---
title: "How to Craft a Differentiated Promotion Strategy?"
description: "This article discusses how to create effective promotional strategies, emphasizing the importance of differentiation, low-cost tactics, and the 5W2H framework. It also covers advertising and public relations techniques, including cause-related marketing, to enhance brand image and drive sales."
author: "崔自三"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2014-11-04"
language: "en"
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# How to Craft a Differentiated Promotion Strategy?

> This article discusses how to create effective promotional strategies, emphasizing the importance of differentiation, low-cost tactics, and the 5W2H framework. It also covers advertising and public relations techniques, including cause-related marketing, to enhance brand image and drive sales.

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**I. Understanding Promotion**

I once saw a joke: A single mother, to teach her son gratitude, made him pray before every meal. One day, they went shopping, and the boy was thirsty and wanted a drink. The mother bought him a bottle. As he opened it to drink, she said, "Wait." "What, Mom?" he asked. "Did you forget to pray?" she said. "Oh, do we pray for a drink too?" he asked puzzled. "Yes, come, pray with me: One more bottle, one more bottle..." Of course, it's just a joke, but it reflects the profound impact promotion has on customers.

Thus, marketers often say: "Promotion, promote and it sells; big promotion, big sales; small promotion, small sales; no promotion, no sales," illustrating the market's dependence on promotion.

This isn't without reason. There's data showing that 75% of Chinese consumers make impulse purchases, while only 25% are planned. Customers are influenced by on-site sales atmosphere, displays, promotions, service levels, etc. Therefore, using promotions to boost product sales is a common method or technique for many companies.

Promotion, or sales promotion, means enhancing sales by communicating with customers at the right time, in the right place, with the right method and intensity, to encourage purchase behavior.

By function, promotions can be categorized as:
- Informative promotion: a form of advertising;
- Launch promotion: used for new product launches;
- Volume-boosting promotion: aimed at rapidly increasing sales volume;
- Defensive promotion: needed to counter competitors;
- Loss-reduction promotion: needed to clear inventory or short-dated products.

By target, they can be:
- Trade promotion: aimed at distributors, sub-distributors, and retailers;
- Consumer promotion: aimed at consumers or buyers.

Now that we understand the role, definition, and types of promotion, how can we effectively use promotion to drive product sales?

**II. Promotion Application Techniques**

**1. Low-Cost Promotion: The "Two Differences, Two Highs" Rule**

With over a decade in marketing, I've summarized low-cost promotion into four words: two differences and two highs:
- Difference: First, find a differentiated product—different from competitors in brand, packaging, positioning, specifications, functions, etc. These aspects were discussed earlier.
- High price: As long as the product is differentiated, we can adopt skimming pricing, i.e., high pricing. Consumers believe: you get what you pay for; cheap goods are not good, and good goods are not cheap.
- High promotion: High pricing doesn't mean all the price difference must be profit; a portion should be allocated for market investment and promotion.
- Difference in promotion: I once wrote an article for a magazine titled "Promotion Differentiation: The Last Redemption for Promotions That Don't Sell," which discussed that poor promotion results are largely due to homogenized promotions. So, differentiate from competitors in promotion themes, forms, and content.

For distributors, if they thoroughly understand the "Two Differences, Two Highs" rule and the manufacturer allows them to set secondary pricing, they can create resources on their own even without manufacturer support, or rather, extract resources from the market.

**2. Chain Promotions, Interlocking, Use Addition in Promotions**

When teaching at Samsung Korea, I visited an appliance store and saw a water dispenser company's roll-up banner: "758 yuan = one upright water dispenser + one cookware set + one rice cooker + one kitchenware set." Guess the effect? I stood there for over an hour and saw six customers buy this company's product. Later, I searched online and found the product sold for less than 600 yuan, but customers preferred the former promotion. This company used chain promotions, making customers feel they got a bargain through addition.

In the distribution market, to make promotions stand out, especially to outmaneuver competitors, we can also adopt chain promotions, interlocking models during regular distribution, especially with new products. For example, during product distribution, if a channel partner buys a certain quantity at once, give a promotional gift (with different tiers and prizes, cumulative); if they sell a certain number of cases in a month, give a rebate; and if they reach an annual sales target, reward with a trip. This is very attractive, turning many channel partners into exclusive sellers and indirectly excluding competitors.

