Marketing communications tools

11 inform, persuade, and remind customers about particular products and services (Arens et al. 2011, 220). Kotler et al. (2012) add that advertising aims at reinforcing customers after purchase. Some tools of advertising are newspapers, radio, TV, print advertisements, brochures, posters, leaflets, and billboards. Media planners should make the choice by taking into consideration target customers media habits, product and message characteristics, and cost. For instance, television blends sight, sound and motion, has high reach, adverts can be repeated and may show the product in use. At the same time television advertising has high cost, lack of selectivity, audience tends to switch channel or leave the room during the commercial. Print media such as magazines give possibility for segmentation, are credible and tend to be kept for long periods for example in waiting rooms, but advertisements are static Blythe 2006). Advertising in newspapers has high believability, cover very well local market and have broad acceptance, but ads in newspapers are of short duration (Kotler et al. 2012, 818). Outdoor advertising allows communicating a concise message in the local language to amass audience quickly and frequently. It carries messages continuously and without interruptions at a reasonable cost. (Arens et al. 2011, 564). Nevertheless Blythe (2006) mentions such limitations as limited capacity, difficulties with segmentation and distractions due to traffic, noise and other factors which may make individual less receptive.

Kotler et al. (2012) says that most of advertising tools allow the seller to repeat a message many times. Smith and Zook (2011, 308) conclude that advertising allows to deliver a message to a large audience quickly, helps target niche audiences and the message can be controlled. They emphasize that advertising is useful for creating awareness, preference and reassurance. At the same time, advertising can be costly, requires along lead time in case of change it is less interactive and messages can’t be personalized.
Sales promotion Sales promotion is a wide range of activities intended to provide a short-term increase in sales they can be aimed at retailers, consumers and wholesalers with an intention to provide an extra incentive to buy or stock a specific product (Blythe 2006, 236). The

12 examples of sales promotions tools presented by Kotler et al. (2012) are samples, coupons, cash refund offers (for consumers, advertising and display allowances aimed at members of distribution channels, and tradeshows and sales contests (for business and sales force promotions. The specific objectives of these tools vary and among them are stimulation of consumer trials, reward of loyal customers, and increase of rebuy rates. Sales promotion can aim at motivating retailers to purchase new items, carry higher levels of inventory, and gain manufacturers access to new retail channels. New companies working in business to business markets may aim at attracting a target audience by means of sales promotions. To conclude, sales promotions have three unique features they gain attention and may lead the buyer to the product, include some incentive which gives value to the buyer and invite to make a purchase immediately (Kotler et al. 2012, 797). Smith and Zook
(2011, 376) state that sales promotions help to close the sale, keep relationships with existing customers and support the brand. The drawbacks of sales promotion are that they require other tools to communicate them in some cases they can damage the brand and be expensive to implement.

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