Marketing communication: principles and practice

BOX 9.16
BOOTS PUT THEIR FOOT IN IT!
When City of Ely Community College pupils collected 943 vouchers (one voucher per
£5 spent), they were astounded to find that this bonus from retail expenditure of £4,715
could be exchanged for only one gym mat. Even when Boots doubled the exchange
value of their scheme, the school still only got two mats!
Such promotional schemes encourage children to nag their parents into buying
specific brands. Parents want to support their child’s school, but if not properly
researched, such schemes can be resented by consumers who may feel that the
provider is more interested in a sales promotion opportunity than giving service to its
customers and stakeholders.
(Based on O’Sullivan, 1993)
BOX 9.17
POINT-OF-PURCHASE MATERIALS
Research by the Point of Purchase Advertising Institute (The Consumer Buying Habits
Study) has shown that four out of five purchase decisions are made in-store. Grocery
shoppers are exposed to three hundred products a minute in a large supermarket,
and two-thirds of them have no shopping list while shopping. The impact of p-o-p
advertising on impulse sales can be dramatic. The UK p-o-p industry accounts for more
than £500m in marketing expenditure. Retail displays can prompt large increases in
sales. In-store marketing is a specialized field based on the communicative capability
of design of packaging and display materials.

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MEDIA SELECTION
With no shortage of media options available, but within the scope of a limited
budget, how can selection decisions be made? Figure 9.2 suggests a number
of essential considerations when considering a particular medium.
To make best use of the limited budget available and to ensure that a
genuinely dialogic relationship is maintained with consumers and buyers as
potential and current customers, media should be selected for their
effectiveness (suitability) and efficiency (performance). The effectiveness of
a medium is its capacity to generate a desired outcome or condition in a