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Promotion Tools and Mix
Elements of promotional mix are also called as tools, means, or components. Basically, there are five elements involved in promotional mix. Some authors have considered more elements, too. However, we will consider five elements as shown in Figure 1.

1. Advertising:
Advertising is defined as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services by an identified sponsor. It is a way of mass communication. It is the most popular and widely practiced tool of market promotion. Major part of promotional budget is consumed for advertising alone. Various advertising media – television, radio, newspapers, magazines, outdoor means and so forth – are used for advertising the product.

Characteristics of advertising are as follow:

i. Adverting is non-personal or mass communication. Personal contact is not possible.
ii. It is a paid form of communication.
iii. It is a one-way communication.
iv. Identifiable entity/sponsor-company or person gives advertising.
v. It is costly option to promote the sales.
vi. It can be reproduced frequently as per need.
vii. Per contact cost is the lowest.
viii. Various audio-visual, print, and outdoor media can be used for advertising purpose.
ix. It is a widely used and highly popular tool of market promotion.

2. Sales Promotion:
Sales promotion covers those marketing activities other than advertising, publicity, and personal selling that stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness. Sales promotion mainly involves short-term and non-routine incentives, offered to dealers as well consumers. The popular methods used for sales promotion are demonstration, trade show, exhibition, exchange offer, seasonal discount, free service, gifts, contests, etc.

Characteristics of sales promotion are as follows:
i. The primary purpose of sales promotion is to induce customers for immediate buying or dealer effectiveness or both.
ii. Excessive use of sale promotion may affect sales and reputation of a company adversely.
iii. It is taken as supplementary to advertising and personal selling efforts.
iv. It involves all the promotional efforts other than advertising, personal selling, and publicity.
v. It consists of short-term incentives, schemes, or plans offered to buyers, salesmen, and/ or dealers.
vi. It involves non-routine selling efforts.

3. Personal Selling:
Personal selling includes face-to-face personal communication and presentation with prospects (potential and actual customers) for the purpose of selling the products. It involves personal conversation and presentation of products with customers. It is considered as a highly effective and costly tool of market promotion.

Characteristics of personal have been listed below:
i. Personal selling is an oral, face-to-face, and personal presentation with consumers.
ii. Basic purpose is to promote products or increase sales.
iii. It involves two-way communication.
iv. Immediate feedback can be measured.
v. It is an ability of salesmen to persuade or influence buyers.
vi. It is more flexible way of market communication.
vii. Per contact cost is higher than advertising.
viii. It involves teaching, educating, and assisting people to buy.

4. Publicity:
Publicity is also a way of mass communication. It is not a paid form of mass communication that involves getting favourable response of buyers by placing commercially significant news in mass media. William J. Stanton defines: “Publicity is any promotional communication regarding an organisation and/or its products where the message is not paid for by the organisation benefiting from it.”

It is the traditional form of public relations. Publicity is not paid for by the organisation. Publicity comes from reporters, columnists, and journalists. It can be considered as a part of public relations. Publicity involves giving public speeches, giving interviews, conducting seminars, charitable donations, inauguration by film actor, cricketer, politician or popular personalities, stage show, etc., that attract mass media to publish the news about them.

Main characteristic of publicity include:
i. Publicity involves obtaining favourable presentation about company or company’s offers upon radio, television, or stage that is not paid for by the sponsor.
ii. It is a non-paid form of market promotion. However, several indirect costs are involved in publicity.
iii. It may include promotion of new product, pollution control efforts, special achievements of employees, publicizing new policies, etc., for increasing sales. It is primarily concerns with publishing or highlighting company’s activities and products. It is targeted to build company’s image.
iv. Mostly, publicity can be carried via newspapers, magazines, radio or television.
v. Company has no control over publicity in terms of message, time, frequency, information, and medium.
vi. It has a high degree of credibility. Publicity message is more likely to be read and reacted by audience.
vii. Publicity can be done at a much lower cost than advertising. Company needs to spend a little amount to get the event or activity publicized.
viii. Frequency or repetition of publicity in mass media depends upon its social significance or the values for news. Mostly, it appears only once.

5. Public Relations:
The public relations is comprehensive term that includes maintaining constructive relations not only with customers, suppliers, and middlemen, but also with a large set of interested publics. Note that public relations include publicity, i.e., publicity is the part of public relations.

William Stanton defines:
“Public relations activities typically are designed to build or maintain a favourable image for an organisation and a favourable relationship with the organization’s various publics. These publics may be customers, stockholders, employees, unions, environmentalists, the government, and people in local community, or some other groups in society.” Thus, public relations include organization’s broad and overall communication efforts intended to influence various groups’ attitudes toward the organisation. Some experts have stated that the public relations are an extension of publicity.

Main characteristic of publicity are as under:
i. Public relations is a paid form of market promotion. Company has to incur expenses.
ii. Public relations activities are designed to build and maintain a favourable image for an organisation and a favourable relationship with the organization’s various publics.
iii. It is an integral part of managerial function. Many companies operate a special department for the purpose, known as the public relations department.
iv. It involves a number of interactions, such as contacting, inviting, informing, clarifying, responding, interpreting, dealing, transacting, and so forth.
v. Public relations covers a number of publics – formal and informal groups. These publics may be customers, stockholders, employees, unions, environmentalists, the government, people of local community, or some other groups in society.
vi. Public relations activities are undertaken continuously. It is a part of routine activities.
vii. All the officials, from top level to supervisory level, perform public relations activities.
viii. In relation to modern management practices, the public relations is treated as the profession.

Thus, there are five major elements or promotion mix. Each tool/element has its advantages, limitations, and applicability. Depending upon company’s internal and external situations, one or more tools are used. Mostly, company’s promotional programme involves more elements, each element supplements others.