How much should be spent on advertising versus promotion?
| Answer: Magic formulas really don't exist in marketing (even though lots of people may try to get you to believe such magic, tricks, or tips may exist). Having said that, the question you ask is interesting. First, advertising is meant to establish awareness, build interest in the market, educate, change brand attitudes, and influence perceptions of customer consistent with a chosen positioning (assuming you have a clear position in mind). Promotion (and I assume you're not talking about public relations here) is typically of a short term nature that is typically meant to encourage trial. Marketing encompasses both of these activities, and more, so I could really say anything about budget allocation to marketing since it's too broad a term. But focusing on advertising versus promotion, you need to first think about what is the objectives of the marketing campaign. If it's heavy on getting people to just try your product or service (or web site), then promotion should be heavily weighted. Give stuff away, special deals, etc. These are short term objectives and often just produce short term effects. That makes sense since they are designed to get people to try out something. Advertising is more designed for longer term objectives, such as establishing awareness or interest as mentioned above. If you really are interested in getting people aware of your offering, then advertising should also be a critical part. The same is true if you want to change customer's perceptions. Since often companies want to get both awareness, interest, and trial (especially with brand new companies), you have to think about a combination of advertising and promotion. Should it be 50/50, or some other number? That really depends on your best analysis of the market. For example, if you potential market would not be motivated by promotions and gimmicks, or discounted prices, then it makes less sense to put a heavy weight on promotions. If, on the other hand, your customers are an easily defined market such that building awareness could readily be done via certain advertising vehicles (such as magazines, afflilate web sites, etc.), then this suggests putting a higher weight on advertising. In short, as in all things in marketing, the more you know about the customers you will be targeting, the clearer your objectives are for the marketing campaign, the easier it is to know what type of mix between promotions and advertising you should have. You can read more about this in our tutorial on advertising versus promotion. |
More resources related to Advertising
-
Traditional ads such as billboards, television ads, and radio spots may have fallen out of favor more during the pandemic, when businesses were accelerating digital methods. But do traditional ads still have value? This article explores the differences.
-
Heard the recent hysteria surrounding native advertising? Most of the rumors are mistruths and misconceptions.
-
Do you know where you need to be advertising? Many marketers default to digital, but is that where your audience is? Other advertising methods can be paired with digital for the best strategy, according to Rebecca Bugger.
-
Mad Men-style advertising, based on interrupting entertainment or news, is still with us—but most marketers recognize that it's unsteady on its feet. The reality is that people are tired of being "targeted" with ads and so are inclined to take evasive action. It's time to dust off the tried-and-true customer testimonial, and turbo-charge it for your website with video storytelling.
-
Back in the day, times seemed simpler. Advertising, ad expert Rebecca Bugger and host George B. Thomas conclude, is continually changing, and you should always be testing your methods to see what works and what doesn't. Watch and listen to discover how advertising works today.
-
Marketers can't be blamed for being overwhelmed by the seemingly endless choices that digital advertising offers. But do you have to embrace every option and every channel? There's a better way.
-
If you find a reputable marketplace that meets your clients' audience requirements and you combine that with valuable content, the results can be good—shockingly good.
-
Videos, interactive gaming, choose-your-own-adventure product tours... there's so much complexity in digital marketing right now that nobody could be blamed for yearning to rely on a plain old billboard. But is such a thing still effective?
-
Content marketing and native advertising each have their own benefits. But when used together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Read on for tips to help you drive even more leads.
-
What's missing in any discussion of advertising's future is a deeper analysis of the forces at work.
-
In his new book, According to Kotler, Phil Kotler gives a summary of the key principles of marketing and how they relate to current events such as corporate accounting scandals, outsourcing, globalization, warehouse shopping and online marketing. Here is an excerpt of it, based on the thousands of questions Kotler has been asked over the years by clients, students, business audiences, and journalists. Get the full story.
-
The End of Internet Advertising?
ArticleI typically visit a number of technology sites to learn about new technology, Internet companies and products - not to learn about marketing. So I was a bit amused the other day when I saw that (a technology site) was trying to talk about marketing and advertising. To do this, they enlisted a guest writer who
-
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven many B2B firms in the United States to boost spend on digital advertising in 2020, according to recent research from eMarketer.
-
Many people take the same commute route every day. Placing a digital or interactive ad in a strategic public transit location can result in countless impressions and improved ROI.
-
B2B marketers can no longer rely solely on traditional advertising. They need to make native advertising part of their marketing tactics.
-
If you have a website that gets a good deal of traffic but generates no money, placing ads on your site may be the key to success. Learn how ad type, placement, and location can boost your website revenue.
-
Dare Not to Advertise
Article -
Co-op advertising involves manufacturers and brands providing advertising dollars to their channel partners, such as retailers and dealers, that sell their products. Learn why the method is a win-win.
-
The complaints against advertising are seemingly endless, limited only by the creativity of its critics. But advertising is fundamentally benevolent, the author says. Advertising is a communication technique that attempts to influence the behavior of others—no more nor less so than the techniques used by parents, journalists, teachers, and politicians.
-
Total communications spending will decline 1% in 2009, to $882.6 billion—its first spending decline since the 2001 recession—according to the latest Communications Industry Forecast (CIF) from private-equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS).
