Introduction to sales promotions Essay

Today, sales promotions are a key feature of the retail trade. There are many ways in which a business can sell and a sales promotion is just one aspect of marketing goods or services. The specific product which I have decided to base this assignment on is ‘Coca-Cola’s’ 2- litre bottle of coke. I thought that it might be interesting to investigate the sales promotions of ‘Coca-Cola’ as they are a business which has provided many since they were first founded by John Pemberton till now. ‘Coca-Cola’ ‘Coca-Cola’ was invented on 8th May 1886 by John Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia. John Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, came up with the name ‘Coca-Cola’ and designed the logo. The drink was first sold at Jacobs’s pharmacy. The fact of all this which I find most interesting, is the fact that during the first year, sales of ‘Coca-Cola’ averaged nine drinks a day, adding up to a total of i 50 for that year. Today, products of The Coca-Cola Company are consumed at the rate of more than one billion drinks per day in around 200 countries. The media is a powerful source of mainly advertising, which uses traditional methods of mass communication, e. g. newspapers, magazines, TV and radio. Being the very successful and most recognized brand that ‘Coca – Cola’ is, they can afford to promote their products by all means of media. I believe that the second most important method for ‘Coca – Cola’ to promote their products is on billboards. A vast majority of the population drive vehicles and will occasionally drive past billboards which are trying to advertise or promote a product. The sales promotion which I have chosen for my 2 – litre bottle of coke has been seen by me on billboards and TV. Television is by far, the most beneficial way to advertise or promote a product due to the large numbers which happily watch TV in the comfort of their own home, or perhaps somewhere else. The sales promotion: * Buy 2 bottles of coke and receive a free ‘Coca – Cola’, FIFA world cup glass; Is mainly seen being promoted on television as ‘Coca – Cola’ realise that if they want to find customers, television is the best possible way as we’ve already looked at. The media is a strong way of helping many businesses, such as ‘Coca -Cola’ to advertise a promotion. Once a customer sees what they can save, or in this case, gain, they will then be tempted to purchase that product. ‘Coca – Cola’ is the proud sponsor of the FIFA world cup, 2006 in Germany. When people see ‘Coca – Cola’ associating with the FIFA world cup, this will lure them further to increase the probability of them purchasing products. ‘Coca – Coca’ are frequently seen advertising promotions by all possible means of media but my chosen sales promotion for ‘Coca – Cola’ has only been seen by me on billboards and TV. When ‘Coca – Cola’ do advertise, they try to aim their products at a target audience, but who might that target audience be? Target audience To sustain a businesses successfulness, you need to be fairly smart and ‘Coca – Cola’ have proved more than that in the method they have decided to use to identify their target audience. Even tough it is stated that half the world’s population have at least tasted coke, the main target audience is said to have no real gender and is age ranged between 18 – 34. Even tough there is no real gender, the majority of people who do consume coke are said to be male. Men and boys aged between 14 – 34 are very likely to be watching the world cup and with ‘Coca – Cola’ being the sponsor and offering a free ‘Coca – Cola’, world cup glass, they just can’t say no. I presume that their main idea is to have their target audience picturing themselves watching the world cup and drinking coke out of the free glass before they actually purchase it. Deciding the Style This stage in the success of a sales promotion must link with the format of the promotion and be compatible with its aims. The business may offer a saving or a free item with purchase. This item could be linked with a specific target audience. The sales promotion; * Buy 2 bottles of coke and receive a free ‘Coca – Cola’, FIFA world cup glass; is targeted at men and boys aged roughly between 14-34. The reason for the gender is because men and boys are more likely than woman to be watching football. The colours and design of the sales promotion needs to correspond with the world cup yet it needs to do the same with the target audience. An informal event like a fun day will have informal materials and ‘jazzy’ notices in bright and attractive colours. This is because a fun day is aimed at younger children and this will be the more inviting approach in terms of attraction. The sales promotion which I am investigating has frequently been seen by myself on various occasions, billboards mostly. The colours are that of the flag of Germany, the host of the FIFA world cup. It is also combined with masculine and neutral colours for the seriousness and honour of the world cup. Men will take this event seriously and as ‘Coca-Cola’ knows this, they are one step ahead. The main point of all the media and format of the business is to sustain the high level of work and to overall, be consistent. ‘Coca-Cola’ are consistent and a key fact which thoroughly proves this is the fact that they are the most recognised brand in the world. Key messages The key message for a business, will depend upon what they wish there intended outcome to be of the promotion and who they wish to aim it at. ‘Coca-Cola’ as an industrial business with a promotion has a main purpose which is to sell more goods or to provide information about their products. This can either be done online or perhaps on their packaging. Key messages over the past many years have proven most affective through a slogan. ‘Coca-Cola’ change theirs to suit the packaging in relation to the offer or perhaps an event. This attracts more customers with the sense of a key message. An example could concern a sales clearance with big headings and bold lettering to point out the offer or the key message. The key message for the sales that I am investigating is that the world cup is on and that it’s a time for celebration. ‘Cola-Cola’ is now loved by almost everyone. It is drunk by almost every non-alcoholic drinker and is also drunk by people who consume alcohol as well. Key messages for ‘Coca-Cola’ have clearly worked and if you just take a look at their sales, you’ll see just how much they have worked. Consumer Law Consumer legislation should be a key issue to any one who owns a business and wishes to advertise or promote a product. All business must make sacrifices by selling products at a cheaper price or perhaps they can produce a sales promotion to catch the eye of the customer who may perhaps be interested. All these examples provide the intended consumers a thing called consumer law which gives them rights to that product or service which the business may be providing. The rights protect them from the business providing them with faulty goods or perhaps a service which does not meet their needs. They also, however, give rights to retailers from the consumer ‘throwing’ wrong accusations at them concerning any of their products or services. The buyer may complain that the price of a product is priced too high or perhaps they may wish to complain otherwise. If the consumer makes a false accusation, they can be penalized by means of consumer law. Consumer protection legislation One act which is an example of how ‘Coca – Cola’ put across their product is the; ‘Consumer Protection Act 1987. ‘ This act relates to mainly price and safety. Under this act it is an offence for ‘Coca – Cola’ to * Mislead customers as to the price of any item – The average price for a 2-litre bottle of coke costs zero to nothing to produce but is sold for a maximum of i 1. 50. Customers do not look at the issue like this. Even if they do, they bear in mind that the business needs to make money and see i 1. 50 as a reasonable price. They always have remained with this price and it will be very rare that Coca – Cola are misleading their customers where prices are concerned. * Mislead consumers over sale prices and exaggerate price reductions – Coca – Cola are not the type of business which you will see exaggerating a price reduction on any of their products. If they were to have a price reduction, they would have one without any mislead false claims concerning the prices.