Promotions- ATL and BTL

Promotions are defined as the advancement of a product, idea or a point of view through publicity and/or advertising.
The promotions for a product can either be above-the-line (ATL) or below-the-line (BTL). 

 ATL: There are a number of approaches to promotion that are open to organisations. Above-the-line promotions use mass media methods. This type of promotion focuses on advertising to a large audience. It includes print, online media, television and cinema advertising.

Making a message memorable to a large audience is not always easy. It is difficult to tailor a promotion to a specific group of consumers through above-the-line promotions. This is because it is viewed by a mass audience with different tastes and needs. Above-the-line promotion is also very expensive.

BTL: Below-the-line methods are very specific, memorable activities focused on targeted groups of consumers. They are under the control of the organisation. Kia uses these techniques to target clearly defined consumer groups rather than a mass audience like its above-the-line activity. The purpose of these activities has been to develop the brand by creating awareness and building a brand profile. Below-the-line methods include:

·         sponsorship

·         sales promotions

·         public relations

·         personal selling

·         Direct marketing

Advertisements:

Advertising are cost effective way to disseminate messages that promotes the brand message, idea or preference. Even in this world that is filled with clutter of messages, outstanding and innovative ads, no matter which ever medium they are released in, pays off.

Bingo potato chips offers extra quantity to attract customers. In addition to this, and to break the clutter and stand out, Bingo used the medium of Indian Railways’ public address systems to target their audience. There are more than 10 billion people travelling in a train every year. Most of them will want to buy some snacks to crunch during their journey. Bingo, realising this opportunity approached the Indian Railways, and received permission to air their audio jingle through the public announcement systems of Indian Railways. The audio advertisement announced the ad in the tone and voice of normal railway announcement, ascribing the reason of the train being late as that the driver was busy munching Bingo. The campaign was a huge success and sales in the stations where the announcement was made increased significantly.

Sales Promotion:

Sales promotion acts as a key ingredient in any marketing campaign. If an ad offers the consumers the reasons to buy the product, sales promotions gives them incentives. Coupons, samples, cash refund offers, price offs, freebies, rewards, etc., are included in the sales promotion activities.

Bingo gained advantage over its competitors by offering more quantity of quality chips in the same price as its competitors’ giving the customers more value than that they receive from the competitor’s.

Events and Experiences:

Sponsoring events enables wider exposure of the company to influence the consumer’s attitude towards the brand. Cricket sponsorship is a big business in India. Major events and conferences are sponsored by the companies who get positive exposure to their well-defined audiences.

Bingo was launched during the World cup season. This enables the brand to generate more visibility and brand recall after the event as it had targeted its TG very well with the series of humorous ads that come in-between the match.

Public Relations:

The company must not only relate to its TG suppliers, and dealers; but also the public in large. PR helps in creating goodwill about the brand within the public and thus avoiding any negativity to its brand image.

Event sponsorship is a part of PR activities that a company does.

Direct Selling:

The usage of Consumer Direct channel to reach to the customers and avoiding all the marketing middle-men refers to direct selling. This enables the brand to enhance their brand loyalty and increase CRM.

Bingo sells its products through stores and not on direct selling. It keeps in touch with its customers through various social networking sites.

The footnote of all the promotional strategies that is used by Bingo are,