ABSTRACT
The term ‘promotion’ refers to the range of methods used by an organization to communicate with actual and potential customers (e.g. advertising, publicity/ public relations, personal selling and sales promotion) in order to evoke an attitudinal position and an appropriate behavioural response. In service businesses in particular, internal communication and promotion is also important in helping to build a market orientation. Thus, promotion (or marketing communications) increasingly focuses attention on employees as well as customers. Marketing communications play a key role in the process of building a brand and giving value to that brand, both by creating awareness and also by building favourable images/associations in the minds of customers. Building a clear brand image or brand association in the minds of consumers (and employees) depends on a high degree of co-ordination across promotional activities. The message presented by TV advertising needs to be consistent with what press advertising says, with what sponsorship implies and with the message communicated by sales staff. As with the marketing mix overall, if marketing communications are consistent and integrated, the impact of the overall campaign will be that much greater (synergy). Indeed, the concept of integration has attracted so much attention in recent years that
By the end of this chapter you will be able to: ● explain the basic principles of communication for marketing ● examine the process of planning a promotional campaign ● provide an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of different
approaches to promotion for financial services.
