Promotion
AQA also says:
Spec content: Promotional methods (advertising, PR, sales promotion, sponsorship, social media); Factors influencing the promotional mix (finance, competitor actions, nature of product/market, target market); Reasons for promotion (inform/remind, create/increase sales, create/change image, persuade to buy).
Students should be able to: be familiar with the promotional methods likely to be used by a given business; appreciate the benefits and drawbacks of promotional methods; analyse factors influencing the selection of the promotional mix to assess suitability for a given business.
Why Businesses Promote
Promotion is how a business communicates with its target market. AQA identifies four reasons a business promotes:
- Inform or remind customers about a product — particularly important at launch or after a long gap in advertising
- Create or increase sales — generating revenue directly through promotional campaigns
- Create or change the image of a product or brand — repositioning how customers perceive it
- Persuade customers to buy — actively encouraging a purchase decision
Promotional Methods
Advertising is paid communication in media to reach a target audience. AQA-listed channels include:
- Television — large reach, high impact, audio-visual; expensive; suits mass-market brands
- Internet/digital — highly targetable by age, location, interests; measurable; cost-effective at all scales; includes display ads, video, and search advertising
- Social media advertising — paid promotion on platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube); precise targeting; immediate engagement data
- Newspapers/magazines — targeted by readership demographics; print declining but still relevant for specific audiences
- Billboards — high-impact local/national awareness; good for brand visibility; limited message detail
Sales promotion uses short-term incentives to stimulate immediate purchase:
- Point-of-sale displays — eye-catching in-store or online positioning to drive impulse purchase
- 2-for-1 offers and BOGOFs — increase volume per transaction; create urgency
- Free gifts and samples — encourage trial of new products; reduce purchase risk
- Coupons and discount vouchers — reward loyal customers; attract price-sensitive buyers
- Competitions and prize draws — generate excitement and social sharing
Sales promotions are particularly effective for driving short-term volume but can train customers to wait for discounts, and may attract new buyers who do not become loyal customers.
Public Relations (PR) is managing the flow of information between a business and its public to build and maintain a positive reputation. PR includes press releases, media interviews, charitable partnerships, and crisis communication. Unlike advertising, PR is not directly paid media — its credibility comes from being reported independently rather than purchased.
Sponsorship involves a business paying to be associated with an event, sports team, television programme, or individual. It builds brand awareness and creates positive associations between the brand and the sponsored entity's values (excitement, achievement, community). Effective when the sponsored activity aligns with the brand's target market and values.
Social media promotion (organic) includes creating and sharing content on platforms to build an audience, engage customers, and generate word-of-mouth. Unlike paid social media advertising, organic social media involves no direct media spend — but requires time and creative resource.
Social media is particularly powerful for: building brand communities; launching new products to an engaged audience; responding to customer feedback publicly; and generating user-generated content (reviews, shares, recommendations) that carries peer credibility advertising cannot match.
Factors Influencing the Promotional Mix
No single promotional method suits every business or product. AQA identifies four factors that shape which methods are most appropriate:
- Finance available — television advertising requires a large budget; social media and PR can be done effectively with far less. A start-up with limited funds will make very different choices from a multinational corporation.
- Competitor actions — if competitors increase their advertising spend or launch aggressive promotions, a business may need to respond to maintain its visibility and defend its position.
- Nature of the product or service — a complex B2B service is better promoted through targeted direct communication and trade press than television. A mass-market consumer product benefits from broadcast advertising. A fashion brand thrives on social media.
- Target market — the channels the target customer actually uses determine which promotional methods will reach them effectively. Advertising on platforms your target audience does not use wastes budget.
Key Takeaways
- Promotion aims to: inform/remind, create/increase sales, create/change image, and persuade.
- Methods: advertising (TV, internet, social, press, billboards), sales promotion (offers, samples, coupons, competitions), PR and sponsorship, and social media.
- The promotional mix is shaped by budget, competitor actions, product/service nature, and target market.
- No single method is universally best — effective promotion matches the right channel to the right audience for the right product.