There are several ways in which promotions can be used to
promote brands. Promotions focus on specific themes or activations which could
be related to savings, trust, cultural connectivity, and convenience among
others. Promotions are short term marketing campaigns that are specific and
tailored to promote purchasing or getting the market to perceive the brand in a
given way. They can be used as important brand activation tools hence an
important strategic marketing tool.
Promotions related to savings and price have a positive
effect in cementing the image of a brand that promotes value for money. A good example
has been Tesco which has managed to strategically develop a large pool of loyal
customers. One of the reasons for its good performance has been based on its
ability to provide everyday value for the customers where they are able to save
while enjoying the best quality products in the market. Such a brand image
appeals to consumers who are rational and likely to consider the need for value
and quality before making their purchasing decisions.
Other aspects such as cultural connectivity focus on
emotional branding and creation of non-rational bases for the consumers opting
to purchase their products. Where the emotional bond between the organisation
and the consumers is high, the purchase decisions are likely to be in favour of
the organisation. Promotions that focus on creation of the cultural
connectivity and building of an emotional bond are considered to be very
strategic because such bonds tend to be very unique. The consumer is unlikely
to be convinced by rational arguments advanced by competing brands.
Organisations enjoying a high level of emotional attachment with consumers tend
to enjoy much higher levels of customer loyalty than those whose customers are
driven by rational reasons such as price and quality.
Promotions associated with cultural connectivity will often
focus on consumers being tied to something bigger or a bigger cause. Some of
these bigger causes could include expression of their endorsement of certain
cultural practices or contribution to charity among others. The messages used
in such promotions are strategically designed to focus more on the feeling
enjoyed by the shopper or how the society perceives the shopper than they focus
on the actual qualities or pricing of the products. With this approach, the
brand or products represented by the brand get to be associated with this form
of cultural and emotional connectivity.
The concept of trust is also important and promotions targeting
this have also been known to contribute significantly to the competitiveness of
organisations. There are many ways of seeking to build trust. For example,
organisations can create promotions that get consumers involved with some of
their processes. For instance, a joint approach to product design in the
manufacturing process can be highly effective in building trust. By allowing
the consumer to make contributions on how they would want their products to be
like, they become more confident that the organisation understands them and is
keen to factor in their suggestions. This involvement can be used by strategic
managers to get consumers to have a higher level of trust in the organisation.
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