Advertising and Promotion

Author: Yin Chunlan, Cheng Zheng / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features:
(III) Determining the Marketing Mix
The marketing mix consists of specific elements such as product, price, distribution, and promotion, and each strategic factor influences advertising decisions.
1. Product Factors
The product life cycle theory is quite important for advertising campaigns. The product life cycle also requires advertising to adopt specific approaches to align with it. During the product introduction stage, as a new product enters the market, it is not well-known or accepted by consumers, resulting in low brand awareness and reputation. At this stage, advertising strategies should focus on promoting the new product, highlighting its features, and cultivating a group of early adopters. This often involves pioneering advertising strategies, selecting media that transmit information quickly, have a broad reach, and a strong influence. During the product growth stage, the product gradually becomes familiar to consumers, mass production begins, costs decline significantly, sales volume increases, and corporate profits grow. In this stage, advertising appeals should focus on highlighting the product's unique features compared to similar products to stimulate selective demand. In the product maturity stage, advertising strategies should emphasize brand image promotion to remind consumers and stimulate repeat purchases, thereby increasing purchase rates. When the product reaches market saturation, sales decline, and profit margins gradually approach zero, marking the decline stage of the product. At this point, advertising should focus on promoting product improvements and new uses.
2. Price Factors
A company's pricing strategy also affects the style of advertising. Companies that do not engage in price competition rely on image advertising to create a specific corporate feel or brand personality. For example, L'Oréal's advertisements repeatedly claim that their products are indeed of higher quality than those of other brands. If a company participates in price competition, it must integrate advertising with promotional activities.
3. Distribution Factors
Distribution factors typically influence the regional characteristics of advertising. Companies that sell products in a large region or two to three provinces usually adopt regional advertising or publish advertisements on national media. Many large companies promote their products in foreign markets and create different advertising messages for different countries and ethnic groups, which is international advertising. Multinational corporations like Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Kodak use global advertising, employing the same message worldwide to create and place advertisements.
4. Promotion Factors
Advertising is part of the promotional mix, and its use must consider the organic integration with other promotional factors, such as public relations and sales promotions, to achieve the best communication results. P10