Sales Promotion
A strong leader in the promotion industry is Coca Cola (A.K.A Coke). This is an American company invented in May 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia by Dr. John S. Pemberton (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016) in which the company currently offers more than 500 brands in more than 190 countries and serves over 1.6 BILLION servings... each day.
They strongly believe in making people happy and bringing them together regardless of race, age, gender, nationality, religion or believes.
Above the line promotion (ALT):
is where mass media is used to promote brands and reach out to the
target consumers. These include conventional media as we know it, television
and radio advertising, print as well as internet. This is communication
that is targeted to a wider spread of audience, and is not specific to individual
consumers. (Theadvertisingclub.net, 2016)
Below the line promotion (BLT):
is more one to one, and involves the distribution of stickers, promotions, brochures placed at point of sale, on the roads through banners and placards. It could also involve product demos and samplings at busy places like shopping malls and market places or residential complexes. However for some rural areas, they might not get all the mass media shown around so it is harder for them to engage and learn about new and upcoming products/goods/services.(Theadvertisingclub.net, 2016).
One of the biggest competitors Coke has is Pepsi. Lately Pepsi have increased their advertising budget and straight away Coca-Cola management plans to do the same so that they can compete in the advertising compartment as well.
Mediums of advertising and promoting for Coca-Cola:
Print Media:
Coca-Cola advertisements all over the world are creative so they appeal to the mass media
Point of Sales Materials:
Merchandise is essential to communicate to the consumers
TV Commercials:
The company focuses on urban and rural crowds, and change up their Coke ambassadors from time to time, this way they can really connect with each and every person watching.
Out-door Advertising:
Direct Marketing:
Social Media Promotion:
Word of mouth:
Yes, word of mouth is also a great way of promoting a good, service or product. It might not always necessarily be positive, however if it is marketed right it can do wonders.
This is how Coca-Cola promote most of their activities; they leek the idea to some of the biggest bloggers and YouTuber's and let the magic happen from there.
Celebrity Endorsement:
By using celebrities and their social status or fame, fans will highly likely be influenced by them, this way the awareness of the product is increased which means they want to be drinking it and talking about it as well!
Coca-Cola's Happiness machine around the world promotes people to be kind to one another in the simplest of ways:
The video below shows how Coca-Cola thought of this problem and targeted people living in rural areas with poorer living conditions than in the city. They also came up with a way how the people living there can contact family members living abroad with no cost:
Coca Cola is known for its promotional influence on their customers and consumers.
By promoting Coca-Cola in other countries, the company has tried to alter the flavor of the original Coke by adding some ingredients that the country desires; such as India. The company has collaborated with established stars and programmers and have gained an understanding of how important festivals and spices are in the Indian culture, as well as the most favourable sport, cricket.
Coca Cola brings people and countries together from different backgrounds and cultures, making them feel united:
Coca-Cola brings people together with different opinions and different thoughts:
The company also has different themes of advertising regarding to what season of the year it is. This means that they are promoting all year round and taking the seasons into consideration.