Page 371 - Introduction to Business

CHAPTER 10 Developing the Promotion and Distribution Mixes 345

Business newspapers like
The Wall Street Journal,
Financial Daily, and Barrons
accounted for advertising
expenditures of $4.5 billion in
2001 (2.1 percent of advertis-
ing expenditures). Companies
that advertise in business
papers believe they are an
effective means to reach other
businesses.
Billboards (2.1 percent of
advertising expenditures) offer
intensity of coverage in a spe-
cific geographic market and
are, therefore, an excellent
medium to promote widely
used consumer products and
services, such as liquor and
banking. They can reinforce
messages presented in other
media. A good opportunity
exists for the viewer to be A billboard promotes a not-
repeatedly exposed to the advertising message. Since billboards are directed to a for-profit organization.
mobile audience, the message is limited to a few words. Some communities and states
in the United States have banned billboards or have severely restricted where they can
be. France has banned billboards nationwide. Such measures are enacted because
billboards are viewed as dangerous—drivers’ attention is diverted—or unsightly—
they detract from the scenery along roads.
A major development in advertising is an increasing effort to target newly
recognized subcultures, such as gays, lesbians, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian
Americans, children, and older Americans.

Sales Promotion
Sales promotion is the nonpersonal form of promotion that does not involve meas- sales promotion A nonpersonal form of
ured media, the advertising media just discussed. It does, however, include a wide promotion that does not involve
measured media
assortment of other alternatives. Some of the most important of these are listed in
Exhibit 10.2 (on p. 346). This exhibit shows that some sales promotions are appropri-
ate for consumer markets, some for wholesalers and retailers (trade), and some for
both markets.
Many people are surprised to learn that the annual spending in the United
States for sales promotions exceeds that for advertising by a factor of three. A num-
ber of changes in the business situation explain why.
• Sales promotion became more respectable. Formerly, top executives resisted sales
promotion efforts because they believed that they cheapened the product. Recent
successful uses of sales promotions, however, have reduced this reluctance.
• Better-trained individuals have been put in charge of sales promotion efforts.
Coupled with an upgrading of the top sales promotion position, to include
broader responsibilities of a planning nature, additional reliance on sales
promotion effort has occurred.
• Many companies have adopted a brand manager type of marketing organiza-
tion. Brand managers are frequently under pressure to show immediate

Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning, Inc. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part.