Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Business
Unit 18 - Creative Promotion.
Promotional Communications.
Assignment Criteria.
Criteria covered by this task:
Unit/Criteria
To achieve the criteria you must show that you are able to:
reference
Demonstrate individual self-management, research and initiative in the preparation and
18/C.D3
evaluation of a high-quality and creative plan for a promotional campaign.
Evaluate the extent to which internal and external factors will influence the success of
18/B.D2
promotional activity.
Assess the extent to which the proposed promotional plan meets both business and
18/C.M3
consumer needs.
Analyse the factors that influence the choice of promotional activity in contrasting
18/B.M2
businesses.
Plan and prepare a cost promotional plan for a product or service for a selected
18/C.P6
business.
18/C.P5 Describe the target market for a product or service offered by a selected business.
Illustrate and explain the influences on the promotional activities used by contrasting
18/B.P4
businesses.
18/B.P3 Explain the promotional mix used by contrasting businesses.
Introduction.
In this assignment, I'll conduct research to create a report that explains the different
promotional communications utilised by two different businesses. I'll compare The Co-op and
Apple because they have many different features and characteristics.
The Co-op is a chain of supermarkets and small retail businesses internationally that trades
food retail and wholesale, pharmaceutical products, insurance services, legal services and
funeral care. The Co-op’s first store was located at 31 Toad Lane, Rochdale and founded by
the Rochdale Pioneers to provide affordable food for all. The Co-op now owns over 2,600
retail stores globally and has a slogan of “It’s what we do”.
Apple is a technology company that operates within retail chains internationally that trades
iPhones, Macs, iPads, Wearables, Home and accessories electronics. The first Apple store
was located at Tysons Corner in McLean, Virginia on Saturday, 19th of May, 2001. (late)
, Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Business
Unit 18 - Creative Promotion.
Promotional Communications.
Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Wozniak founded Apple. Apple now owns over 516
retail stores globally and has a slogan of “Think different”.
B.P3 - Explain the promotional mix used by contrasting businesses.
The promotional mix is using different methods of communication/promotions to achieve
corporate objectives which usually includes an increase in sales and an increase in brand
awareness. By using the promotional mix, both of the businesses, the Co-op & Apple will
make themselves known in the market to the target market alongside their products and/or
services. The 7 methods which are part of the promotional mix include: Advertising, Personal
selling, Sales promotion, Direct marketing, Public relations, Promotional budget & Corporate
objectives.
I will now write a brief paragraph outlining what the promotional mix is used for both selected
businesses, the Co-op and Apple.
Business one - The Co-op.
Advertisements.
The Co-op advertises in many ways. To advertise, this means the Co-op would carry out an
activity which consists of showing/demonstrating who the Co-op is, What the Co-op does or
what the Co-op sells, Where a local Co-op is from the place of advertisement and history of
the Co-op which will deliver the social goals and their objectives which would impact the
target market. An example of how the Co-op had advertised in the past would be when the
Co-op had informed the public that they can recycle soft plastics at local retail branches.
This promotional communication was carried out via online forms such as YouTube. A key
example of this will be provided through a web link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u7aqCO2GNk.
The reason why the Co-op has decided to upload advertisements through online forms such
as YouTube is beneficial as YouTube has heavy footfall/traffic daily and metrics can be
measured easily compared to TV advertisements or billboards. Another reason for the Co-op
advertising on social media platforms such as YouTube is that the Co-op can make money
from this. The Co-op must retain a certain amount of views on a video to make money.
Personal Selling.
The Co-op also has forms of personal selling. Personal selling is when a salesperson or a
representative of the Co-op meets up with a (potential) client. The Co-op does this through
setting up pop-up locations within busy areas such as inside or outside shopping centres.
More specifically inside shopping malls/centres surrounded by other retail stores or in
heavily populated areas such as Piccadilly gardens & Market street. What the representative
does is attract potential customers informing them of the services available and discussing to
see what would work best for them.
Because the representatives are out in the open, typically in city centres or other hotspots,
this will make individuals walking past think. What I mean by this is the customers will
become curious to what the Co-op representatives are trying to promote or even what have
the representatives got to offer (if products/services are available to try). Therefore, the
, Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Business
Unit 18 - Creative Promotion.
Promotional Communications.
benefit of the Co-op representatives being out in the open, personally talking and making
contact with the potential customers, this would allow the Co-op to build relationships with
the public which would then turn to being a customer with benefits of being referred by a
representative! Once customers have tried the products and/or services being offered by the
Co-op, the customer would then recommend the Co-op to friends and family. This will turn
into a long term relationship with customers which can be highly beneficial. This in a way can
be seen as public relations or even direct marketing, which I will be discussing later on.
Sales Promotion.
A Sales Promotion is a type of short-term marketing activity used by the Co-op to awaken
client interest in a product or service. The Co-op would develop and maintain demand by
stoking interest through offers such as 50% off, Buy One Get One Free (BOGOF), and, as
previously mentioned, trial samples. The benefits of the Co-op conducting these short-term
marketing activities would be that the customer becomes a customer at the Co-op rather
than competitors such as Tescos, Aldi, and Lidl. This can lead to a competitive advantage
over others within the market which can increase market share, attractiveness to
shareholders and other types of stakeholders. This means that the Co-op will have an
increased chance of increasing awareness, revenues, and sales. For the customer, this will
provide the customers with a wide variety of products and services and to ensure that the
customers are satisfied as a whole.
Direct Marketing.
Direct marketing is a form of communication that is used to achieve a company's goals. A
business's sales representative, in instance, would sell a product or service to the general
public. There would be no facilitator, in other words, an agency promoting the Co-op and
their products and services. This can be similar to both personal selling and public relations.
This can be done anywhere, whether it is within corporate locations, public hotspots or
virtually pretty much whenever throughout the day. The Co-op directly markets their
business, products and/or services through ‘brick’ and online marketing formats. Examples
of ‘brick’ direct marketing can include post, leaflets and other ‘hard-copy’ products as well as
meet and greets or any other social events, examples of ‘online’ direct marketing can include
email, texts and other online communication channels as well as video calling on Zoom or
even a simple phone call. The Co-op have demonstrated this through their appearances at
local Schools and Colleges at the start of student studies as well as throughout student
studies. The benefits of the Co-op attending social events and/or (local) educational
institutions would be to market the business. This means that the Co-op will have young
minds dedicated to work hard throughout their studying time to reach an “ultimate” goal of
applying to work at the Co-op. This would be an incredible opportunity for the Co-op as the
Co-op can use metrics of how many students had applied to school or graduate positions
which can be used to compare statistics to the competition. By keeping a hold of the
metrics/statistics, this can be used when presenting to shareholders. This will ensure the
shareholders that their investment is put to good use and there would be a sense of
confidence in the Co-op, as a whole.
