Consumer and Trade- oriented Sales Promotions

Consumer oriented sales promotions are actually inducements offered by manufacturers to consumers. These may include price discounts, retail coupons, double coupons, rebates and special displays.The example I found was for a rebate, but if people are like I am, I buy the product, get the rebate, and forget to send it in only to realize the rebate has expired and have lost out on what had beeen a good deal.

The second consumer promotion involves a more favorable item- a FREE coupon for a product. This way people are able to try the product and not invest any monies to see if they really like the item. If they don't no moneies have been spent but if they find the product favorable and would like to get more, they already know what it item can do or in this case taste like and a loyal customer has been born.

Trade oriented sales promotions are inducements offered by manufacturers to wholesalers and retailers. These include off -invoice discounts, merchandise allowances, bonus packs and samples. The one example I found was at Menards where they had in-store demonstration offering coupons if you bought the product that day. The demonstrations were conducted by a representative from the manufacturer.

The last promontion item I found was for a co-operative advertising between Menards and Ford Motors, giving away a 2010 Ford Fusion just for registering in-store, no purchase reguired. Both of these items are effective each in their own way- the coupon offer gets the customer to buy the product now and receive a substantial price reduction, instant gradtfication. Whereas the car give-away might entice more people, it is chance and not a sure thing. It gets the people in the door to get them to buy "stuff" and a "chance " to possible win a big ticket item, in this case a car,FREE. Both are good use of a trade promotion.

The "register to WIN" poster was placed on the front entrance window of Menards for all to see as they entered the store, the sign-up place was in the back of the store- this way one has to travel thru the store, hopefully gathering items you need anyway,sly marketing strategy.

What’s Inside of SC Johnson’s products no longer a mystery

Inside of SC Johnson’s products nWhat’s o longer a mystery

This blog about the SCJohnson Company,I found to be very interesting and informative. It listed thier products with some interesting hints and solutions to various problems you may have around the house. Also makes you aware that this company is environmentally conscious and is trying to preserve the future of our world for the next generation. I thought it was a very well laid out blog and gained some new knowledge about the company.


http://centralwirenewables.blogspot.com/

My second site is the Central Wisconsin Renewable energy site. This site has great updates of what is happening in Wisconsin regarding renewable energy. Lists upcoming energy workshops and great tips as to how we can save and rethink how we use energy.

direct media mail

The direct mailing I received, as you can see, is a great idea for someone who enjoys smaller boat cruises without the mass numbers of people that the Disney crusies offer. Somehow I got on this companys mailing list, American Cruise Lines, and have been receiving various offers of short term cruises up and down the Eastern seacoast from Maine to Flordia. The ad caught my attention because of the nice large lobsters, the lighthouse and promise of adventure, with a price.

Outdoor Advertising

We have learned that there are numerous forms of advertising and that price varies. Lady Bird Johnson tried to ban outdoor billboards back in the 60's but that failed to happen. But as a result of this limitation, advertising began to change forever. People began looking for other ways to get their product noticed and we have today an abundance of media to relay on. Whether it be just a plain billboard or digital technology, today outdoor advertising offers value for the money and researchers are spending excessive resources to study various mediums. As we can see today, advertising is very effective, eye catching in nature reaching out to the target audience to deliver clear communication of product desired.It is also very repetitive, but then reputation results in recall value, when you see the same ad over and over again, building brand recognition.

On the other hand some disadvantages of outdoor advertising. One being the overuse of an ad, which people may get tired of seeing and tune the product out. Another problem may be cost, with new technologies on the horizon, costs keep rising possibly making the cost of advertising too absorbent to invest in.

This past weekend I was in the Dells and came across this unique form of advertising. The cars were delivery vehicles for a restaurant, Moose Jaw. I also found out that the green VW and other one have been running on refined cookong oil and have paid for themselves in two years. Effective and eye catching mobile advertising. The other pictures were for an amusement attraction called Top Secret, based on the premise that the White House was invaded by aliens and picked up and dropped upside-down. Very realistic effect.

Magazine analysis

The magazine I choose was Southern Living, geared mainly to the people living in the southeastern states.The magazine is gear to people in the 50+ age group who are getting ready to retire or have already retired and are looking for a more relaxed lifestyle. It features vacation destinations, travel ideas and remodeling tips, gardening plans,recipes and entertainment advvise. It seems that about 45% of the magazine is devoted to advertising. Yes some of ads do cause a clutter problem, but they are all needed to bring interest to the reader and generate sales of the product or service for the advertiser. The ads ranged from vacation spots, to alergy and pain medications, to skin products,to auto ads, to food products, to pet food ads, to home improvement ads. The advertising in this magazine reaches a unique audience- one that is interested in information to enhance their lifestyles and have the time and money to do it.

TV advertisments

WGN was my station of choice. The programming involves older programs- Becker, Cheers, Barney Miller, Newhart, Americas Funniest Homes Videos, just to name a few of them.
All of these shows were good, clean family entertainement. No fowl language, sex, or nudity.

Most of the ads viewed were food orientated- Rice Krispies,Honey Nut Cherrios, Boston Market, Stacy's Pita Chips, Activia, DiGornio Pizza, maybe because these were viewed late at nite (10-11pm) Glade,Pledge,Cottonelle, Clorox Bleach and Maytag,and Cover Girl, L'Oreall, Olay also showed brief ads. There was also a network ad showing what programs can be seen on the network in other time slots. All of these ads where grouped together in 15 second time slots, 4 at a time, except for the network ad which ran for 30 seconds.The ads where short and to the point, getting the most information out in the shortest time period.

The ads viewed on WGN were not much different than those viewed on network stations. National ads, like the ones listed above,were also seen on CBS,NBC,and ABC but the network stations also viewed local interest ads- car dealers, local restaurants,local motels, dentists, carpet and tile stores.