Unit 9 Exploring Creative Product Promotion P2

Promotion is an important marketing activity – it is a component of the marketing mix. The marketing mix consists of the Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Packaging, Physical Evidence and Processes. Promotion is heavily influenced by the other elements of the marketing mix. The features and benefits of the product must be included in ever promotional activity. Product features, such as an iPod having 8GB is easy to convey but promotional activity may also have to convey the point that the owner of the iPod has been successful in life and this is more difficult to convey.

Marketing Mix in relation to the Promotion of Walker’s crisps

Product
The product is the item that any business is trying to sell in order to create profit.

On Walkers Crisps they must promote them by putting the description, logo and website and any other details of customer service.

Price
The price is the amount of money it costs for consumers to be able to buy the product.

The price is a big factor of promotion and when Walkers put a RRP on their crisps it will display their original price therefore keeping their corporate image even if shop keepers decide to rank up the price to make more profits. This will show the consumers that walker’s crisps as a company actually mean to sell their goods at a fair value and therefore increase the corporate image.

Place
The place is where the business will be located, this can be in busy city centres or rural villages. The best place depends on what kind of business you are trying to run.

The area of location can be used for promotion with banner advertisements on billboards, bus stops etc. This will increase brand recognition and corporate image of Walkers.

People
These are the target market that you need to have buying your products. It can be important to collect a greater understanding of this market with questionnaires etc.

The people can promote the Walkers brand by using good manners and patience when talking to customers. This will increase the brand’s corporate image.

Packaging
The packaging is the material that wraps the product for it to be sold in stores.

The packaging must have all of the website details, description of the crisps and the walker’s logo on the front in order to promote it against other competing brands. Consumers will see the brand and associate it with the high standard of excellence provided by them in the past.

Physical Evidence
Physical evidence is stuff such as packaging, sofas, lighting, and music. Basically all of the stuff you would experience when walking into a shop.

Promotion is evident in personal selling when the staffs wears uniform which have the logo and website or company name embedded on the front, this shows that they are part of the walkers brand and that they will offer the same high standard of quality as customers receive in their crisps.

Processes
The processes are what it takes to get the product from the retailer to the consumer and how long this takes will effect how good it is.

The processes of walkers would be how they use company policies in their work, so for example, in the customer services department they would always end the call with ‘thank you for choosing Walkers crisps’ or something along those lines to promote the brand image of the product and to show they care about their customers.

Conclusion

In conclusion the role of promotion within the marketing mix is fundamental and helps sales in any business.