ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the strategic and tactical roles sales promotions may play. Sales promotions are incentives used to stimulate sales of a specific product or service by changing prices or adding perceived value in the short term. The chapter presents a case study that illustrates how a multi-media campaign was used to support a specific promotional programme that was reliant on sales support through the marketer's retail outlets. Sales promotions, as an instrument that is primarily used to increase sales in the short run, have become increasingly important as a result of communication clutter, fierce competitiveness amongst retailers, less brand loyalty and short-term orientation of many companies. Using sales promotions may help achieve a number of objectives: increasing market share, increasing sales, attracting news consumers, encouraging brand switching, or rewarding loyal consumers. When employing this marketing communications tool, businesses need to consider both its advantages, increasing trial, loyalty and profitability, and disadvantages, deal-proneness, brand-switching, the negative effect on brand image.
