Intensifying the Impact of the Brand Message
Sales promotions are used to intensify a brand contact for customers or prospects, especially when these people are in buying or using situations. Although the primary job of consumer sales promotion is to affect behavior, it can (and should) also heighten awareness and reinforce a brand's image. In major-purchase product categories, where deciding on a brand may take weeks or months, sales promotion can be used to help move prospects and customers through the decision process. Consumer promotional offers provide tangible added value and are generally available for a "limited time only" to create a sense of urgency.
Sales promotions are mostly one-way, nonpersonal messages, although when used in direct-response marketing, they can be personalized. Loyalty programs, a special form of sales promotion, help in retaining customers and attracting a greater share of customers' category spending.
Once consumers arrive in a store, they face three to ten brands in most product categories. The majority of consumers make their brand decisions in-store, so packaging is the last brand message they see before making their brand choice. Packages not only carry an advertising message but can add tangible value to a brand by being reusable, decorative, and sturdy (to protect the product during distribution and over a long period of use), and by containing coupons or premiums to reward purchase.
