You must consider the whole range of possibilities. The promotional mix, like the marketing mix, involves the blending of numerous variables. The blending of these variables to create a specific promotion mix must also match the other 4P's.

The purpose of marketing communications is the transmission of an idea about a product to intermediaries or to customers in a target market.

Elements of the Promotional Mix
Promotion types may be divided into personal selling and non-personal promotions.

Personal selling is the seller's promotional presentation conducted on a person-to-person basis with the buyer. This can be arranged quite differently, from a casual Tupperware party to a fully organised meeting with full demonstration.

Non-personal promotion includes advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and publicity.

Advertising is defined as mass, paid, communication with explicit sponsorship. The sponsor controls the copy (ie message).
Sales Promotion is defined as temporary use of behaviour triggering incentive to customers, trade, or sales people. This includes free samples, discount coupons, premiums, contests, sweepstakes, free gifts, push money, trading stamps, purchasing allowance, dealer loaders, co-operative advertising.
Public relations may be defined as arranging to be caught in the act of doing something good.
Publicity is defined as free media coverage (good or bad) controlled by media editors.

The elements of the promotional mix maybe aimed to communicate to either the customers the trade or channel intermediaries or to particular groups of the public, depending on the firm's specific communication objective.

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