Strategic Versus Tactical Nature of Sales Promotions

Abstract

Sales promotions (SP) are short‐term instruments usually designed to yield an immediate sales effect. Previous research has suggested that SP can be seen as detrimental to a brand's consumer franchise/equity as, in the long term, SP deteriorates brand value. In this paper, we theoretically broaden the scope of SP research relation to the following topics: strategy concept, marketing strategy, the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) concept, the specific nature of each SP instruments and the underlying processes associated with consumer uptake of SP. We present findings that illustrate managers' perceptions of the positioning of SP instruments. We argue that the strategic nature of SP needs to be incorporated into marketers' research agendas.

Keywords:

• Sales promotions
• strategy
• tactic
• positioning

Notes

1. Information provided by managers during interviews.