Guide
Product promotion
Definition, types, strategy and examples
Product promotion is the process of explaining the value of a product to potential and existing customers to educate, generate interest and spur purchase. It is one of the four Ps of the marketing mix, along with product, price and place.
What is product promotion?
Product promotion is an important aspect of product marketing. One of the primary goals of product promotion is to increase sales by expanding awareness of the product to buyers and its benefits to potential customers.
Promoting a product represents one of the four Ps of the “marketing mix” model that advertisers use to reach customers and drive sales.
Why is product promotion important?
Product promotion is important because it is an essential part of a brand’s marketing strategy. It can increase brand awareness to potential consumers in the marketplace – as well as deepen customer relationships by rewarding customers via referrals, loyalty programmes or special deals – which can potentially increase sales.
How to promote products
To efficiently promote your brand’s products, it’s important to build a product marketing strategy for potential buyers and keep the following elements and the four Ps of the marketing mix in mind.
1. Know your audience
Before you think of how to promote a product, conduct some research to determine who is your core audience in the overall marketplace. Who are you trying to reach with this promotion, and how can this product benefit them? Also keep in mind whether you’ll be remarketing to reengage shoppers who have already bought from your brand, or even a previous version of this product, perhaps via email marketing if they’re already subscribed to a newsletter. Or maybe you’re looking to reach new consumers or potential customers. It can help to tailor the strategy to appeal to these groups and assist in customer retention.
2. Determine your marketing strategy
As you’re about to promote a product, make sure that there is a sound go-to-market plan that encompasses what will happen in the editorial, mobile, content, social media, etc., strategy. A proper marketing strategy should drive the steps from ideation to launch after establishing the business goals, creating a clear message and positioning about the product about how it could improve a customer’s life for the right price in the right place, and forming a strong call to action. This is also a good time to reassess brand identity and see if there are specific ways to build your brand in addition to the product itself.
3. Measure your results
It’s important to analyse the outcome of any promotion strategy afterwards, so there should be a postmortem to build upon its success and improve future metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). This could include any improvements in metrics, such as objectives and key results (OKRs) or return on ad spend (ROAS), as well as monitoring how effective brand collaborations or a new social media campaign had been and whether your brand would want to employ similar tactics in the long term. Any changes to website traffic to blog posts, open rate of email marketing, social media engagement and sales should be closely monitored.
Four effective ways to promote products
1. Offer a discount
For new product launches or to find new-to-brand customers, promoting a voucher, joint offer or free delivery to buyers can be an effective way to find customers who may be interested but aren’t ready to pay full price. Setting a window to make the promotional period a limited-time offer could also add a sense of urgency to try out the product, especially if the calendar aligns to opportunities with holiday marketing for ideal sales promotion.
2. Create content to promote the product
Before launching or relaunching a product, you could help create buzz by preparing a press release from your brand, a Q&A with the founder via blog posts or social media. The right digital advertising strategy can give you flexibility to reach audiences on multiple channels, especially with video ads that demonstrate what your product can do for shoppers who want to see it in action before committing to buying.
3. Create brand collaborations
Collaborating with the right spokesperson in your market with a thoughtful promotion strategy can be an effective way to reach a specific audience, increase brand awareness or earn credibility through someone that they already trust. After researching who could be a potential representative for the brand, be prepared with product samples that they could demonstrate on their channels. A seasoned content creator on a video app, for instance, could assist with effective video marketing techniques.
4. Host events
Kicking off a product launch through experiential marketing could be an exciting way to connect with consumers through either virtual events or in-person pop-ups. Events, which should feature on-brand messaging, should be memorable for attendees – whether by inviting influencers or industry leaders for Q&A panels, promoting hashtags, showing off fun packaging, offering free samples or discounts, or showcasing behind-the-scenes content or demonstrations for the sales promotion of a new product.
Product promotion examples
Case studies
Nearly nine decades after debuting their chocolate-covered wafer, KITKAT approached Amazon Ads to reach adult Gen Z and millennial shoppers. By enabling Twitch premium video ads, KITKAT connected with a highly engaged community and reminded viewers, “Even the biggest champ needs a break”, a modern take on their classic tagline.
Case studies
After combining one of their most popular products with a comfort-food staple, PepsiCo wanted to expand their loyal customer base to reach new-to-brand millennials with Cheetos Mac ’n Cheese. By running a campaign that used key audience insights across Amazon DSP, Cheetos saw a lift in purchase intent, brand preference and ad awareness.
Case studies
After noticing lukewarm reviews for their Flushmatic toilet cleaner, Harpic launched a new version and wanted to communicate the updates to their customers. By engaging audiences with display ads and an interactive quiz that could result in a voucher, the parent company Reckitt was able to educate customers and support conversion.
Case studies
In 2022, when HP was about to relaunch their laser printer series with new ink-tank technology, they worked with Amazon Ads to build a full-funnel marketing campaign. With a strategy that used Amazon Business, a portal that caters to more than two million verified B2B customers in India, HP was able to reach small businesses and reengage audiences that had previously shown an interest in printers.
Case studies
When Unicharm approached Amazon Ads for a marketing campaign for their new nappy, BabyJoy Olive, they geared it toward White Friday and Singles’ Day, two important holidays in the MENA region, as an opportunity to increase their reach and sales. With a full-funnel strategy that promoted specific Amazon standard identification numbers, the brand was able to exceed their return on advertising spend goals by 76%.
If you would like additional support and guidance, reach out to request services managed by Amazon Ads. Budget minimums apply.