Promotion describes the communications activities of advertising personal selling sales promotion and
publicity public relations.
Advertising is a non-personal form of mass communication, paid for by an identified sponsor. . Personal selling involves a seller attempting to persuade a potential buyer to make a purchase. Sales promotion encompasses short-term activities such as giving coupons, free samples, etc. that encourage quick action by buyers. . Publicity public relations is a non-personal, not paid for communication usually in the form
of journalistic or editorial cover.
The company has control over the first three variables, but has little control over the fourth variable, publicity public relations. Companies can gain some control over the publicity it receives by the timing the release of news items. Taken together, these promotional activities make up the promotional or communications mix with varying emphasis on each element according to the type of product or service, characteristics of consumers and company resources. Company size, competitive strengths and weaknesses and style of management all influence the promotional mix.Other communications elements with which promotion must be coordinated are other aspects of the Marketing Mix (4Ps/7Ps/8Ps). In particular coordination of the product communication, including brand name, design of packaging and trade-marks are all product cues which convey a message about the total product offering is vital in terms of consistency and clarity. Equally price can communicate different things under varying circumstances; especially in terms of reinforcing perceptions of quality or exclusivity/luxury. The place in which the products are to be found also has notable communications value; why else would people spend extra on goods from Harrods or Harvey Nichols? Indeed within the retail market individual shops have personalities that consumers associate with the products they sell and the products in turn receive a halo effect from the shops in which they can be found Burberry the luxury London retailer found this to their cost when their hallmark check design was copied and adopted by downmarket 'chavs jeopardising their sales to their traditional wealthy clientele.