**3. The 5W2H Rule for Promotions**

An effective promotion plan must follow the 5W2H rule:
- WHY: Why do the promotion? To counter competitors, launch a new product, or increase sales and profit? Understand the purpose; don't promote just for the sake of promoting.
- WHERE: Where to do the promotion? In a hypermarket, chain supermarket, community, or residential area?
- WHEN: When to do the promotion? This refers to timing—holidays, weekends, or other times?
- WHO: Who will do the promotion? The manufacturer or distributor? Which departments are involved, and who is responsible for what? For example, who contacts the venue, coordinates with government departments, manages promotional materials delivery, and handles on-site promotion? Everything must have someone in charge, and everyone has tasks.
- WHAT: What content? Buy-one-get-one? Discounts? Roadshows? Lucky draws? Etc.
- HOW: How to do it? What is the promotion theme, how many phases, and what are the key points of each phase?
- HOW MUCH: What is the budget? Venue, labor, materials, samples, performance costs, etc. Finally, include sales forecasts and cost ratio calculations after the promotion.

Of course, after implementation, evaluation and assessment are necessary to improve future promotions.

Only by following these rules can promotion planning be purposeful, planned, step-by-step, arranged, implemented, checked, and improved. Only then can it be orderly and effective.

**III. Advertising Communication Techniques**

In a broad sense, promotion includes not only the regular promotions mentioned above but also advertising and public relations.

**1. Refine Differentiated Product Appeals**

Advertising guides consumption; effective advertising is the door opener for products entering the market. For advertising to be effective, it must have a differentiated product appeal.

What is a differentiated product appeal? Take Brain Platinum as an example. It's a health product, but it used a differentiated appeal—the concept of gifts: "This holiday, no gifts; if you give gifts, give Brain Platinum." "Afraid of getting heaty? Drink Wanglaoji." These are examples of differentiated product appeal communication.

**2. Adapt Advertising to Local Conditions**

Advertising must be adapted to local conditions; for instance, urban and rural communication methods should differ. In cities, TV, newspapers, and radio work well, but in rural areas, these methods are less effective. For example, many companies love to advertise on CCTV, but if the product targets ordinary people, the effect may be greatly reduced. Why? Farmers prefer local news, martial arts films, or opera that they can relate to and enjoy. Some companies use street dance or roller skating in cities, but in rural areas, it would be like a monkey show—they don't understand or appreciate it.

Therefore, different communication forms are needed for urban and rural areas. For rural terminal promotion, you can use the following methods:

First, wall advertisements: Place ads on national and provincial highways, hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and in crowded places like county and township crossroads, markets, and schools. Konka TV and Hualong Instant Noodles achieved good results through such wall ads.

Second, flyers: Use market days to create and distribute flyers that farmers can understand and that match their aesthetic standards. The best example is Sanzhu Oral Liquid, which used overwhelming promotional leaflets and achieved a great sensation.

Third, vehicle ads: Use bus ads on main township routes with stickers or paint. Vehicle ads are mobile carriers; wherever they go, the advertising goes.

Fourth, banner ads: When using banners, it's best to use red and yellow, not black or white, as these are taboo in rural areas. Also, to create visual impact, banners should be numerous and hung in good locations, such as main streets or in front of government offices.

Other media options include cultural shirts, gowns, township radio, storefront signs, and bulletin boards at township government offices. All are usable and effective forms of publicity. Of course, in practice, integrate them for maximum effect.

**IV. Public Relations Techniques: Cause-Related Marketing**

If we were to make an analogy about promotion:
- Advertising makes customers know you;
- Promotion makes customers like you;
- Public relations makes customers love you.

Why love? Because through PR or cause-related marketing, companies give back to society, demonstrating social responsibility. Which customer doesn't like a manufacturer with social responsibility?

Wanglaoji's breakthrough of 10 billion yuan in sales in 2008 is linked to its donation of over 100 million yuan for the Wenchuan earthquake. For example, in July of that year, I taught a three-day course in Nanning, Guangxi, and drank eight cans of Wanglaoji. Not only did I drink it, but I also urged others to drink it because I felt the company was benevolent and deserved support.

Therefore, companies can use charitable activities, gratitude events, and thank-you promotions to shape an image of a responsible, appreciative enterprise, continuously enhancing brand awareness and reputation, and maximizing economic and social benefits.

— Excerpted from Mr. Cui Zisan's book: "Eight Strategies for Marketing Breakthroughs"

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