Promotion mix: advertising, media and personal selling

1. The promotion mix

Promotion is the communication by which a firm informs, persuades and reminds buyers about its products. The promotion mix (marketing communications mix) is the blend of:

• Advertising: any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor (AMA).
• Personal selling: face-to-face presentation by the firm’s sales force to make sales and build relationships.
• Sales promotion: short-term incentives to encourage purchase: samples, coupons, discounts, contests, buy-one-get-one, dealer incentives.
• Publicity and public relations: building good relations through news coverage, events and sponsorship, not paid for as space.
• Direct and digital marketing: e-mail, SMS, tele-marketing, social media.

Factors deciding the mix: nature of product (consumer goods rely on advertising, industrial goods on personal selling); nature of market (many scattered buyers or a few large ones); stage of the PLC (advertising and publicity at introduction, reminder advertising at maturity); push strategy (promoting to dealers) or pull strategy (advertising to consumers so that they demand the product); and the budget.

2. Advertising: objectives and media

Objectives: to inform (new product, new uses, price change), to persuade (build preference, switch brands), to remind (keep the brand in mind), to support salesmen and dealers, and to build the corporate image. The AIDA model sets the sequence: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

Media of advertising:

The choice of medium depends on the product, target audience, reach and frequency required, cost per thousand, and the media used by competitors.

3. Arguments for and against advertising

For (strengths):

• informs consumers of products, prices and uses;
• creates demand and makes mass production possible, lowering unit cost;
• promotes competition and better quality;
• helps introduce new products quickly;
• supports salesmen and dealers;
• gives employment in media and creative work, and finances newspapers and television;
• raises the standard of living by spreading knowledge of new goods.

Against (weaknesses):

• adds to cost, and the consumer ultimately pays it;
• creates artificial wants and encourages materialism;
• may mislead by exaggeration and false claims;
• encourages monopoly, since only large firms can afford heavy advertising;
• competitive advertising cancels out, wasting resources;
• some advertisements are vulgar, or promote harmful products.

Regulation in India. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 defines a “misleading advertisement” (section 2(28)) and empowers the Central Consumer Protection Authority to order its discontinuance and impose penalties, including on endorsers (section 21). The CCPA issued Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements in 2022. The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 bans advertisements of remedies for listed diseases; the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 bans tobacco advertising; the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a self-regulatory body with its Code.

4. Personal selling

Personal selling is the oral presentation in a conversation with one or more prospective buyers for the purpose of making sales. It is two-way, flexible and builds relationships, but is costly per contact.

Process of personal selling (January 2026):

1. Prospecting and qualifying: identifying potential customers and checking their need and ability to buy.
2. Pre-approach: learning about the prospect (needs, buying habits, who decides).
3. Approach: the first meeting; a good opening and impression.
4. Presentation and demonstration: telling the product story in terms of benefits, showing how it works.
5. Handling objections: answering doubts about price, quality or need.
6. Closing: asking for the order.
7. Follow-up: delivery, installation, satisfaction, repeat business.

Personal selling in today’s era (February 2025). It has not disappeared but changed: salesmen now use CRM software, tablets for demonstrations, video calls and social media (social selling); the role has moved from order-taking to consultative and relationship selling, especially for insurance, real estate, industrial goods, banking products and pharmaceuticals (medical representatives). Online buying has reduced routine selling but raised the value of expert advice for complex products.

How this is examined

The 10-mark promotion-mix question wants all five elements with a line of example each and the factors deciding the mix. The advertising questions want a definition, objectives, the media table, and the for-and-against lists; for “social waste” write the note box as your conclusion, citing the CCPA’s power over misleading advertisements. Personal selling short notes take section 4, the comparison table being an easy way to answer “personal selling and advertising”.