Similarity And difference between advertisement and sales promotion
Advertising and sales promotion are similar in that they both involve communication regarding a company’s products or services. The messages an organization communicates may involve features, benefits, price and other aspects. Sales promotion, “[involves] communication activities that provide extra incentives to customer or the sales for to achieve a short-term objective” (Winer & Dhar, 2011, p. 287). Advertising differs by being more focused on long-term objectives such as building brand equity.
Which do you think is a more effective communication tool and why?
If I had to decide between advertising or sales promotion, advertising would be my choice because sales promotion is unsustainable. In fact “a disadvantage of sales promotion is that it is almost always focused on price. As a result, customers can be induced to become more price-sensitive and deal-loyal (loyal to the brand that is on some kind of promotion” (Winer & Dhar, 2011, p. 287). Apple is an example of building brand equity over a long-term period through various methods including advertising. The Cupertino, California-based brand do not run promotions with price breaks very often and when they do the discount is generally under 10% off retail.
A sales promotion I have used to promote a product or service.
One particular sales promotion I implemented was for a service. Specifically, this included selling membership for a local business offering fitness classes. Promotions utilized by the sales force involved offering a discount for signing-up early, before the free trial period has ended. This way the local business can offer a price discount off the initial costs instead of on-going fees, thus not devaluing the main services offered.
References:
Winer, R.S., & Dhar, R. (2011). Marketing management (4th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.