Promo actions - what is it? Organization and conduct of shares

Increasing competition in all markets, without exception, leads to the fact that marketers are trying to find new ways to promote goods. Today, advertising is increasingly using hidden and non-standard ways to influence the consumer. As a result of the search for new methods of promotion, this type of advertising appears, such as BTL, ie, indirect advertising, which includes promotions. What are promotions? How to conduct them? And what kinds exist? We will discuss all this in our article.

The concept of

So, we are interested in promotions. What is an action, it is probably not necessary to explain, but what does "promo" mean? Translated from English, this word means ... "advertising." It's easier, is not it? And yet, we suggest that you go a little deeper into the jungle of marketing and decide on the concept of promoting the goods. This term is understood as a set of measures to bring to the consumer information about the advantages and merits of a particular thing (service, brand, manufacturer) and stimulation to make a purchase. The main promotion tool is advertising. It happens to be a direct media (ATL), to which we are all accustomed: television and radio spots, shields on the streets of the city, etc. But the consumer is less reacting to such methods of advertising, and it is time to come up with new options for communicating marketing information to the public. So there is an indirect, hidden advertising, or BTL, to which the promo actions refer. They are understood as non-standard actions for the delivery of information about the goods to the consumer. The latter is involved in the process of obtaining information and often does not even notice the advertising nature of the message or sees in it an additional benefit and therefore decides to take part in this action.

Aims and objectives of the shares

Any promotion has always the main goal - to increase sales of goods. But various steps are taken to this super-goal, including promo-actions. This method works well: as a result, it is possible to achieve specific tasks that allow to approach the global goal. They can be aimed at:

- Raising awareness of consumers about the properties of the goods;

- incentive to trial or re-purchase;

- Establishment in the consumer of associations of advertising messages from other media (media) with a specific product;

- attraction of new consumers;

- the introduction of new products and brands on the market;

- Combating stereotyped ideas about the product;

- the formation of positive emotions in connection with the goods.

Planning

There are several types of promotions, and their number only increases, because marketers are constantly seeking to find new ways of advertising products. However, the stages in the preparation of such marketing activities are generally aligned in a single chain. First you need to determine the purpose and target audience of the promotion. What is the target audience? These are consumers with a certain set of characteristics (gender, age, income, etc.) with which communication will be established. Then the most suitable type of action is chosen, its terms, geographic scope and budget are determined. Then the scenario of the action is made up, the personnel is selected, the necessary materials are made (leaflets, racks, uniforms, etc.). All data is collected in a single plan, which fixes the responsible for each type of action. Then the action is realized and its effectiveness is evaluated.

Types of shares

The easiest way to answer the question: "Promo actions - what is it?" Through their classification. The oldest kind is sampling. More new, but already become familiar: leafletting, tasting, competitions, lotteries, gift promotions. Of the newest types, it is worth mentioning svich-selling, i.e., the exchange of products of competitors to promoted goods, bonus promotions, coupons, cross-promotion, i.e., promotion in pair with non-competitive goods, flash mobs. Also to promo actions include the sphere of merchandising, i.e., the design of point of sales by POS materials, consulting in the trading floor, the layout of goods , etc. Some researchers also include marketing activities on the Internet.

Sampling

Distributing samples is the right way to get a person to test a product. Free goods attract the target audience very much. There are several variants of sampling: distribution of samples in places of mass congestion of consumers, distribution through print media (pasting in bags of packets with shampoo, cream, perfume), exchange of half-empty packs for full bundles of goods. When using sampling, you need to carefully study your target audience and its needs. So, to take a bag of cheap mayonnaise in the lobby of a shop, not every customer will decide, because it can "hit" her image in the eyes of other visitors of the outlet. And on the contrary, it is senseless to give away an expensive premium product in an economy class store. Since buyers will gladly take the sample, but are unlikely to ever make a purchase.

Lifelong

Distribution of leaflets, coupons, flyers a few years ago was very successful. Today, this very cheap method of advertising has become so frequent that it has discredited itself and does not give the desired effect. Although leafletting is a very quick way to notify the target audience about something, for example, about the upcoming action in the store. But carrying out promo-actions with the distribution of leaflets should be carefully thought through. The consumer no longer takes or does not read simply information texts. He will count and save only what is profitable for him. Therefore, leaflets need to be given value in the eyes of the consumer. That is, the received text should bear the benefit: a discount, an opportunity to exchange for a gift, etc. Or it should be interesting to the consumer - for example, until recently people with pleasure took pocket calendars. Today, you can interest a potential client by typing on a flyer some recipe, advice, other useful information.

Gift for purchase and lottery

The nature of man is such that he loves gifts at any age. Therefore, the shares with the distribution of presents are an invariable success. This is a great way to encourage the buyer to make more purchases, well, or at least one trial purchase. There are many options for such promotions. It can be the exchange of coupons or packages for prizes. An example of such advancement can be advertising of ice cream "Magnate" - the action "Buy ice cream and win a car". In 2014, the company played two Porsche Cayman pink and black colors and thus stimulated buyers to try new varieties of cold dessert. In 2016, the ice cream maker "Magnat", whose "Lamborghini" campaign beat popularity records, repeated its success and for 3 months accustomed customers to a new type of product. Promotions with gifts and lotteries are especially beneficial to those firms whose products are prohibited from advertising by mass media (alcohol, cigarettes). As an example, you can bring the company "Ochakovo", a promotional event "Win bullion gold and silver, which also brought its dividends.

Contests and quizzes

Another option for giving presents is a variety of competitions that not only encourage consumers to purchase goods, but also involve them in communication. Very often held, for example, photo contests, in which the winner will win the one who gets the most votes. This makes the consumer not only participate in the competition, but also encourages him to use his friends to vote for him. This leads to the fact that the participants themselves disseminate information about the project and reduce the company's advertising costs. For example, the magazine EUROMAG conducted the quiz "Win a trip to Norway", encouraging consumers to learn more about the tourist sites of the country and forming deferred demand. Such shares do not bring instant commercial results, but have a prolonged accumulative effect.

Tasting and testing

After the consumer has tried the product, the chances that he will make a purchase increase dramatically. Therefore, tastings and tests are so popular with the promotion of goods. Yes, this is a costly way of advertising, it requires special training, but with proper planning it fully justifies itself. You just need to carefully choose the location of the action. So, many residents of megacities remember how a few years ago at the weekend in hypermarkets there was literally no pushing through between the promos with tasting. It is necessary to understand that the consumer of the middle and high-profit group will not try the product in the conditions of the hypermarket. But in a restaurant or club, he will taste wine or cigarettes with pleasure.

Benefits of shares

Involving the consumer in communication with the goods is today the most progressive way to promote the latter. Promotional actions (promo-actions) allow to tell to the consumer about a product and to overcome negative attitude to advertising. Promo is a troublesome and often expensive business, but it usually brings a quick and visible result.