Search

Article Information


The Three Faces of Consumer Promotions
Raghubir, Priya , J. Jeffrey Inman, and Hans Grande
46/4  (Summer 2004): 23-42

Sales promotions targeted at consumers (e.g., coupons, sweepstakes, free offers) are becoming a large and growing part of marketing budgets worldwide. This article presents a framework that examines the effect of managerially controllable actions-specifically, designing and communicating a sales promotion-on increasing the incentive for different segments of consumers to purchase a product. Sales promotions have three distinct aspects: an economic aspect that provides both incentives and disincentives to purchase a brand; an informational aspect that consumers use to make purchase decisions; and an affective aspect that influences how consumers feel about their shopping transaction, both positively and negatively. How a promotional offer is designed and communicated determines both its information value and its affective appeal, which then enhances or diminishes the attractiveness of the offer beyond the economic incentive it provides. Companies' promotion strategies should attempt to maximize the positive informative and affective aspects, as these can lessen the need for a large economic incentive and thereby increase the promotions' profitability.

 

California Management Review

Berkeley-Haas's Premier Management Journal

Published at the University of California for more than sixty years, California Management Review seeks to share knowledge that challenges convention and shows a better way of doing business.

Learn more
Follow Us