More Than Price Cuts

SALE! KNOCK DOWN PRICES! DISCOUNTS! SEASON CLEARANCE!

Cries of great bargains shout out from retails, wooing shoppers with unbeatable prices. It's the sales season where shoppers flood the malls in a shopping frenzy. This is brand promotion that general consumers understand but is there more to it than just price cuts?

Brand promotion is an important element that keeps a brand alive and visible among the community of consumers. The objective of brand promotion is to create a hype that excites the target market and gets consumers talking about the brand. A sale is a common method where exciting promotional value helps to strengthen the existing market share and capture new market share. While the hype creates more awareness, existing consumers are delighted at the treat of getting better value for the brand they love and new markets are enticed to try the brand at a lower price.

However, brand promotion can also be achieved through other means like advertising, sponsorships, endorsements, loyalty programmes, road shows, demos, samples and many others. These are the wide variety of ways in which brand promotions help increase a brand's visibility and awareness through word of mouth.

Promotional advertising campaigns normally take on a larger scale across various media from TV, internet, print and radio to printed flyers and direct mailers for a wider reach. Apart from creating awareness about the promotion, it also keeps the brand visible to consumers and its market presence is maintained. Therefore, an effective brand promotion not only gives customers extra value but also builds the brand by increasing its awareness and visibility in the market.

Endorsement is another powerful brand promotional tool that helps create a brand image that the target market can relate to and hence, associate with the brands. Tiger Woods, the world's top golfer, is the brand ambassador for TAG Heuer and associates with the upper-class golfing society. Michael Jordan is a basketball legend who has taken Nike Air Jordan to the top line of basketball shoe brands. Engaging top personalities to endorse a brand helps influence the target market every time they see their favourite personalities with the brand.

Sponsorship of events that are related to the brand's target market is a highly effective method of making a brand impact. It has become a routine, sometimes even an expectation, to see 100plus sponsoring its isotonic drinks at marathons, badminton tournaments and many

other sports events. But how did we reach such a conclusion? Indeed, over many years of consistent and systematic exposure to the brand at sports events, 100plus has subconsciously entered the minds of the target market as the top brand of isotonic drinks in Malaysia.

On the other hand, loyalty brand promotions are targeted at building a long-term relationship between the target market and the brand. It can be point collection, discounts or even free gifts. While the benefits vary, the promotions encourage customers to come back thus enabling the brand to build a lasting relationship with its customers. With well-trained staff who can identify the needs of regular customers, a more intimate relationship can be built through positive brand experience. Even better if they come back so many times that the brand becomes the top recall brand at the top of their minds.

At first glance, it seems that brand promotions are all about getting customers excited with great discounts and benefits but, eventually, the brand aspires to achieve more than that. At the end of a brand promotional activity, the brand should gain a stronger position in the minds of its target market.

Brand promotion through roadshows, demos and samples are very effective because consumers get to experience the brand. Brand colours, special activities, ambience music and, of course, promotions create a complete brand experience that engages customers with the brand.

One of the most effective brand promotional tools is word of mouth. Half the marketing battle is won when consumers are talking about the brand and attractive brand promotions are great initiators of such exciting news. So, what exciting brand promotions will excite your target customers with something to talk about?

And while all the talk about brand promotion is good in keeping the brand alive - brand owners need to be careful that all the hype they are creating is positively building the brand value and not the other way around. Brand owners need to ensure that they do not lose their brand value by getting trapped in price wars. The outcome of brand promotion is not just about increased sales but increased brand presence and brand positioning in the consumer's mind as a wanted brand.

Indeed, it is crucial that brand promotions are strategised to help build a brand and not break the brand. So, let's take brand promotion a step further to build wanted brands because branded means wanted.

To promote your brand into a wanted brand, talk2us@peopalove.com or call
+604-2288 696.